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Blue Jays: Vladimir Guerrero Jr. will play for the Dominican Republic in WBC
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Photo credit: © Nick Turchiaro-Imagn Images
Ryley Delaney
Jan 28, 2026, 16:30 ESTUpdated: Jan 28, 2026, 16:28 EST
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To the absolute surprise of no one, Vladimir Guerrero Jr. will be participating with the Dominican Republic in the upcoming World Baseball Classic.
On Wednesday morning, the team’s Twitter account announced that the Toronto Blue Jays’ first baseman will be playing for the powerhouse in March’s WBC. This will be the first time Guerrero Jr. will play for the Dominican Republic at the WBC. Recently, Kazuma Okamoto was confirmed to play for Team Japan in the upcoming tournament.
The first baseman was announced to their roster in 2023, but pulled out in early March, 2023 as he suffered a minor knee injury. They went on to finish third in their group behind Venezuela and Puerto Rico, but ahead of Israel and Nicaragua. It was a disappointing tournament for one of the best baseball nations in the world, as they failed to qualify for the quarterfinals.
In March’s tournament, the Dominican Republic will have an opportunity to avenge their disappointing 2023 tournament. They’ll be in Pool D with three of the four teams they played in the 2023 tournament. However, Puerto Rico will be in a different group (involving Canada), and Pool D will instead have the Netherlands in the group.
Pool D action will be played at LoanDepot Park from March 6th to March 11th. The Dominican Republic plays Nicaragua on March 6th, the Netherlands on March 8th, Israel on March 9th, and Venezuela on March 11th.
Landing Guerrero Jr. is a good step in avenging the disappointing tournament in 2023. Last season with the Blue Jays, the first baseman slashed .292/.381/.467 with 23 home runs in 680 plate appearances for a 137 wRC+ and 3.9 fWAR, statistically his third-best season of his career.
Guerrero Jr. took his play to a whole new level in the postseason, as he slashed .397/.494/.795 with eight home runs in 89 plate appearances for an incredible 241 wRC+. He won the American League Championship MVP, and broke the record for the most home runs hit by a Blue Jay in a single postseason.
The first baseman has shown the ability to perform under the bright lights, so expect nothing different when the tournament kicks off in March.
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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