Opinion | Canada’s next wave can’t wait for the World Baseball Classic — even if Vlad won’t be swayed

With the World Baseball Classic set to return after a six-year absence, the Blue Jays’ current road trip has given us a chance to see some of the players who could be playing key roles for Team Canada next spring.

The Jays missed Port Hope’s Cal Quantrill when they spent last weekend in Cleveland, but Mississauga’s Josh Naylor played first base in three of the four games and contributed a pair of RBIs in the series. Of course, it was after the Jays got out of town that Naylor went off, driving in eight runs Tuesday night (all from the seventh inning on, a major-league first) against the White Sox.

Naylor has been playing for his country since debuting as a 15-year-old in the under-18 World Cup in South Korea in 2012, helping Canada to a silver medal, and he can’t wait for his next chance to suit up.

“Any chance you get to wear your country on your chest is a blessing,” Naylor said at his stall in the Cleveland clubhouse last weekend. “You get to represent your country on a world stage, it’s a true honour.”

It’s an honour he’ll get to share with Quantrill, his teammate both in South Korea and now in Cleveland.

“I think I’m probably more excited about it than most guys,” said Quantrill, who has yet to play for the senior men’s national team in international competition.

Recognizing the lack of expected Canadian humility in that statement, Quantrill dialed it back right away.

“Maybe I shouldn’t say that,” he corrected himself. “Canadians get very excited for international play. We take a lot of pride in the level of competition that we have.”

Jameson Taillon, from The Woodlands, Texas, was the winning pitcher in the Yankees’ series-sweeping victory over the Jays on Wednesday. He pitched for Canada in the 2013 World Baseball Classic and looks forward to the opportunity to do it again a decade later.

“I did really, really enjoy it,” he remembered. “At the time, I was a Double-A 21-year-old and for Canada to pick me and let me pitch against the U.S., I mean that’s one of those core life memories that I got to experience. For my parents who were born and raised Canadian, I think that was a really cool moment for them. I haven’t formally thought about a decision (for 2023) yet, but if my health is in a good place, I’d love to do it.”

Taillon remembered being struck by the passion of his teammates when he wore the maple leaf.

“I feel like the baseball players (in Canada) take a lot of pride in representing the country,” Taillon said, “whereas some other countries you have more established guys who might not want to play. I feel like for Canada, they take a lot of pride. I could really feel the camaraderie when I played there.”

The 31-year-old, who used to spend two weeks every summer at his grandmother’s apartment at Bloor and Huntley Streets, pointed to a barbecue at Justin Morneau’s house in Arizona as they prepped for the 2013 WBC that quickly turned into a huge street hockey game.

“I was like, ‘It doesn’t get any more Canadian than this,’” smiled Taillon.

Quantrill is right there with him on the Canadian pride thing.

“I can speak specifically for southern Ontario,” said the righty who grew up less than an hour east of the Rogers Centre, “and I think that we like any opportunity we have to kind of remind guys that we’re not just some pushovers up north there. We can play baseball.”

The Canadians have had a rough ride at the WBC. They lost a tiebreaker to the U.S. and Mexico in the inaugural tournament after all three teams finished 2-1 in the round robin. In 2009, they were stunned by Italy after losing a tight game to the U.S. in their opener.

Italy bit them again in 2013, trouncing Canada 14-4 in their opener. A win over Mexico in their next game, marred by an ugly brawl, got them to a do-or-die game against the U.S. in which Canada couldn’t hang on to a late lead.

We don’t need to talk about 2017, when they cobbled together a roster that pulled Ryan Dempster, Eric Gagné and Pete Orr out of retirement and scored just three runs in three games.

Quantrill is excited about what’s to come.

“It feels like this new wave coming through,” said the righty. “Obviously there are still some holdovers, superstars like (Joey) Votto. But you know, (a healthy Mike) Soroka …Naylor, Naylor, a third Naylor, they keep coming.”

Naylor’s younger brother Bo is a rising star, ranked 16th in the Cleveland system by MLB.com. Myles, their 16-year-old brother, is the top-rated high school prospect in Canada. The prospect of a gaggle of Naylors wearing the red and white is something that puts a big smile on Josh’s face.

“That would be super cool,” beamed the eldest Naylor. “I would love to play with all of them. If that happens, it would be a blessing and I know my parents and my family members would be over the moon with that.”

The Jays’ two Canadian-born players won’t be suiting up in the spring, though.

Jordan Romano, the Markhamaniac, played for Italy in the 2017 tournament and will again this time around.

“I was a younger player (23) and they gave me a chance,” said the Jays closer. “They let me come with them and I just kind of want to repay that loyalty. They took a chance and now I’m going to be playing with them.”

As for Vladimir Guerrero Jr., despite being born in Montreal and playing in Toronto his ties to the Dominican Republic, where he grew up, are much stronger. That won’t stop Naylor from trying to recruit him when they’re standing on first base together, though.

“Maybe I’ll slip it in here and there,” said Naylor, “be a little cordial about it. But I don’t want to push it on him too much.”

Hey, it couldn’t hurt to try, right?

Mike Wilner is a Toronto-based baseball columnist for the Star and host of the baseball podcast “Deep Left Field.” Follow him on Twitter: @wilnerness

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