The World Baseball Classic is just a few months away.
On top of that, the annual World Junior Championship is ongoing, while the 2026 World Cup begins next summer. International sports is always fun and last week, MLB.com’s Michael Clair released an article for the site, looking at an All-World roster of sorts.
That article featured one player from each country not named the United States, including one Toronto Blue Jay, Alejandro Kirk.
He was Mexico’s representative, and for good reason. Kirk’s resurgence was a big reason the 2025 Blue Jays finished where they did. In 506 plate appearances, Kirk slashed .282/.348/.421 with 15 home runs, with a 9.5 BB% and 11.7 K%. While his 116 wRC+ wasn’t as good as the 129 wRC+ he posted in 2022, Kirk hit a career-best 15 home runs and finished with a career-high 4.7 fWAR.
That’s thanks to strong defence. The 27-year-old catcher finished with 9 Defensive Runs Saved and 22 Fielding Runs Valued, finishing as a finalist for the American League Gold Glove at the catcher position. Realistically, he should’ve won it as he had the strongest metrics for any catcher in the American League, and there’s a legitimate argument he’s been the best defensive catcher since 2022.
Anyway, Kirk had a strong postseason outing as well. Over 83 plate appearances, the Blue Jays’ catcher slashed .254/.349/.493 with five home runs for a 132 wRC+, while walking 10.8% of the time.
He’s truly emerged as one of the best catchers in the league, and one of those five postseason home runs came in Game 3 of the American League Championship Series. Another player who participated in that game and series was Canadian Josh Naylor. He was Canada’s representative, slotting in at first base.
Last season, Naylor split his time between the Arizona Diamondbacks and Seattle Mariners in 2025. Overall, he slashed .295/.353/.462 with 20 home runs in 604 plate appearances, for a 128 wRC+ and 3.1 fWAR. In the playoffs, Naylor slashed .340/.392/.574 with three home runs in 51 plate appearances for a 176 wRC+. At the end of the season, he was announced as the Tip O’Neill Award recipient, the second time in his career he’s won the award.
Other notable players on the list are Jazz Chisholm Jr. at second base, Andy Pages, Shohei Ohtani, and Edwin Díaz.
The 2026 World Baseball Classic begins on Mar. 5.
Ryley Delaney is a Nation Network writer for Blue Jays Nation, Oilersnation, and FlamesNation. She can be followed on Twitter @Ryley__Delaney.