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Blue Jays: Tyler Rogers will join USA’s World Baseball Classic team after preliminary round
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Photo credit: © Eakin Howard-Imagn Images
Ryley Delaney
Feb 14, 2026, 10:00 ESTUpdated: Feb 14, 2026, 09:17 EST
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It looks as if another Toronto Blue Jay will represent their country at the 2026 World Baseball Classic.
It had already been reported that both Tyler Rogers and Jeff Hoffman would be in Team USA’s reserve pool, but on Saturday morning, The Athletic’s Mitch Bannon reported that Rogers will join Team USA following the preliminary round.
Rogers has been one of the best relief pitchers in baseball since 2021. Over the past five seasons, Rogers has reached the 70-inning plateau in all five seasons, registering a 2.71 ERA and 3.38 FIP in 378.1 innings over the last five years. It’s an impressive feat, considering Rogers is a submarine pitcher with a fastball averaging in the mid-80s, relying on a ton of ground balls and soft contact.
Assuming that USA gets out of their group, Rogers will join Ernie Clement on the roster, with Hoffman also potentially joining the team. José Berríos could join Puerto Rico if they get out of Group A, which would give the Blue Jays 14 players at the tournament. 
Minor leaguers Adam Macko, Yariel Rodríguez, Will Cresswell, and Ismael Munguia will represent Canada, Cuba, Great Britain, and Nicaragua respectively, while both C.J. Stubbs and RJ Schreck will represent Israel. Alejandro Kirk will represent Mexico, Vladimir Guerrero Jr. will represent the Dominican Republic, Kazuma Okamoto will represent Japan, Leo Jiménez will represent Panama, and Andrés Giménez will represent Venezuela,
Before Rogers can pitch for the USA, the Americans have to get out of Pool B first, of course. Pool B consists of USA, Mexico, Italy, Great Britain, and Brazil, and it should be fairly easy for the 2023 World Baseball Classic runner ups to finish in the top two spots, especially considering that they’ll have home field advantage with games being played in Houston.
The tournament begins on March 5th, with the USA’s first game coming on March 6th against Brazil at Dalkin Park in Houston. They’ll play Great Britain the following day, Mexico on March 9th, and wrap up their tournament against Italy on March 10th.
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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