The World Baseball Classic is set to return in early 2026 and one Blue Jays prospect hopes to help elevate his nation to be one of the teams heading to the tournament.

Right-handed pitcher Eric Pardinho was recently named to Team Brazil’s squad and will be one of the go-to arms for manager Daniel Yuichi Matsumoto as the club looks to book their ticket to the World Baseball Classic in Tuscon, Arizona in early March.

Pardinho was signed as an international free agent by Toronto in 2017, inking a $1.4 million signing bonus. The right-hander was a free agent this past winter but re-signed with the Jays on a minor league deal earning an invite to Spring Training.

Pardinho has been climbing up the farm system since signing, starting in Rookie League Bluefield in 2018 – completely bypassing the Dominican Summer League. He was a starter early in his career, doing so until he blew out his elbow late in 2019 and underwent Tommy John surgery. He would miss all of 2020 – which was cancelled anyway due to the pandemic – and a good portion of 2021, making just two starts in the Florida Complex League. He moved to the bullpen starting in 2022 and has dealt with some minor ailments over the years.

The Brazilian product struggled in high-A Vancouver through 2022 and 2023 – posting a 7.91 ERA through 71 2/3 innings – but found renewed success in 2024, split between double-A and triple-A.

With the Fisher Cats, Pardinho authored a 1.01 ERA and allowed just three earned runs through 26 2/3 innings, posting a 0.900 WHIP. He struck out 37 batters to the tune of a 12.5 K/9 while holding batters to a 4.7 H/9. A midseason move to triple-A saw him struggle out of the gate, allowing 17 earned runs through his first 14 outings. He settled down after that, finding his stride in mid-August and finished the season allowing just seven hits and one walk with zero earned runs through 12 innings. He held opponents to a .171/.191/.171 slash line and a .361 OPS through that span, tossing a 64% strike rate.

This isn’t Pardinho’s first time repping Brazil, as he pitched for the nation during the country’s 2017 World Baseball Classic qualifier against Pakistan, tossing 2/3 of an inning as a 15-year-old. He was also on Brazil’s 2023 Pan American Games roster, earning a silver medal while appearing in three games and allowing zero runs through four innings.

He will try and help Brazil reach the World Baseball Classic for the first time since 2013, with the country finishing with a 0-3 record in Pool A that featured Cuba, Japan, and China.

For Brazil to reach the WBC next year, they will need to either finish first in their qualifiying pool or win Game #7, where the second and third place teams will face off in a do or die contest to advance to next year’s tournament. Their pool consists of China, Germany, and Colombia.