Canada opens WBC camp with eyes on breakthrough in Puerto Rico

TORONTO — Adam Macko’s father, Vladimir, loves hockey.

The two regularly watched Canadian national teams play at various events after the family settled in Stony Plain, Alta., from their native Slovakia nearly a decade and a half ago.

“Watching those guys, you looked at them with a little bit of awe, like, ‘Wow, they are the best in the whole country and they’ve got this weight on their shoulders,’” the younger Macko recalled in a recent interview. “I always imagined what that would be like, what is it like to know this is what you’re doing?”

Well, the 25-year-old, now an on-the-cusp lefty pitching prospect for the Toronto Blue Jays, is about to find out when he suits up for Canada — on the diamond rather than ice — at the upcoming World Baseball Classic.

Macko only had to shift from the big-league clubhouse to one of several rooms on the minor-league side of the Player Development Complex in Dunedin, Fla., where the Canadians gathered Monday for their first practice ahead of the 2026 event. 

They’ll play an exhibition against the Blue Jays on Tuesday — Macko is one of the scheduled pitchers — and another warmup at the Philadelphia Phillies on Wednesday before heading over to San Juan, Puerto Rico, where they’ll compete out of Pool A, beginning Saturday against Colombia.

This is Macko’s first national team experience at any level, and he’s slated to work out of the bullpen, likely in a bulk role, although his velocity and swing-and-miss stuff means he could find himself in some leverage, as well.

“It’s a really cool opportunity for me that when I was younger, I couldn’t even imagine having,” he said. “This is something that’s be a really awesome experience that not many people get to do.”

As Canada gets going, here are some things to keep an eye on:

Pitching plans

Logan Allen, a lefty with parts of five seasons in the big leagues who signed with Tijuana of the Mexican Baseball League this season, starts for Canada against the Blue Jays on Tuesday.

Allen, born in West Palm Beach, Fla., to a Canadian dad, will be followed by Noah Skirrow, Adam Macko, Indigo Diaz, Antoine Jean, Brock Dykxhoorn and Eric Cerantola.

Cal Quantrill starts for the Canadians on Wednesday, followed by Jordan Balazovic, Matt Wilkinson, James Paxton, Micah Ashman, Phillippe Aumont and Rob Zastryzny. 

That sets up Michael Soroka of the Arizona Diamondbacks to start Canada’s opener Saturday against Colombia, followed by Jameson Taillon of the Chicago Cubs on Sunday versus Panama.

An off-day Monday gives Canada a chance to assess where it sits in the standings before deciding how to deploy Allen, Quantrill and the rest of their available pitchers for games Tuesday versus the host Puerto Ricans and Wednesday against Cuba.

The top two teams in each pool advance to the quarterfinals, something Soroka said in January “we have a real good shot of at least getting to.”

“We have a really, really good squad,” he said. “I want to continue what the Jays have done in Canadian baseball over the last year and I want it to be a good story for that, too.”

Returning dividends

Denzel Clarke hadn’t yet reached double-A when he played at the last World Baseball Classic in 2023 and his growth, including his big-league debut for the Athletics last year, along with that of several teammates bodes well for Canada this time around.

“Three years of experience can do a lot,” he said in January. “I know what I can bring to the game. I had some big-league time last year, showed off the defensive capabilities. Before I got hurt I was starting to pick it up with the bat. I know what I’m capable of with all aspects of my game, so I’m excited to, albeit early in the year, show off what I’ve got in March.”

Clarke, a dynamic force in centre field, has a chance to experience the type of Classic breakout delivered last time by Edouard Julien, who went 7-for-13 with five walks in four games. Bo Naylor, Owen Caissie, Otto Lopez, Abraham Toro and Jared Young are other returning regulars whose careers have progressed since then, too. 

Josh Naylor, unable to play due to health reasons last time, teams with Tyler O’Neill as anchors in the middle of the lineup, while newcomers like Liam Hicks, Tyler Black and Matt Davidson bolster depth within the larger roster continuity. 

“I thought the team chemistry was great last time,” said Young, now with the New York Mets. “It’s a sprint. You get together for 10 days, or whatever it was last time, you meet everybody, everyone was really close. Played some great games. And if you just carry that over with the talent we’ve got this time, I think it’s going to be pretty special.”

Short hops

Ernie Whitt returns as Canada’s manager, leading the national team through every World Baseball Classic since its inception in 2006. … Greg Hamilton (bench), Justin Morneau (hitting), Russell Martin (first base), Paul Quantrill (pitching), Stubby Clapp (third base) and Denis Boucher (bullpen) highlight the coaching staff. … Some pitchers have been reluctant to participate in the tournament for fear of suffering injury while ramping up for high-intensity games in mid-March, but Soroka believes the decisions by Tarik Skubal and Paul Skenes to pitch for the Americans could be a game-changer. “It’s easier for everybody else down the line to say, ‘All right, well, if that guy’s going to risk getting ready two weeks earlier, I can do it, too,’” he said. “I understand with the way injuries are in baseball and the way teams want depth, it hurts when guys get hurt at any point in the season. And I think for them, it definitely hurts a little bit more if it happens outside of their care. But at the end of the day, it can happen at any time. This is a really, really good tournament. We have a lot of opportunities to do a lot for our country. It’s the only time you get to do that.”

How to watch

All World Baseball Classic games will stream on Sportsnet+ while every Canada game along with roughly half of the rest of the tournament will be available on one of Sportsnet’s TV channels. A full broadcast schedule is dropping in the days ahead.

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