Photo Credit: Kevin Sousa-USA TODAY Sports

I don’t want to slag Dalton Pompey here. That’s far from my purpose. Not that I’d know personally, but I’m sure it’s an honour to be asked to play for your country and a privilege that most players don’t take lightly. Frankly, if more players had stronger commitments to their national programs the WBC would be a much better tournament, and if more teams were accommodating to guys participating in the WBC it would be better for everyone. Much respect to Pompey for playing. Seriously. All I’m doing is asking a question, not questioning an action.

But… um… what in the ever-loving fuck is Dalton doing on the Team Canada roster for the World Baseball Classic when the Blue Jays have a giant mess in left field, and he looks like exactly the kind of player who could come in, win the job, and spare us of a whole lot of Melvin Upton Jr., and even more of Ezequiel Carrera struggling against right-handed pitching?

Pompey was deemed good enough to be a big league starter back in 2015, and while things haven’t exactly gone swimmingly for him since then—he ended up demoted all the way down to Double-A New Hampshire that season, and had an injury-riddled off year at Buffalo in 2016—it’s not like the bar he’d have to cross to become the most valuable of the Jays’ left field options is very high. Or, at least, it shouldn’t be.