Aaron Judge‘s quest to end Samurai Japan‘s World Baseball Classic dominance just hit another snag. This time, the threat is coming from the shadows.

With the WBC knocking on the door and Team USA being one of the favorites, Judge’s team is confronting several challenges. The injury setback of Joe Ryan. Tarik Skubal’s pitching in only one group game. And now, there’s one more headache to worry about – the dark horses.

While the Albert Pujols’ Dominican Republic has already been one to look out for, The Athletic’s MLB staff has analyzed who can be the potential challengers to threaten team Japan’s crown and pose roadblocks to team USA.

“Our writers were more split about which teams could challenge the Big Three as a tournament upstart. Team Canada and Team Italy tied for the most votes,” The Athletic column read.

Team Italy and Team Canada emerged as the “dark horses” with 4 votes each. They are the ones who could cause an upset when the big three would least expect it.

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Team Canada has an advantage in the pool play. They are a talented bunch in what can be labeled as an ‘easy group.’ Canada’s Pool A includes Puerto Rico, Cuba, Colombia, and Panama. Puerto Rico could give Canada a tough contest, but they are missing top talents like Francisco Lindor, Carlos Correa, Jose Berrios, and Victor Caratini.

“Canada’s real dark horse potential, though, comes from a weak Group A. Puerto Rico is without much of their top talent, and the rest of the teams in Canada’s group are particularly beatable. If they can make it to the knockout stage, Canada’s lineup could rattle off an upset or two,” opined Mitch Bannon.

Josh Naylor will lead Team Canada with rising stars Bo Naylor, Owen Caissie, Denzel Clarke, Tyler O’Neill, Otto Lopez, Edouard Julien, Tyler Black, and Liam Hicks. Familiar MLB faces Justin Morneau and Russell Martin have put together what Bannon called “the best roster” Canada ever had in an international tournament.

However, Canada would be missing Freddy Freeman this WBC as he withdrew due to personal circumstances.

The other dark horse in the room is Team Italy in Pool B. Even with the USA in the same group, MLB insiders think Italy can cause a major upset. Other teams to play alongside Italy and the USA would be Mexico, Great Britain, and Brazil.

The Kansas City Royals regular Vinnie Pasquantino will lead Team Italy. Manager Francisco Cervelli has put together a talented roster for the WBC 2026, who are on MLB’s top prospects list.

Dante Nori, Andrew Fischer, Sam Antonacci, Sam Aldegheri, and Nick Morabito are the ones the big leagues would be eyeing. Besides them, Phillies right-handed pitcher Aaron Nola would also be contributing for his home team in the WBC.

“The lineup’s actually pretty good … and the coaching staff is full of ‘Oh yeah, I vaguely remember that dude’ dudes,” wrote Zack Meisel.

There is another upside for Team Italy!

Cervelli had played for Team Italy in the 2009 and 2017 WBCs.

The Azzurri displayed their best in WBC 2013.

That year, too, they were in the same group as Team USA and Mexico alongside Canada. They took out Canada and Mexico and advanced from the group stage to the quarterfinals. Italy was on the verge of an upset when they took the lead against the Dominican Republic by 4-0 in the QFs, but they eventually lost to DR (2013 WBC champion) 5-4.

And since then, the Dominican Republic has been on the hunt for another WBC title. After their early exit in 2023, the Manny Machado-led team is gearing up to give a tough fight to Team USA and the defending champion, Japan.

Team USA was already hit with a WBC snub from the Dominican Republic

The Dominican Republic is the only other team to have won the WBC apart from Japan and the USA. And this year, they are seen as one of the top contenders for the title.

MLB analysts have dubbed the D.R. as the “hungriest” nation to win the title this year.

“There’s a clear top tier of teams – the US, Japan, and Dominican Republic as the top three. I think the D.R. is far and away the hungriest of those three this year,” noted Mike from Stark Raving Sports in a collaboration with Jim Riley’s BALLCAP Sports.

Manager Albert Pujols has accumulated a lineup, featuring captain Manny Machado, Fernando Tatis Jr, Juan Soto, Vladimir Guerrero Jr, and others. Sandy Alcantara and Christopher Sanchez will anchor the rotation. While former Mets top prospect Amed Rosario is the utility man, the young Marlins catcher Agustín Ramírez can be a WBC breakout star.

Fernando Tatis Jr. has been vocal about his confidence in the team’s preparation and work ethic. He believes they can win it all this time, and the team certainly has the potential to dominate on a world stage.