Josh Naylor named captain of Canada's WBC squad

Ontario Blue Jays grad and Seattle Mariners first baseman Josh Naylor (Mississauga, Ont.) has been named captain of Canada’s World Baseball Classic squad. Photo: Baseball Canada

March 3, 2026

By Kevin Glew

Canadian Baseball Network

Josh Naylor has been named the captain of Canada’s World Baseball Class team.

Baseball Canada made the announcement on social media on Monday, which was the first day of Canada’s pre-World Baseball Classic camp in Dunedin, Fla.

Naylor (Mississauga, Ont.) is a Junior National Team grad. He also had two at bats for Canada at the 2017 World Baseball Classic.

In November, Naylor signed a five-year, $92.5-million contract to stay with the Seattle Mariners. The following month, he was voted the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame’s Tip O’Neill Award winner, as top Canuck player in 2025.

Splitting the 2025 campaign between the Arizona Diamondbacks and the Mariners, Naylor topped all Canadian major leaguers in batting average (.295), RBIs (92) and stolen bases (30). He also finished second among Canuck big leaguers in hits (160), runs (81), home runs (20), doubles (29) and walks (48).

Naylor was at his best in September with the Mariners battling for the American League West division title when he hit .364 and had a .982 OPS in 22 games.

In 2025, he also became just the fourth first baseman in MLB history and the second Canadian to record 20 home runs and 30 stolen bases in the same season (Larry Walker (Maple Ridge, B.C.) was the first with the Colorado Rockies in 1997).

In 12 games in the postseason, Naylor batted .340, with a .966 OPS and led the Mariners with 16 hits. He also set several Canadian postseason records, including becoming the first Canuck to have four, three-hit games in the same postseason. In Game 2 of the American League Championship Series, he belted a two-run home run to become the first Canadian to homer against the Toronto Blue Jays in Canada in the postseason.

The 2025 season was Naylor’s seventh in the majors. After honing his skills with the Ontario Blue Jays and Junior National Team, Naylor was selected 12th overall by the Miami Marlins in the 2015 MLB draft.

Canada will play the Blue Jays in an exhibition game today at TD Ballpark in Dunedin. They will follow that with another exhibition game against the Philadelphia Phillies on Wednesday before facing Colombia in the first game of the WBC on Saturday in San Juan, Puerto Rico.