Former Yankees record holder reverses retirement for WBC duty

NEW YORK — The 2026 World Baseball Classic kicks off March 5, and the Yankees will be everywhere. Eleven players from the current roster made tournament squads for their home countries. Several former Yankees earned spots as players and coaches. One familiar face, though, was not supposed to be on any roster at all.

Aaron Judge headlines the group as Team USA’s captain. He will make his first WBC appearance after being named to the role in April 2025. Closer David Bednar and newly re-signed first baseman Paul Goldschmidt will join him on the American squad, which features a record 15 All-Stars and is considered the tournament favorite.

But the most unexpected name on any roster belongs to a pitcher who told the world he was done with baseball more than a year ago. A left-hander who once made Yankees history. A Canadian who answered when his country called.

The retirement that did not stick

James Paxton formally retired from Major League Baseball following the 2024 season. He had pitched 11 years in the big leagues. Injuries had taken their toll. His family needed him home. The decision felt final.

“It’s tough. Obviously, I think that I can still do it. I can still go out there and compete, and help a team win,” Paxton said at the time, according to MLB.com’s Craig Forde. “But I just think with where my family’s at and what they need right now, they need me home. I feel the duty and the responsibility to be at home with my family and I’m looking forward to being at home with my family, and spending more time with them, too.”

Even then, Paxton left the door slightly open. He believed he could still compete. And when Baseball Canada came calling for the 2026 WBC, the 37-year-old nicknamed “Big Maple” agreed to pitch for Team Canada. It will be his first time representing his country in the tournament despite his long MLB career.

The record Paxton set in the Bronx

Paxton arrived in New York through a November 2018 trade from the Seattle Mariners. The Yankees sent Justus Sheffield, Dom Thompson-Williams and Erik Swanson to Seattle to acquire him. In his first season in pinstripes, Paxton went 15-6 with a 3.82 ERA across 29 starts. He struck out 186 batters in 150.2 innings, averaging 11.1 strikeouts per nine innings.

On April 21, 2019, Paxton became only the second pitcher in Yankees history to strike out 12 or more batters in consecutive starts. The only other Yankee to accomplish that feat was David Cone in 1998. It remains one of the most dominant stretches any pitcher has had in the Bronx in the modern era.

The 2020 season was less kind. Paxton underwent spinal surgery in February. He made it back for the pandemic-shortened campaign but lasted just five starts before a flexor tendon strain ended his year. He posted a 6.64 ERA in 20.1 innings. His Yankees contract expired, and he returned to Seattle in free agency.

Paxton later pitched for the Boston Red Sox and Los Angeles Dodgers before calling it quits. Over his career, he posted a 3.69 ERA with 894 strikeouts in 922.1 innings across 161 MLB starts.

What Team Canada looks like in 2026

Paxton joins a Canadian squad headlined by Mariners first baseman Josh Naylor, two-time Gold Glove winner Tyler O’Neill and Cubs starter Jameson Taillon. Former Diamondbacks right-hander Michael Soroka will also start games. Veteran Cal Quantrill returns from the 2023 WBC team. Another retiree, Phillippe Aumont, is suiting up for his fourth World Baseball Classic. Former Blue Jays catcher Russell Martin serves as first-base coach.

Canada will play in Pool A at Hiram Bithorn Stadium in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Their group includes Puerto Rico, Panama, Cuba and Colombia. They open play March 7 against Colombia. Manager Ernie Whitt will lead the team for a record sixth WBC.

“This roster reflects the growth and strength of baseball in Canada,” Whitt said in a statement released by Baseball Canada.

Yankees and former Yankees across the WBC

The Yankees’ fingerprints are all over this tournament. Current players, recent free agents, retired legends and former coaches fill rosters from Team USA to the Netherlands to Chinese Taipei. The table below lists every Yankee and former Yankee participating in the 2026 World Baseball Classic as a player, coach or manager.

The WBC runs March 5 through 17, with the championship game at loanDepot Park in Miami. The Yankees open the regular season March 25 against the Giants. Paxton will not be in the Bronx for that one. But for two weeks in Puerto Rico, the Big Maple will pitch competitive baseball one more time.

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