By Paul L. Taylor Posted on

Mariners lefty Jhonathan Diaz now also headed to the 2026 WBC

It’s been an eventful few weeks for southpaw Jhonathan Diaz, who becomes the latest Mariners player to head to the World Baseball Classic.

It seems the World Baseball Classic continues to provide a lure which Seattle Mariners players find tough to resist, with the exception of 2025 All-Star Bryan Woo and Matt Brash. Giving due credit to Brady Farkas of Roundtable Sports, Jhonathan Diaz has become the latest member of the organization to accept an invitation to the international tournament.

Diaz will represent Team Venezuela at the 2026 WBC as a replacement for Minnesota Twins 2023 All-Star Pablo Lopez, who will now miss the entire year due to needing to undergo Tommy John surgery. This continues what has been an eventful February for Diaz, who is scheduled to make his spring training debut on Sunday afternoon versus the Cincinnati Reds.

The 29-year-old cleared waivers and was sent outright to Triple-A Tacoma at the end of January, but elected for free agency instead, seemingly ending his tenure with the Mariners after two seasons. However, on Feb. 9 he re-signed with the organization on a minor league deal.

Jhonathan Diaz provides lefty depth

Finding left-handed reinforcements for the bullpen was a priority for the front office throughout the offseason, but in reality Diaz will likely spend more time pitching in the minors this coming season. As of now the Mariners have four southpaw relievers on their 40-man roster, including Gabe Speier, Jose A. Ferrer, Robinson Ortiz and the recently acquired Josh Simpson.

Diaz has five seasons of Major League experience under his belt, first with the Los Angels Angels and then the Mariners, but in that time has only accrued 46.1 combined innings. of action. His stats include a career 4.66 ERA, 4.80 FIP and 15.1 percent strikeout rate versus a 12.3 percent walkrate.

For the Mariners specifically, the Valencia, Venezuela native has a 4.09 ERA, 4.71 FIP and 3.00 strikeouts-to-walk ratio in 11.0 combined innings over six appearances, including one start. In Triple-A Tacoma he’s proved to be reliable, with 48 starts over two years with the Rainiers.

Mariners representation at the 2026 WBC

Diaz with join fellow Mariners pitcher Eduard Bazardo as a teammate on Team Venezuela, with the organization now unofficially sending 17 players to the WBC, which is the most of any Major League team. The full list is as follows:

  • Cal Raleigh. USA
  • Julio Rodríguez, Dominican Republic
  • Andrés Muñoz, Mexico
  • Randy Arozarena, Mexico
  • Josh Naylor, Canada
  • Gabe Speier, USA
  • Eduard Bazardo, Venezuela
  • Dominic Canzone, Italy
  • Miles Mastrobuoni, Italy
  • Michael Arroyo, Columbia
  • Charlie Beilenson, Israel
  • Pedro Da Costa Lemos, Brazil
  • Jhonathan Diaz, Venezuela
  • Dane Dunning, Korea
  • Abdiel Mendoza, Panama
  • Dylan Wilson, Netherlands
  • Guillo Zuñiga, Colombia

The WBC takes place between Mar. 5-17, with players needing to report to their teams by the end of February. As such, Diaz doesn’t have much time to make an impression for the Mariners, beginning on Sunday afternoon in Goodyear, Arizona, although in fairness it has to count for something that the organization decided to bring him back for a third year.

Photos court​‌esy of Tim Rogers Photography

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