Miami Marlins infielder Otto Lopez confirmed to Alfre Alvarez of Con Las Bases Llenas on July 1 that he will play for Canada in the 2026 World Baseball Classic.
Canada, managed by Ernie Whitt, will face Panama, Cuba, Colombia, and host nation Puerto Rico in Pool A of the 2026 WBC at Hiram Bithorn Stadium in San Juan from March 6–11.
Otto López habla del tremendo orgullo de jugar por #TeamCanada en el @WBCBaseball Desde pequeño se fue a vivir a Montreal y habla perfectamente el francés @baseballcanada pic.twitter.com/pTWEjAXwLn
— Alfre Alvarez 🇨🇺 (@AlfreAlvarez3) July 2, 2025
Whitt remains the only manager to have led a team in every World Baseball Classic since the tournament began in 2006.
Lopez, 26, was born in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, and moved to Montreal, Quebec, at age 12 when his father took a teaching job. This will be his second consecutive appearance in the WBC with Team Canada.
In 2023, Lopez played four games in Pool C at Chase Field in Phoenix, hitting .294/.333/.588 over 17 at-bats with four runs scored, five hits, one triple, one home run, six RBI, one walk, and one strikeout. Canada finished 2-2 in the pool, facing Great Britain, Colombia, Mexico, and the United States.
Potential returnees and first-time participants for Canada’s 2026 roster include Freddie Freeman, Josh Naylor, Bo Naylor, Tyler O’Neill, Abraham Toro, Denzel Clarke, David Calabrese, David McCabe, Jared Young, Trei Cruz, Charles LeBlanc, Edouard Julien, T.J. Schofield-Sam, Matt Lloyd, Bryce Arnold, Lamar King, Noah Myers, and Owen Caissie.
Pitchers and relievers in consideration include Rob Zastryzny, Indigo Diaz, Cade Smith, Michael Soroka, Cal Quantrill, Adam Loewen, Matt Duffy, Erik Sabrowski, Jordan Marks, Curtis Taylor, Ben Onyshko, Miguel Cienfuegos, Jameson Taillon, Christian MacLeod, Justin King, Andrew Albers, Eric Cerantola, Matt Brash, and Trevor Brigden.
A full list of Canadian-born minor leaguers can be found at the Canadian Baseball Network.
Lopez is in his fourth Major League season. He debuted with the Toronto Blue Jays in 2021 and remained with the organization through 2022. After spending the 2023 season at Triple-A Buffalo, Lopez was designated for assignment and traded to the San Francisco Giants on February 13, 2024.
He appeared in just two games for Triple-A Sacramento, going 1-for-6 with one strikeout before he was designated for assignment again on April 1. The Miami Marlins claimed him on April 4 and assigned him to Triple-A Jacksonville. He was promoted to Miami on April 15 after just seven games with Jacksonville.
Lopez landed on the 10-day injured list on May 4, 2025, with a right-ankle sprain. He was sent to a rehab assignment with Triple-A Jacksonville on May 16 and was activated by Miami on May 18.
He also missed time in 2024, landing on the 10-day injured list on July 4 with lower-back inflammation before being activated on July 19.
In 117 games for Miami during the 2024 season, Lopez hit .270 across 433 plate appearances with 109 hits, 23 doubles, one triple, six home runs, 39 RBI, 20 stolen bases, 25 walks, and 75 strikeouts, posting a .690 OPS.
During 2025 spring training, Lopez appeared in 18 games and hit .333/.400/.500 with 16 hits, two doubles, two home runs, seven RBI, five walks, and six strikeouts over 48 at-bats.
So far this season, Lopez has played in 68 games for the Marlins and is batting .257 with 282 plate appearances, 65 hits, nine doubles, eight home runs, 40 RBI, nine stolen bases, 26 walks, 38 strikeouts, and a .717 OPS.
Across his MLB career, Lopez has appeared in 194 games, hitting .270 with 180 hits, 32 doubles, one triple, 14 home runs, 82 RBI, 29 stolen bases, 52 walks, 115 strikeouts, and a .709 OPS over 726 plate appearances.
WBC History
Japan has won the most WBC championships with three in 2006, 2009, and 2023. The United States won in 2017 and the Dominican Republic won in 2013 and are the only other countries to win the WBC since the event started in 2006.
The WBC is sanctioned by the World Baseball Softball Confederation, the sports governing body alongside Major League Baseball, the Major League Baseball Players Association and the WBCI, that partner in organizing the event during spring training.
The 2026 WBC pool matchups for all games are listed here, along with confirmed dates; however, no game start times have been announced yet.
2026 World Baseball Classic Information
Nicaragua will play against Venezuela, Israel, the Netherlands, and the Dominican Republic in Miami at loanDepot Park from March 6-11 in Pool D.
Puerto Rico, Cuba, Canada, Panama, and Colombia will compete in San Juan, Puerto Rico at Hiram Bithorn Stadium from March 6-11 in Pool A.
Japan, Australia, South Korea, Czech Republic, and Chinese Taipei will compete at the Tokyo Dome from March 5-10 in Pool C.
The Quarterfinals of the 2026 WBC will feature the Pool A runner-up facing the Pool B winner on March 13, while the Pool B runner-up will face the Pool A winner on March 14 at Daikin Park.
The other side of the Quarterfinals will be on March 13 with the Pool C runner-up playing the Pool D winner and the Pool D runner-up and the Pool C winner playing on March 14 at loanDepot Park.
The 2026 WBC semifinals will be held on March 15 and 16 at loanDepot Park, with the championship game taking place on March 17.
