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Report: Blue Jays’ DH George Springer won’t play for Puerto Rico at WBC
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Photo credit: © Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images
Ryley Delaney
Dec 31, 2025, 07:00 ESTUpdated: Dec 30, 2025, 21:39 EST
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There’s for sure one Toronto Blue Jay who won’t participate in the upcoming World Baseball Classic.
According to elnuevodia writer Antolín Maldonado Ríos, George Springer won’t play for Puerto Rico in the 2026 World Baseball Classic due to injury. Early this month, Springer was invited to play for the country by Carlos Beltrán.
It’s unclear what injury this is, but Springer clearly was dealing with something throughout the postseason. Against the Seattle Mariners in the American League Championship Series, he was hit in the knee with a fastball in Game 5. In the World Series, he left Game 3 with what was called an oblique injury, missing Games 4 and 5 before returning for the final two games.
Despite the injuries, Springer hit one of the biggest home runs in Blue Jays’ franchise history, taking Eduard Bazardo deep in Game 7 of the ALCS, erasing a 3-1 deficit in a 4-3 victory. Springer had a strong postseason, slashing .284/.347/.552 with four home runs in 75 plate appearances, giving him a 147 wRC+.
The designated hitter took a dip in the fountain of youth after two rough seasons in 2023 and 2024. In 2025, Springer slashed .309/.399/.560 with 32 home runs in 586 plate appearances for a 166 wRC+, the best wRC+ of his career. He finished seventh in MVP voting and was awarded the Silver Slugger award for the DH position.
Springer has never played in the World Baseball Classic, but was a part of Team USA’s provisional roster ahead of the 2017 World Baseball Classic. He’s eligible for not just Puerto Rico and the USA, but also Panama due to a paternal grandfather being born in the Central American country.
There’s a legitimate chance this could be Springer’s final opportunity to play in a WBC, as the event seemingly is played every three years since 2017, with the most recent WBC in 2023. At the age of 36 years old, Springer’s career is slowly winding down and he may not be playing by the next tournament.
Still, other Blue Jays are likely to participate in the tournament, such as Vladimir Guerrero Jr. for the Dominican Republic, Alejandro Kirk for Mexico, and Anthony Santander and Andrés Giménez for Venezuela.
The tournament is quickly approaching, as it begins on Mar. 5 and runs until Mar. 17. Team Canada is in a pool with Puerto Rico, Panama, Cuba, and Columbia.
Ryley Delaney is a Nation Network writer for Blue Jays Nation, Oilersnation, and FlamesNation. She can be followed on Twitter @Ryley__Delaney.

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