Speaking to the media on Thursday, Mike Soroka of the Team Canada World Baseball Classic roster praised the 2025 Toronto Blue Jays for the inspiration they provided the Canadian baseball community. He says this group of Team Canada players is looking to build upon that in the WBC, which begins for them on Saturday morning (11 a.m. ET) against Colombia.

Per Sportsnet:

"What the Blue Jays do when they make runs like they did last year, they light a fire in Canadian baseball, and I think a lot of us are looking to continue that."

Michael Soroka on his expectations for Canada at the World Baseball Classic.

Canada is looking to advance out of the pool play round for the first time in World Baseball Classic history, which spans back to 2006. This is the sixth iteration of the WBC, with Team Japan winning three times (2006, 2009, 2023), the USA winning once (2017), and the Dominican Republic winning once (2013).

Canada has a strong and accomplished roster full of both veterans and young players. Soroka is joined by the likes of Jameson Taillon, Tyler O'Neill, James Paxton, Josh Naylor and Blue Jays prospect Adam Macko, just to name a few.

March 7 vs. Colombia (11 a.m. ET)

March 8 vs. Panama (7 p.m. ET)

March 10 vs. Puerto Rico (7 p.m. ET)

March 11 vs. Cuba (3 p.m. ET)

--Vladimir Guerrero Jr. (Dominican Republic)

--Kazuma Okamoto (Japan)

--Ernie Clement (USA)

--Yariel Rodriguez (Cuba)

--Alejandro Kirk (Mexico)

--Andres Gimenez (Venezuela)

--RJ Schreck (Israel)

--CJ Stubbs (Israel)

--Adam Macko (Canada)

--Leo Jimenez (Panama)

--Willis Creswell (Great Britain)

--Ismael Munguia (Nicaragua)

--Young right-hander Trey Yesavage is already making an impact on other pitchers around the league, including St. Louis Cardinals lefty Matthew Liberatore. He told the following story to 'Foul Territory TV' recently.

--The Blue Jays have brought in left-hander Joe Mantiply on a minor league deal. He was an All-Star for the Arizona Diamondbacks in 2022 and will represent another option for the bullpen. However, his odds don't seem great based on the already full 40-man roster.

--The Jays had six players on the latest edition of the ESPN Top 100 players list. You can see the full details below, but it makes sense given how deep the roster is.

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