WBSC Rankings Outline
Japan is ranked at No. 1 in the World Baseball Rankings and will play in their sixth WBC. Chinese Taipei hails at No. 2. and will play in their sixth event. Venezuela at No. 3 and will appear for the sixth time at the WBC. Mexico is at No. 4 and will play in their sixth WBC. The United States is at No. 5 and will appear for the sixth time in the WBC. South Korea is labeled at No. 6 and will play in their sixth WBC.
The Netherlands at No. 7 will play in the WBC for the sixth time. Panama at No. 8 will play at the event for the fourth time. Puerto Rico crawling in at No. 9 will appear for the sixth time. Cuba is at No. 10 and will appear in the sixth WBC. The Dominican Republic at No. 11 will play in their sixth event. Australia pipelines at No. 12 and will play for the sixth time at the WBC.
Colombia at No. 13 and will appear in their third WBC. Italy is at No. 14 and will play in their sixth event The Czech Republic at No. 15 will appear in their second WBC. Nicaragua is ranked at No. 16 and will appear in the WBC for the second-time.
Great Britain at No. 18 will play for the second time at the WBC. Israel is ranked at No. 19 and will play in their third WBC. Canada is at No. 22 and will play in their sixth event. Brazil is ranked at No. 23 and will play in their second WBC.
In the 2023 WBC, Nicaragua, Great Britain, and the Czech Republic played in their first event. Israel and Colombia have played in three consecutive WBC events dating back to 2017. Brazil is appearing in the WBC for the first time since 2013. Panama has played in the WBC previously in 2006, 2009 and 2023, prior to 2026.
China will not be participating for the first time in the WBC since they did not qualify in the second qualifier in Tucson, Ariz., while going 0-3. They have been in the WBC since 2006, in the event’s first year.
The teams that are playing in the 2026 WBC and are part of the WBSC Americas sector are the United States, Canada, Mexico, Venezuela, Colombia, Panama, Puerto Rico, Cuba, Nicaragua, Brazil, and the Dominican Republic. In the WBSC Europe sector, Italy, Israel, Great Britain, the Czech Republic and the Netherlands are participating in the 2026 event.
Japan, Chinese Taipei, and South Korea are in the WBSC Asia sector and Australia is in the WBSC Oceania sector.
All the other listed remaining countries have played in the WBC since its first year in 2006.
The WBC is sanctioned by the World Baseball Softball Confederation, the sports governing body alongside Major League Baseball, the Major League Baseball Players Association and the WBCI, that partner in organizing the event during spring training.
The 2026 WBC pool matchups for all games are slated on https://www.mlb.com/world-baseball-classic/venues with the confirmed dates, and no game start times have yet been announced.
If teams end up with the same record in pool play the Total Quality Balance run differential rule will be in effect for runs for and runs against alongside the head-to-head record.
2026 WBC Pool Matchups With Confirmed Dates
Pool A – Puerto Rico, Colombia, Panama, Canada & Cuba
Venue – Hiram Bithorn Stadium – San Juan, Puerto Rico
March 6
Game 1 – Cuba vs. Panama
Game 2 – Puerto Rico vs. Colombia
March 7
Game 3 – Colombia vs. Canada
Game 4 – Panama vs. Puerto Rico
March 8
Game 5 – Colombia vs. Cuba
Game 6 – Panama vs. Canada
March 9
Game 7 – Colombia vs. Panama
Game 8 – Cuba vs. Puerto Rico
March 10
Game 9 – Canada vs. Puerto Rico
March 11
Game 10 – Canada vs. Cuba
Pool B – United States, Mexico, Brazil, Great Britain & Italy
Venue – Daikin Park – Houston, Texas
March 6
Game 1 – Mexico vs. Great Britain
Game 2 – United States vs. Brazil
March 7
Game 3 – Brazil vs. Italy
Game 4 – Great Britain vs. United States
March 8
Game 5 – Great Britain vs. Italy
Game 6 – Brazil vs. Mexico
March 9
Game 7 – Brazil vs. Great Britain
Game 8 – Mexico vs. United States
March 10
Game 9 – Italy vs. United States
March 11
Game 10 – Italy vs. Mexico
Pool C – Japan, Chinese Taipei, Australia, South Korea & Czech Republic
Venue – Tokyo Dome – Tokyo, Japan
March 5
Game 1 – Chinese Taipei vs. Australia
Game 2 – Czechia vs. South Korea
March 6
Game 3 – Australia vs. Czechia
Game 4 – Japan vs. Chinese Taipei
March 7
Game 5 – Chinese Taipei vs. Czechia
Game 6 – South Korea vs. Japan
March 8
Game 7 – Chinese Taipei vs. South Korea
Game 8 – Australia vs. Japan
March 9
Game 9 – South Korea vs. Australia
March 10
Game 10 – Czechia vs. Japan
Pool D – Dominican Republic, Netherlands, Venezuela, Israel & Nicaragua
Venue – loanDepot Park – Miami, Fla.
March 6
Game 1 – Netherlands vs. Venezuela
Game 2 – Nicaragua vs. Dominican Republic
March 7
Game 3 – Nicaragua vs. Netherlands
Game 4 – Israel vs. Venezuela
March 8
Game 5 – Netherlands vs. Dominican Republic
Game 6 – Nicaragua vs. Israel
March 9
Game 7 – Dominican Republic vs. Israel
Game 8 – Venezuela vs. Nicaragua
March 10
Game 9 – Israel vs. Netherlands
March 11
Game 10 – Dominican Republic vs. Venezuela
