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Trei Cruz turns down Team Canada to focus on Tigers in spring training
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- Trei Cruz turns down Team Canada to focus on Tigers in spring training
Detroit Tigers utility player Trei Cruz , a switch-hitter who plays shortstop and center field, expressed interest in playing for Team Canada in the 2026 World Baseball Classic.
Team Canada extended an invitation.
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And then, after considering it further, Cruz declined the offer from Team Canada – committing to staying with the Tigers throughout spring training in hopes of earning a spot on the Opening Day roster, according to a person with knowledge of the situation. The Tigers added Cruz to the 40-man roster in November 2025 , opening the door to his MLB debut at some point in the 2026 season.
The son of 12-year MLB outfielder José Cruz Jr. was born in Toronto , making him eligible for Team Canada.
"He's on our radar. Absolutely, he's on our radar," Team Canada manager Ernie Whitt said Dec. 9 at the MLB Winter Meetings, before Cruz declined. "He can play multiple positions, and the one position that we don't have an abundance of is shortstop."
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Erie SeaWolves batter Trei Cruz gets a first-inning hit against the Harrisburg Senators on opening day at UPMC Park in Erie on April 4, 2025.
The WBC runs from March 5-17.
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During that stretch, spring training takes places for all 30 MLB teams.
For the Tigers, pitchers and catchers report Feb. 11, position players report Feb. 15, the first spring game is Feb. 21 and the final spring game is March 24 – with Opening Day set for March 26 against the San Diego Padres at Petco Park in San Diego.
"A lot of times, with guys like that, they have a decision they have to make: Are they going to leave camp for those two weeks and not be around the coaching staff?" Whitt said. "It's a tough decision that he's going to have to make, but it's not only him. Those guys are competing for jobs. I can totally understand their position if they come back and said, 'I think I want to try to secure my future and play in the big leagues.'"
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The Tigers selected Cruz with the No. 73 overall pick in the 2020 draft out of Rice University .
In 2025, Cruz hit .279 with 13 home runs, 102 walks and 121 strikeouts across 127 games for Double-A Erie (69 games) and Triple-A Toledo (58 games), stealing 17 bases in 24 attempts. He advanced in early July from the SeaWolves to the Mud Hens after parts of four seasons at the Double-A level.
At the Triple-A level, Cruz produced a .284 batting average with six home runs and an .881 OPS in 58 games.
"Trei had great numbers last year in Triple-A," said Whitt, a 73-year-old Michigan native who attended Roseville High School and Macomb Community College before a 15-year MLB career. "He can play almost any position other than pitching and catching – and the key part of it, he can play shortstop if something happened to Otto [Lopez]."
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FEBRUARY 2024: Tigers prospect Trei Cruz playing in 2024 Caribbean Series before spring training
Canada manager Ernie Whitt against the USA during the World Baseball Classic at Chase Field in Phoenix on March 13, 2023.
Not only is Cruz eligible for Team Canada, but he is also eligible for Team Puerto Rico and Team USA. Both his father and his grandfather, 19-year MLB outfielder José Cruz , were born in Puerto Rico.
Team Puerto Rico didn't contact Cruz, so he considered joining Team Canada for the 2026 WBC. But he ultimately decided to spend all spring with the Tigers in Lakeland, Florida.
Cruz is likely to begin 2026 in Triple-A Toledo.
"It's the versatility we talk about all the time with our position player group, getting guys who can play multiple positions at the corners and up the middle, and in his case, you add a switch-hitting offensive profile on top of that," Tigers general manager Jeff Greenberg said Dec. 9 at the Winter Meetings. "He can play third. He can play short. He can play center field. He can play the corners. He produced on both sides of the plate this past year. He gets on base a ton, does not chase. There's some damage in there as well. He deserves a ton of credit for the work he put in on both sides of the ball, physicality, staying athletic, being able to play all of those positions."
Among those on the Tigers' 40-man roster, two players are capable of playing shortstop and center field: Cruz and fellow utility player Javier Báez , with Báez having done it for the first time in 2025. Four players are listed as switch-hitters: Cruz, outfielder Wenceel Pérez , catcher Thayron Liranzo and right-handed reliever Kenley Jansen .
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Most importantly, only one person is a switch-hitting shortstop and center fielder.
That's Cruz.
"It is rare," Whitt said of Cruz, who posted a .919 OPS against right-handed pitchers and a .704 OPS against left-handed pitchers. "That just tells you he's a pretty damn good athlete. For him to be able to do all of those at a high level, he's a pretty good athlete."
It's no surprise Team Canada wanted Cruz for the 2026 WBC.
Now that Cruz has declined, Team Canada will be forced to wait until the seventh iteration of the WBC in 2030 to secure his commitment. By that point, though, Cruz could be a key player for the Tigers – and in high demand for Team Puerto Rico.
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Contact Evan Petzold at epetzold@freepress.com or follow him @EvanPetzold .
Listen to our weekly Tigers show "Days of Roar" every Monday afternoon during the season and Tuesday afternoon during the offseason on Apple , Spotify or wherever you listen to podcasts.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Trei Cruz turns down World Baseball Classic to focus on Detroit Tigers
