Canadian baseball bettors don’t have to wait for Opening Day in order to bet on meaningful games this year thanks to the 2026 World Baseball Classic, which begins on March 7 for Canada.
Canada has appeared in every World Baseball Classic since its inception in 2006, but this year’s squad has a real chance of making some noise thanks to an abundance of MLB talent on the roster. Led by household MLB names like Josh Naylor, Tyler O’Neill, and Jameson Taillon, 22 of the 30 players that will represent Canada are on MLB rosters or expanded minor-league rosters.
Canada to win World Baseball Classic
Unfortunately, Canada’s biggest MLB star, Freddie Freeman, elected not to represent his country as the 2026 WBC due to personal reasons, but there are plenty of hungry players on the roster ready to make an impact.
Let’s take a look at Canada’s roster, schedule, and pool/outright odds for the 2026 World Baseball Classic.
Canada’s World Baseball Classic roster
Position players
| Player | Position (MLB organization, if applicable) |
| Liam Hicks | Catcher (Miami Marlins) |
| Bo Naylor | Catcher (Cleveland Guardians) |
| Tyler Black | Infielder (Milwaukee Brewers) |
| Matt Davidson | Infielder |
| Adam Hall | Infielder |
| Edouard Julien | Infielder (Colorado Rockies) |
| Otto Lopez | Infielder (Miami Marlins) |
| Josh Naylor | Infielder (Seattle Mariners) |
| Abraham Toro | Infielder (KC Royals) |
| Owen Caissie | Outfielder (Miami Marlins) |
| Denzel Clarke | Outfielder (Athletics) |
| Tyler O’Neill | Outfielder (Baltimore Orioles) |
| Jacob Robson | Outfielder ( |
| Jared Young | Outfielder (NY Mets) |
Pitchers
| Player | MLB Organization (if applicable) |
| Logan Allen | Cleveland Guardians |
| Micah Ashman | Baltimore Orioles |
| Phillippe Aumont | |
| Jordan Balazovic | |
| Eric Cerantola | KC Royals |
| Indigo Diaz | Arizona Diamondbacks |
| Brock Dykxhoorn | |
| Antoine Jean | Colorado Rockies |
| Adam Macko | Toronto Blue Jays |
| James Paxton | |
| Cal Quantrill | Texas Rangers |
| Noah Skirrow | |
| Mike Soroka | Arizona Diamondbacks |
| Jameson Taillon | Chicago Cubs |
| Matt Wilkinson | Cleveland Guardians |
| Rob Zastryzny | Milwaukee Brewers |
There’s enough talent on this roster to pull off a few upsets and perhaps advance to the knockout rounds of the tournament. The Naylor brothers are proven MLB talents and there are some youngsters, like Owen Caissie and Denzel Clarke, that could surprise and be key contributors for Canada offensively.
From a pitching perspective, Canada has proven arms and considerable depth to rely on. Logan Allen, Mike Soroka, James Paxton, Cal Quantrill, and Taillon are all capable of silencing top-end bats and should help keep games competitive. The talent level drops off a bit when examining Canada’s relief options, but if the group is mixed and matched appropriately, Canada should be able to navigate the later innings of games at a respectable level.
Canada’s World Baseball Classic schedule
Canada will compete in Pool A round-robin play against Puerto Rico, Cuba, Panama, and Colombia.
- Canada vs. Colombia: March 7, 11 a.m. ET
- Panama vs. Canada: March 8, 7 p.m. ET
- Canada vs. Puerto Rico: March 10, 7 p.m. ET
- Canada vs. Cuba: March 11, 3 p.m. ET
*All games will be played at Hiram Bithorn Stadium in San Juan, Puerto Rico.
The top two teams in the Pool A standings after round-robin play will advance to the quarterfinal knockout round beginning on March 13.
Canada to win Pool A
World Baseball Classic outright and group odds (top 10 teams)
| Team | To Win Pool Odds | Outright Odds |
| USA | -750 (Pool B) | -110 |
| Japan | -700 (Pool C) | +350 |
| Dominican Republic | -160 (Pool D) | +425 |
| Venezuela | +145 (Pool D) | +900 |
| Puerto Rico | -130 (Pool A) | +1800 |
| Mexico | +600 (Pool B) | +2000 |
| Canada | +350 (Pool A) | +5000 |
| South Korea | +800 (Pool C) | +6000 |
| Netherlands | +1400 (Pool D) | +7500 |
| Colombia | +550 (Pool A) | +7500 |
Canada has the second-shortest odds to win Pool A, suggesting it has an excellent chance of qualifying for the quarterfinal round as one of the top two teams in the group. Overall, the Canadians have the seventh-shortest odds to win the tournament at a long +5000 price.
USA is the favourite with -110 odds to win the 2026 World Baseball Classic, boasting top MLB stars such as Paul Skenes, Tarik Skubal, Bryce Harper, and Aaron Judge, among many others.
Japan, the defending World Baseball Classic champions, also boasts a star-studded squad featuring Shohei Ohtani and new Toronto Blue Jay Kazuma Okamoto. There’s serious value on the Japanese squad at +350 odds.
Rounding out the top three in outright odds is the Dominican Republic, another squad loaded with high-end talent that hasn’t won this event since 2013. Blue Jays slugger Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and a plethora of other MLB stars (Juan Soto, Julio Rodriguez, and Fernando Tatis Jr.) representing the Dominican Republic also have great value in this event as +425 underdogs.