PEORIA, Ariz. — With the pool play round of the World Baseball Classic coming to an end late Wednesday/early Thursday, the Mariners began welcoming players who were participating in the event for non-advancing teams back to camp.
On Thursday morning, reliever Matt Brash, who pitched for Canada, and catcher Harry Ford, who hit a pair of homers for Great Britain, were back in the clubhouse.
With the loaded Dominican Republic team — a heavy favorite to win the tournament — eliminated by Puerto Rico, outfielders Julio Rodriguez and Teoscar Hernandez and reliever Diego Castillo were expected to fly back from Miami on Thursday and be at workouts Friday. Italy was also eliminated by Japan, meaning reliever Matt Festa will be making the long flight back from Taiwan and probably return to workouts Saturday.
Mariners spring training:
The Latest from Peoria
More
“I think our Dominican friends are traveling today,” Servais said in his Thursday morning meeting. “There’s a good chance we may see them tomorrow. There were some upsets in the making. I didn’t expect to see some guys back as quick as they are, but it’s tournament time and anything can happen in March.”
Serving as the closer, Brash only got to make one appearance, pitching one inning and striking all three batters he faced in Canada’s 18-8 win over Great Britain. He was warming up to secure a 2-0 lead vs. Colombia in the bottom of the ninth, but his teammates scored three runs in the top of the ninth and he wasn’t needed.
“It was definitely a cool experience for me,” he said. “I think a big part of it was just meeting everybody. I didn’t know any of those guys or any of the coaches. So just kind of sitting in the bullpen or in the dugout and learning from a lot of those older guys was a cool experience for me.”
A late-blooming prospect while growing up in Ontario, Brash wasn’t part of any of Canada’s national junior teams like some of his teammates. This was a new experience for him.
It was conversations with members of Canada’s coaching staff where Brash found himself reveling in their stories and advice. Under manager Ernie Whitt, Canada had Denis Boucher as the pitching coach, Hall of Famer Larry Walker as the first base coach, longtime MLB pitcher Paul Quantrill as the bullpen coach and former All-Star catcher Russell Martin as a coach.
“Quantrill was in our bullpen so I talked to him a lot and I talked to Russell Martin a lot and stuff like that. It was just cool to get to know those guys. Obviously, I grew up watching them so it was just a cool experience.”
Brash felt the difference of pitching for his country vs. pitching for his team. The adrenaline of his one appearance, even in a blowout, was palpable.
“I was a little more amped up than a spring training game,” he said. “It was a cool experience putting on that jersey. When I got in that Great Britain game, even though we were up like 10, I was still pretty fired up.”
When the WBC comes around in 2026, Brash plans to represent his country again.
“It’s definitely something I want to do again,” he said. “It’s too bad we lost that last game. It was such a great group of guys.”
A key piece to their bullpen Brash could return to games as soon as Saturday for Mariners.
“I was still able to do my whole work routine,” he said.
After catching every inning of pool play for Great Britain, Ford got no days off. He was catching pitchers in the bullpen Thursday morning. His popularity among fans certainly increased over the pool play round. At age 20, he had four hits in pool play, including home runs against Canada and Colombia.
“Sir Harry Ford is in the building,” Servais said. “Eyes wide open, I think he learned a lot. What a great experience for him. And I’m sure he will benefit from it down the road. It was great.”