Earlier this week, we received confirmation that the Toronto Blue Jays will send first baseman Vladimir Guerrero Jr. (Dominican Republic), pitcher Yariel Rodriguez (Cuba) and utility player Kazuma Okamoto (Japan) to the World Baseball Classic. Alejandro Kirk (Mexico) and Ernie Clement (Team USA) are also confirmed as participants.

But on Thursday, we learned that one Jays prospect will not represent his nation in the upcoming tournament, which begins on March 4.

Per Francys Romero on social media:

Blue Jays pitching prospect, RHP Silvano Hechavarria, will not be part of Cuba’s roster for the 2026 World Baseball Classic, per sources.

The 22-year-old is focusing on having a strong Spring Training and is not yet cleared to pitch in games.

Romero added that Hechavarria is expected to begin the season at Double-A. 

If Hechavarria sounds familiar to you, it's because we just wrote about him. Baseball America named him as one of three potential breakout prospects for the organization in 2026 earlier this week.

Baseball America ranks him as the No. 12 prospect in the organization after he spent the 2025 campaign at a combination of Rookie Ball, Single-A Dunedin and High-A Vancouver. He made 11 appearances at Single-A, which was his most at any level. In total, he went 5-2 with a 2.28 ERA. Now 22 years old, he struck out 82 batters in 86.2 innings.

Beginning at Double-A would be an aggressive promotion considering he only made four appearances at High-A, but it would give him a hypothetical chance to join the big league club at some point this season as the Jays chase another trip to the World Series.

This will be the sixth iteration of the tournament, which began in 2006. Team Japan has won three of the previous five titles (2006, 2009, 2023), while the Dominican Republic (2013) and Team USA (2017) each have titles under their belts.

In Hechavarria's case, Team Cuba advanced to the finals of the first WBC before losing to Japan. A baseball-rich nation, Cuba has historically performed well in international competition, but the waters are muddied in this event because of how many MLB players with Cuban heritage do not play for the country.

Rodriguez pitched for Cuba in the 2023 event as well, which is part of what earned him the exposure that led to him signing with the Blue Jays before 2024.

The championship of the WBC is played on March 17.

Remember to join our BLUE JAYS on ROUNDTABLE community, which is FREE! You can post your own thoughts, in text or video form, and you can engage with our Roundtable staff, as well as other Blue Jays fans. If prompted to download the Roundtable APP, that's free too!