UPDATED: And then there were four, a look at the Canadians left in MLB postseason

Toronto Blue Jays slugger Vladimir Guerrero Jr. (Montreal, Que.) celebrates with Blue Jays fans after the club clinched the American League East title on Sunday. Photo: Toronto Blue Jays/Facebook

*Vladimir Guerrero Jr. images are from the Toronto Blue Jays Facebook page.

October 12, 2025

By Kevin Glew

Canadian Baseball Network

It’s likely the most Canadian American League Championship Series ever.

The Toronto Blue Jays and their Montreal-born slugger Vladimir Guerrero Jr. will face Josh Naylor (Mississauga, Ont.) and Matt Brash (Kingston, Ont.) and the rest of the Seattle Mariners starting tonight at 8 p.m. E.T.

Thanks to the Blue Jays’ superior regular season record, the series will begin at Rogers Centre before transitioning to Safeco Park in Seattle on Wednesday. Safeco is located across the border from Vancouver, so you can bet there will be plenty of B.C. Blue Jays fans making the trek.

In the National League Championship Series, two-time Team Canada member Freddie Freeman and the reigning World Series champion Dodgers will take on the Milwaukee Brewers, who may or may not feature left-hander Rob Zastryzny (Edmonton, Alta.) in their bullpen. They don’t have to unveil their NLCS roster until tomorrow.

Here’s a deeper look at the Canadian content left in the postseason.

1. Toronto Blue Jays

Prior to the American League Division Series, I wrote that for the Blue Jays to make a deep postseason run, they will need Vladimir Guerrero Jr. (Montreal, Que.) - the only Canadian-born player on their roster - to rediscover his power stroke.

Well, guess what?

Guerrero Jr. rediscovered his power stroke.

He homered in each of the first three games of the American League Division Series against the New York Yankees and according to Sportsnet Stats, he became the first player in major league history to have nine hits and nine RBIs in the first four games of a postseason.

With a fan base that extends across the country, the Blue Jays are undoubtedly Canada’s team this postseason and they will be looking to avenge their ugly Wild-Card series loss to the M’s in 2022.

Players: 1B Vladimir Guerrero Jr. (Montreal, Que.)

Major league coaches: Alex Andreopoulos (Toronto, Ont.), bullpen catcher; Sam Greene (born in Philadelphia, spent five years in Montreal attending McGill, mother is from Thetford Mines, Que.), assistant pitching coach

Trainers/Medical staff: Voon Chong (Vancouver, BC), assistant trainer; Drew MacDonald (Teeswater, Ont.), assistant trainer; John Biggar (Toronto, Ont.), physical therapist; Dr. David Lawrence (Toronto, Ont.), head primary care physician; Dr. Jason Smith (Toronto, Ont.) consulting orthopedic surgeon; Jeremy Trach (Coquitlam, B.C.), major league assistant strength & conditioning coach

Clubhouse staff: Scott Blinn (Toronto, Ont.), director, major league clubhouse operations; Mustafa (Moose) Hassan (Toronto, Ont.), home clubhouse manager, equipment; Kevin Malloy (Pickering, Ont.), senior manager, visiting clubhouse

Minor league players: OF Dasan Brown (Oakville, Ont.), RHP Micah Bucknam (Abbotsford, BC), C Nicolas Deschamps (Quebec, Que.), LHP Adam Macko (Stony Plain, Alta.), LHP Connor O’Halloran (Mississauga, Ont.), 3B Damiano Palmegiani (Surrey, BC), INF-OF Tim Piasentin (Coquitlam, BC), INF Sam Shaw (Victoria, BC.), RHP Aiden Taggart (Grimsby, Ont.), 3B Sam White (Aurora, Ont.)

Executives: Edward Rogers (Toronto, Ont.), executive chair of the board; Andrew Tinnish (Ottawa, Ont.), vice-president, international scouting and baseball operations; Marnie Starkman (Mississauga, Ont.), executive vice-president, business operations; Paul Beeston (Welland, Ont.), president emeritus; Paul Quantrill (Port Hope, Ont.), special assistant to player development; Mark Ditmars (Toronto, Ont.), vice-president, partnerships; Devin McElroy (Toronto, Ont.), director, ticket sales and business development; Michelle Seniuk (Oakville, Ont.), vice-president, fan experience; Alex Wong (Toronto, Ont.), senior vice-president, strategy and analytics, technology and events business development

