Shushkewich: Denzel Clarke returns home for season opener
Toronto Mets alum and Athletics CF Denzel Clarke (Pickering, Ont.) returned home to Toronto to play the Toronto Blue Jays in the season opener on Friday.
March 27, 2026
By Tyson Shushkewich
Canadian Baseball Network
With over 42,000 fans at the Rogers Centre for opening night, it’s safe to say that the majority of the crowd was cheering on the hometown Blue Jays.
But there was also a healthy dose of Athletics fans cheering on one player on their roster.
Denzel Clarke (Pickering, Ont.) was in centre field and hitting ninth in the lineup in his opening night debut for the AL West squad. And it just so happened to be in his own backyard.
Clarke went 0-for-2 -- with a strikeout and a ground out against Blue Jays ace Kevin Gausman -- before being pinch-hit for by Carlos Cortez against submariner Tyler Rogers with two out in the eighth.
“My first Opening Day, to have it in Toronto is pretty crazy,” Clarke told the Canadian Baseball Network prior to the game. ”I am super excited to be playing in front of family and friends and just playing with my teammates in what will be a crazy atmosphere.”
Clarke got a taste of the majors in 2025. The 6-foot-3 centre fielder was part of a flurry of transactions in mid-May, which saw the club call him up from triple-A Las Vegas. He played in 47 games, posting a .230/.274/.372 slash line with a .646 OPS while making highlight reel grabs on a routine basis. His home run robbing grab against the Angels earned him Play of the Year.
He also made his mark at the Rogers Centre last summer, smashing his first big league home run in front of the Blue Jays faithful while also making a highlight reel grab in centre field that could have netted him the Play of the Year Award as well.
His season was cut short in mid-July with a right adductor strain, an injury that kept him off the roster for the remainder of the campaign.
With Clarke now finding a spot on the A’s Opening Day roster, he is looking to start a new chapter in his career that will likely be the first of many. For it to be at the Rogers Centre is just that much sweeter.
“A lot more people will be here compared to when I was in Toronto last year, but we’re keeping it low key,” explained Clarke. “Just family and friends, nothing too crazy when it comes to supporters.”
Clarke is one of 20 Canadians who will be starting the campaign in the big leagues, and one of 12 who played for Canada at the World Baseball Classic a few weeks ago. Canada won Pool A and advanced out of Pool play for the first time in the nation’s history since the WBC began back in 2006.
Clarke played alongside his cousins – Bo and Josh Naylor (Mississauga, Ont.) – and found himself starting all five games in centre field. Across 16 at-bats, he collected three hits, two RBIs, one stolen base, and two walks in the tournament
“It was super special,” said Clarke. “It was the farthest we’ve ever gotten for our country, and from Day 1, you could feel the vibe from the team and could tell that this group was locked in. We would have liked to have gone further, but we know what we got for the next tournament and take things to that next level.”
This wasn’t Clarke’s first foray at the WBC – he appeared in three games for Canada in 2023 – but the Athletics centre fielder was proud to be able to wear the red and white again and represent his country in a tournament that means so much to most players.
“Being in Puerto Rico was awesome, sharing the field with Bo and Josh for the first time was special too,” said Clarke. “Hopefully, adding Myles to the next one will be great. I love that ‘winner take all’ environment.”
With the WBC in his back pocket and a full season ahead in the big leagues, Clarke is taking things one day at a time, starting with opening night at the Rogers Centre against the Blue Jays.
A product of the Toronto Mets, Clarke knows the stadium well from his high school days, and he’s looking to start the 2026 season on the right note as the Athletics look to put a losing record behind them from 2025.
“Just going out there and enjoying myself,” explained Clarke on the opening night of the 2026 season. “Going out and doing my job, executing the way I know how. That’s what I want to accomplish today and get the season started on the right foot.”