World Baseball Classic: Ernie Clement joins the Americans

The United States won the World Classic title in 2017 and will be looking in a few weeks' time to avenge their 2023 finals loss to Japan, who have won three of the five championships.

To do so, they added another name to their lineup this morning (Tuesday), namely obscure playoff hero with the Toronto Blue Jays, Ernie Clement, as reported by Bob Nightengale of USA Today.

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.

– Bob Nightengale (@BNightengale) January 13, 2026

The 29-year-old becomes the third member of the Blue Jays to commit to the World Classic, following Vladimir Guerrero Jr with the Dominican Republic and Alejandro Kirk with Mexico. This comes on the heels of the announcement of Minnesota Twins outfielder Byron Buxton's participation in the U.S. team.

With Gunnar Henderson, Bobby Witt Jr., Brice Turang, and Bryce Harper already in Team USA's infield, it seems likely that Clement will be a bench option for manager Mark DeRosa. However, this is a great opportunity for the Rochester, New York native.

After the tournament, Clement will begin his sixth season in the Majors and fourth with the Jays. He played in 157 games last season, posting a .277 batting average with nine home runs and 50 runs batted in, as well as an OPS of .711 and a WAR of 4.3. Clement had an extraordinary playoff run, setting a new MLB record with thirty hits, including twelve in the World Series.

The World Baseball Classic kicks off on March 5, with Team USA in Group B alongside Mexico, Italy, Great Britain, and Brazil. They will open their tournament on March 6 against Brazil at Houston's Daikin Park.

This content was created with the help of AI.