Front office staff: Charlie Wilson (Toronto, Ont.), director, minor league operations; Spencer Estey (Toronto, Ont.), senior software engineer; Anna Coppola (Windsor, Ont.), executive assistant to the GM; Gabrielle Campos (Brampton, Ont.), senior data engineer, baseball systems; Jeremy Reesor (Stouffville, Ont.), vice president, baseball operations; Clare Padmore (Toronto, Ont.), senior manager, biomechanist; John Meloche (Pakenham, Ont.), lead developer, baseball systems; Liam Stevenson (Toronto, Ont.), senior data scientist; Anthony Lucchese (Toronto, Ont.), quality assurance analyst; Rodney Hiemstra, manager, team travel; Alykhan Ravjiani (Toronto, Ont.), senior manager, social media and real time content;

Minor League coaches/staff: Ashley Stephenson (Mississauga, Ont.), position coach, Dunedin Blue Jays; Brent Lavallee (North Delta, BC), field manager, New Hampshire Fisher Cats; Stephanie Boville (Waterloo, Ont.), nutritionist, New Hampshire Fisher Cats; Tyler Dobos (Ancaster, Ont.), pitching resource analyst; Shelby Nelson (Toronto, Ont.), vice-president, Florida operations; Noah Or (Richmond, BC), strength and conditioning coach, Vancouver Canadians; Katie Reyes (Surrey, BC), athletic therapist, Vancouver Canadians; Jaimie Vieira (Georgetown, Ont.), minor league hitting coach

Scouts/Player Performance: Kory Lafreniere (Sault Ste. Marie, Ont.) assistant director, amateur scouting; Jon Lalonde (Midland, Ont.), manager, player personnel; Kevin Briand (Montreal, Que.), Jay Lapp (London, Ont.), Adam Arnold (London, Ont.), Jasmin Roy (Longueuil, Que.), Rene Tosoni (Port Coquitlam, B.C.), Patrick Griffin (Oakville, Ont.), Matt McCue (Bradford, Ont.), international scouting analyst; Tommy Farah (Ottawa, Ont.) senior analyst, pro scouting; Megan Evans (Brooklin, Ont.), Graydon Carruthers (Toronto, Ont.), senior data scientist; Julio Ramirez (Toronto, Ont.), senior coordinator, international scouting; Dan Goldberg (Toronto, Ont.), lead data scientist; Ryan Mittleman (Toronto, Ont.) vice-president, pro scouting; Josh Goreham (Halifax, NS), lead performance analyst; Peter L’Oiseau (Gatineau, Que.), data scientist; Matt McCue (Bradford, Ont.), international scouting analyst; Liam Ralph (King City, Ont.), baseball research analyst; Liam Stevenson (Toronto, Ont.), senior data scientist

And the media relations team of: Andrea Goldstein (Toronto, Ont.), vice-president, communications; Madeleine Davidson (Toronto, Ont.), director, business communications; Adam Felton (Georgetown, Ont.) director, baseball communications; Simon Wells (Toronto, Ont.), manager, baseball information.

Ontario Blue Jays and Junior National Team alum Josh Naylor (Mississauga, Ont.) batted .299 and had 18 stolen bases in 54 games with the Seattle Mariners to help them win the American League West division title. Photo: Seattle Mariners

2. Seattle Mariners

It wouldn’t be a stretch to say that without their two Canadians - Naylor and Brash - the Mariners would not have beaten the Detroit Tigers in the fifth-and-deciding game of their American League Division Series. The 5-foot-10, 235-pound Naylor, who also became a father last week, had three hits and a crucial stolen base in the second inning, while Brash tossed two scoreless innings in relief in the Mariners’ 3-2, 15-inning marathon win.

And none of this should surprise anyone.

Naylor has become one of the Mariners’ most popular players since he was acquired from the Arizona Diamondbacks on July 24. Not only has he been pounding the ball with the M’s - .299 with nine home runs, 10 doubles and an .831 OPS in 54 regular season games and back-to-back three-hit games to end the ALDS - but he has also been tearing up the base paths. As noted, he had a key stolen base in Game 5 of the ALDS and had a surprising 30 on the season.

Brash finished the ALDS with a 1.93 ERA and seven strikeouts in 4 2/3 innings in four appearances. That’s about what the Mariners have come to expect from the Canadian with the devastating slider. In the regular season, Brash served as a key setup man after his return from Tommy John surgery in early May. In 53 relief appearances, the 6-foot-1 right-hander posted a 2.47 ERA and had 21 holds and four saves. He has fanned 58 batters in 47 1/3 innings.

Players: RHP Matt Brash (Kingston, Ont.), 1B Josh Naylor (Mississauga, Ont.)

Minor league players: C Connor Dykstra (Chilliwack, B.C.)

