8 former Blue Jays who are worth watching at the World Baseball Classic

Over a dozen current members of the Toronto Blue Jays are suiting up for 11 different countries at the World Baseball Classic which gets underway this week, with the opening game taking place on Wednesday, March 4, with Australia hosting Chinese Taipei at the Tokyo Dome.

From there the tournament will be in full swing with games taking place in Houston, Miami, San Juan and Tokyo, with those Blue Jays players scattered across the globe. And while they will certainly be worth keeping tabs on as they compete for their respective nations, there are some ex-Blue Jays who are worth watching as well.

These former Blue Jays are hoping to lead their country to glory at the 2026 World Baseball Classic

Yusei Kikuchi

The most notable of the bunch is arguably former starting pitcher Kikuchi, who played for the Blue Jays from 2022-2024, getting traded at that year's deadline for Jake Bloss, Joey Loperfido and Will Wagner in a deal with the Houston Astros. Kikuchi had a great year in 2025 with the LA Angles, pitching to a 3.3 bWAR, throwing 178.1 innings in 33 starts and compiling a 3.99 ERA and 174 strikeouts. Kikuchi will be making his WBC debut, suiting up for the defending champion's Samurai Japan. He's part of a stacked rotation that includes World Series MVP Yoshinobu Yamamoto.

Seranthony Dominguez

A member of the Blue Jays World Series roster, Dominguez found a new place to play in 2026, as he signed as a free agent with the Chicago White Sox. Dominguez had a 3.00 ERA in 24 games with Toronto after the trade deadline and had 10 strikeouts in 11.1 innings of playoff baseball with a 3.18 ERA. He'll be looking to bring that swing and miss stuff to Team Dominican Republic's bullpen, which could be their Achilles heel in this tournament as they don't have the same depth as some of the other countries.

Taijuan Walker

Sticking with pitching, Walker's tenure with the Blue Jays lasted less than half a season as he was picked up at the trade deadline during the COVID-19 shortened season, and helped them reach the expanded playoffs that year. Since then, Walker has played in the NL East, pitching for the NY Mets and Philadelphia Phillies. The 34-year-old right hander could be pitching to current Blue Jays' catcher Alejandro Kirk as the pair suit up for Team Mexico. This team reached the semi-finals of the last event in 2023, and they'll be looking to repeat that success.

Matthew Boyd

Originally drafted in the sixth round by the Blue Jays in the 2013 MLB draft, Boyd was part of the trade package sent to the Tigers in exchange for David Price, a deal which any Blue Jays fan would make ten times out of ten. To Boyd's credit, he's put together some successful seasons in within the last five years, including 2025 in which he made 31 starts, and had a 3.21 ERA in 179.2 innings pitched for the Chicago Cubs. He'll be on one of the tournament favourites, Team USA has a stacked squad, but there are some questions surround their pitching as some players won't be present for the entirety of the tournament. That, perhaps, gives Boyd an even better chance to shine.

Spencer Horwitz

Horwitz played in 112 games in Toronto over two season's and showed some promise of being a guy who could turn into a high contact hitter with a good command of the strike zone, putting up a .355 OBP and .783 OPS over those two years. But Horwitz was sent to Cleveland in the Andrés Giménez deal before the 2025 season, and then was flipped to Pittsburgh. The 28-year-old should get plenty of playing time for as long as Israel is in the tournament as he'll likely be their go-to guy at first base and can also slide over to second if needed. He'll join current Blue Jays prospect RJ Schreck on that team.

Otto Lopez

The Dominican born, Canadian raised Lopez will be closely watched by many Blue Jays fans - assuming those Blue Jays fans are also cheering for Team Canada. Lopez moved to Montreal when he was young and he also suited up for the Canadian Junior National Team prior to being signed as an international free agent by Toronto. He made his MLB debut with Blue Jays in 2021 but was eventually selected off waivers by Miami where he has seemingly found a home with the Marlins. Over the last two seasons, the 27-year-old infielder has been worth 6.1 bWAR, hitting .257/.308/.372 with 21 home runs 35 stolen bases and 243 hits in 260 games played. With Canada, Lopez will be one of the more experienced infielders and should be in a starting role throughout the tournament.

Gio Urshela

Urshela played in 19 unremarkable games for the Blue Jays in 2018, but then went on to hit .292/.335/.480 with 41 home runs and 296 hits in 291 games over the next three seasons with the New York Yankees. The 34-year-old Urshela will suit up for a Colombian squad who has qualified for the WBC just twice before and has yet to win a game at the tournament. But Urshela himself is a big part of Colombia's national program becoming more competitive as he helped elevate their presence after making his MLB debut in 2015. Urshela and the Colombians will play in Pool A against Lopez and the Canadians

Hyun-jin Ryu

Ryu left MLB three years ago when his four-year deal with the Blue Jays came to an end, but since then he has been pitching well the Hanwha Eagles of the KBO, throwing nearly 300 innings with a 3.57 ERA since the start of 2024. The 39-year-old Ryu will be leading a Team Korea squad that has had some prior success in this tournament, finishing as the runners ups in a 5-3 loss to Japan in the final game of the 2009 tournament. Ryu threw two scoreless innings in a tune up game earlier this week and looks to be in fine form with the Classic approaching.