Ernie Clement is the third Toronto commit for the event.
Toronto Blue Jays postseason hero Ernie Clement is the latest member of the Jays to commit to play in the World Baseball Classic.
Clement will play for Team USA, as was reported by Bob Nightengale of USA Today on Tuesday morning.
Toronto Blue Jays infielder Ernie Clement becomes the latest to join Team USA in the World Baseball Classic, one day after Minnesota Twins CF Byron Buxton's commitment.
About Clement
Now 29 years old, Clement is a five-year veteran of the Cleveland Guardians and Blue Jays. A career .260 hitter, he continued to break out in 2025, hitting .277 with nine home runs and 50 RBIs in 157 regular season games.
He broke out even further in the playoffs, hitting .411 with nine RBIs. His 30 hits are a postseason record for a single postseason. He helped lead the Jays to an American League pennant and was a major reason why Toronto got within one win of the World Series title.
About his role with Team USA
With Gunnar Henderson, Bobby Witt Jr., Brice Turang and Bryce Harper already in the fold for the Americans in the infield, it seems likely that Clement will fill a super-utility role for manager Mark DeRosa.
The Americans won the WBC title in 2017 and are looking to avenge a 2023 gold medal game loss against Japan, who has won three of the five WBC championships.
The World Baseball Classic begins on March 5.
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How this impacts Clement with the Blue Jays
Potentially significantly. Clement is looking to solidify an every day role again in 2026, and if he's gone from camp for multiple weeks with Team USA, he'll get less chance to play in front of the Blue Jays brass.
However, Kazuma Okamoto, who could be in competition with him for an every day role, is also expected to play in the event for Japan, evening the playing field. Of course, the front office and coaching staff already know what Clement can do, so it may not have as big an affect on him as it does on other players throughout the league. That's why we said potentially significant, and not guaranteed to be.
What other Jays are in the WBC?
As of now, Clement joins Vladimir Guerrero Jr. (Dominican Republic) and Alejandro Kirk (Mexico) as confirmed participants. Okamoto could play for Japan, and if Bo Bichette were to re-sign with Toronto, he's expected to represent Brazil.
It's unclear if Bichette will come back to Toronto, as he met with the Philadelphia Phillies on Monday.
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