Glew: Who is Canada's team in the World Series?
Toronto Mets alum and Tampa Bay Rays catcher Liam Hicks (Toronto, Ont.) will be the only Canadian-born player in this year’s World Series.
October 22, 2026
By Kevin Glew
Canadian Baseball Network
It will be Ash versus Cash in this year’s World Series clash.
That first sentence sounds like it could’ve been written by Dr. Seuss, but I can assure you it was not.
It will be former Toronto Blue Jays general manager and current Milwaukee Brewers’ vice-president, baseball projects Gord Ash (Toronto, Ont.) against former Blue Jays catcher and current Tampa Bay Rays manager Kevin Cash in this year’s Fall Classic, which will begin at American Family Field in Milwaukee on Friday night.
Adding further intrigue to this “clash” is that it was under Ash’s reign as Blue Jays general manager that the club signed Cash as an amateur free agent in 1999.
But this is just one Canadian angle to this year’s World Series, a showdown that will assure us of a first-time World Series champion. Neither the Brewers or the Rays have ever won the World Series.
The Rays have Liam Hicks (Toronto, Ont.) - the only Canadian-born player left standing - while the Brewers have some prominent Canadian executives.
Both teams had the best records in their respective leagues, which should make for a long, hard-fought series.
So, without further ado, here’s a rundown of the Canadian content in this year’s World Series:
Toronto Mets grad Liam Hicks (Toronto, Ont.) has been a key member of the Tampa Bay Rays since being acquired from the Miami Marlins on Aug. 3.
1. Tampa Bay Rays
The Tampa Bay Rays are in the postseason for the 10th time, but this is the first year they have had a Canadian on their October roster.
The American League East division-winning Rays acquired catcher Liam Hicks (Toronto, Ont.) from the Miami Marlins on Aug. 3, and Hicks has been a key part of their offence. In 41 regular season games with the Rays, he had a .288/.379/.440 slash line with four home runs and 20 RBIs. And he had already been enjoying a breakout campaign with the Marlins.
In total, the Toronto Mets alum batted .284 with 18 home runs and 82 RBIs in 142 regular season games in 2026. He also finished the season as one of a select group of MLB hitters with more walks (56) than strikeouts (55).
After going just 1-for-10 in the Rays’ three-game sweep of the New York Yankees in the ALDS, Hicks improved at the dish against the Cleveland Guardians in the ALCS, going 5-for-17 (.294 batting average) with three RBIs.
Perhaps most impressive, however, has been Hicks’ game-calling behind the plate, which has drawn raves from his manager and veteran right-hander Freddy Peralta.
It has been a remarkable baseball journey for Hicks who less than two years ago was left unprotected by the Detroit Tigers in the Rule 5 draft and selected by the Marlins.
In March, he suited up for the Canadian national team for the first time at the World Baseball Classic.
Player: C Liam Hicks (Toronto, Ont.)
Minor league players: OF Slater de Brun (Bend, Ore., mom, Julie, lived in Toronto), C Nathan Flewelling (Innisfail, Alta.), INF Jack Lines (Okotoks, Alta.), INF Taj Marchand (Charleston, N.C., father, Hugo, from Montreal), OF Noah Myers (Wyoming, Ont.), OF Tom Poole (Winnipeg, Man.), LHP Jeremy Pilon (Salaberry-de-Valleyfield, Que.)
Ontario Blue Jays and Junior National Team alum Bo Naylor (Mississauga, Ont.) was acquired by the Milwaukee Brewers on Aug. 1. Photo: Brewers
2. 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 seemed to consistently 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 five years when thanks to input from the club’s director of international scouting and player personnel, Taylor Green (Comox, BC), 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.
The Brewers also added catcher Bo Naylor (Mississauga, Ont.) from the Guardians on August 1. Naylor played with the Brewers’ triple-A Nashville Sounds in August before being called up and going 2-for-7 in three games with the Brewers in September. With catchers William Contreras and Gary Sanchez ahead of him, Naylor is unlikely to be on the Brewers’ World Series roster.
Also, former Okotoks Dawgs right-hander and ex-Brewers closer Jim Henderson (Calgary, Alta.) is the Brewers’ pitching coordinator.
The Brewers finished with 103 wins during the regular season - the most in MLB - and they swept the reigning World Series championship Los Angeles Dodgers in the NLCS to secure their first Fall Classic berth since 1982.
Player: Bo Naylor (Mississauga, Ont.)
Minor league Players: INF Tyler Black (Stouffville, Ont.), INF Dylan O’Rae (Sarnia, Ont.)
Coach: Jim Henderson (Calgary, Alta.), MLB pitching coordinator
Executives: Doug Melvin (Chatham, Ont.), special assistant to the general manager; Gord Ash (Toronto, Ont.), vice-president, baseball projects; Taylor Green (Comox, BC), director of international scouting and player personnel, Brad McKay (Fredericton, NB) head strategist, skill acquisition
Scouts: Tyler Hollick (Calgary, Alta.), Doug Mathieson (Langley, BC), Pete Orr (Newmarket, Ont.), Taylor Frederick (Ottawa, Ont.)