Coach: Louis Boyd (North Vancouver, B.C), major league field coordinator; Michael Saunders (Victoria, B.C.), roving instructor

Left-hander Rob Zastryzny (Edmonton, Alta.) posted a 2.45 ERA in 26 relief appearances for the Milwaukee Brewers this season. Photo: Milwaukee Brewers

3. Milwaukee Brewers

When Doug Melvin (Chatham, Ont.) was the general manager of the Brewers from 2002 to 2015, and Gord Ash (Toronto, Ont.) was his assistant GM, the Brewers consistently seemed to have the most (or close to the most) Canadian players in their system. This changed under more recent regimes, but it has rebounded somewhat in the past few years when thanks to input from the club’s special assistant of scouting and international player development, Taylor Green (Comox, B.C.), and area scout Pete Orr (Newmarket, Ont.), the Brewers selected Tyler Black (Stouffville, Ont.) 33rd overall in the 2021 MLB draft and INF Dylan O’Rae (Sarnia, Ont.) 102nd overall in 2022.

Black made his major league debut in 2024 and hit .250 in five games with the Brewers this season. He has not been on the Brewers’ postseason roster this year.

Meanwhile, left-hander Rob Zastryzny (Edmonton, Alta.) became a go-to left-handed reliever for the club during the regular season. In 26 appearances, he went 2-1 with a 2.45 ERA and fanned 20 in 22 innings. Unfortunately, he was left off the Brewers’ National League Division Series roster.

Former Okotoks Dawgs right-hander and ex-Brewers closer Jim Henderson (Calgary, Alta.) is the Brewers’ assistant pitching and strategy coach.

The Brewers finished with 97 wins this season - the most in MLB. On Saturday, they eliminated the Cubs in the fifth-and-deciding games of their NLDS.

Players: INF Tyler Black (Stouffville, Ont.), LHP Rob Zastryzny (Edmonton, Alta.)

Coach: Jim Henderson (Calgary, Alta.), assistant pitching and strategy coach

Minor league players: INF Dylan O’Rae (Sarnia, Ont.), INF Adam Hall (London, Ont.)

Executives: Doug Melvin (Chatham, Ont.), special assistant to the general manager; Gord Ash (Toronto, Ont.), vice-president, baseball projects; Taylor Green (Comox, BC), special assistant of scouting and international player development

Minor league coaches: Brad McKay (Fredericton, N.B.), lead strategist, skill acquisition

Scouts: Tyler Hollick (Calgary, Alta.), Doug Mathieson (Langley, BC), Pete Orr (Newmarket, Ont.), Taylor Frederick (Ottawa, Ont.)

Ellen Harrigan (Beeton, Ont.) is the Los Angeles Dodgers’ vice-president, baseball administration.

4. Los Angeles Dodgers

The Dodgers don’t have a player born in Canada on their roster, however, first baseman Freddie Freeman’s parents were born north of the border, and he played for Canada in the 2017 and 2023 World Baseball Classics. Prior to the 2022 season, Freeman inked a six-year, $162-million contract with the Dodgers. And he certainly hasn’t disappointed. He has been an All-Star in each of his four seasons with the club. In 2025, he batted .295 and had a .367 on-base percentage with 24 home runs and 90 RBIs in 147 games. He had an uncharacteristically quiet NLDS series against the Philadelphia Phillies, going 3-for-15 (.200 batting average) without an RBI. But he has a reputation for being better as he gets deeper into the postseason.

The Dodgers also employ Beeton, Ont., native Ellen Harrigan, who is one of Major League Baseball’s most respected executives. After beginning her career with the Blue Jays as an administrative aide in player development in 1981 and later becoming the general manager of the club’s New York Penn League affiliate in St. Catharines, Harrigan moved on to the Dodgers and has risen through the organization’s ranks to hold a number of key executive positions. Now in her 26th season with the club, she is currently the team’s vice-president, baseball administration.

The Dodgers defeated the Phillies in four games in their NLDS. Game 1 of their NLCS against the Brewers will begin on Monday night.

Player: Freddie Freeman (Villa Park, Calif.), WBC eligible

Executive: Ellen Veronica Harrigan (Beeton, Ont.), senior director, baseball administration

Minor league players: LHP Shane Brinham (North Vancouver, B.C.), OF Charles Davalan (St-Bruno-De-Montarville, Que.), RHP Cam Leiter (Bayville, N.J., lived for part of his youth in Vancouver, B.C.), RHP Lucas Wepf (Georgetown, Ont.)

Doctor: Dr. Keith Pyne (Niagara On The Lake, Ont.), medical consultant