Carlos Beltrán announced that George Springer, Nolan Arenado, and Riley Greene have been invited to play for Puerto Rico in the 2026 World Baseball Classic 🇵🇷
Blue Jays: George Springer invited to play for Puerto Rico at 2026 World Baseball Classic
Photo credit: © Dan Hamilton-Imagn Images
Dec 10, 2025, 11:00 ESTUpdated: Dec 10, 2025, 03:21 EST
The World Baseball Classic is quickly approaching.
On Tuesday afternoon, Puerto Rican manager Carlos Beltrán noted that Toronto Blue Jays designated hitter, George Springer, was one of three players to receive an invite to play for the country at the 2026 World Baseball Classic, along with Carlos Correa, Riley Greene, and Nolan Arenado.
Springer, born in the state of Connecticut, was born to a Puerto Rican mother and is also of Panamanian descent thanks to his paternal grandfather. That makes him eligible to play three different nations in the World Baseball Classic.
The 36-year-old has never played in the World Baseball Classic, but was listed on Team USA’s provisional roster in 2017, a team that went on to win the WBC that year.
Springer is coming off one of the best seasons in his career. After looking to be on the decline in 2023 and 2024, Springer smashed the ball in 2025, slashing .309/.399/.560 with 32 home runs in 586 plate appearances for a 5.2 fWAR, mainly as a designated hitter.
That success carried over into the postseason, as he slashed .284/.347/.552 with four home runs in 75 plate appearances, including a Game 7 three-run blast that sent the Jays to the World Series.
If Springer is to join Puerto Rico for March’s tournament, he’ll surely be playing alongside Blue Jays starter José Berríos, as the righty represented the team in both 2017 and 2023.
As for the potential to play for USA, Springer’s stats were fantastic last season, but there is tough competition for the designated hitter role on Team USA’s roster. Namely, Kyle Schwarber. The designated hitter recently re-signed with the Phillies and hit 56 home runs in 724 plate appearances for a 152 wRC+ last season. Schwarber finished as the runner up for the National League MVP.
Although Springer could play for Panama, it doesn’t seem all that likely as the team is expected to be far weaker than the USA and Puerto Rico. Either way, the 36-year-old deserves to be on a World Baseball Classic roster after his terrific 2026 season, as it could be his last chance to play internationally as a professional.
Ryley Delaney is a Nation Network writer for Blue Jays Nation, Oilersnation, and FlamesNation. She can be followed on Twitter @Ryley__Delaney.