Puerto Rico Team Considers Withdrawal From World Baseball Classic Amid Insurance Issues
The 2026 World Baseball Classic is just around the corner, three years after the last tournament ended Shohei Ohtani beating an Angels teammate at the time Mike Trout giving Team Japan the victory over Team USA. Fans and players alike have enjoyed the event surrounding the game, but it has been challenged as a number of players have been denied insurance to participate in the tournament. As noted by Evan Drellich and Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic, the insurance concern is big enough that Team Puerto Rico has suggested it may have to withdraw from the tournament altogether due to eight to 10 players on its expected roster being denied inclusion.
Puerto Rico’s loss is led by the team’s captain and Mets star Francisco Lindorwho was ruled out due to a minor elbow procedure he underwent back in October. That news denial comes despite Lindor being expected to be ready for Spring Training and playing in 160 games for the Mets last year. After the injury to Edwin Diaz again Jose Altuve during the 2023 tournament, Drellich and Rosenthal report not only that insurance is paying more but also that the league’s insurance has made a firm decision about which players to endorse and which not to endorse.
Recent surgeries and trips to the 60-day injured list are generally not eligible for insurance, according to Drellich and Rosenthal, though they add that the league’s insurance reviews each player individually. ESPN’s Alden Gonzalez provides more information about the standards of National Financial Partners, the MLB-affiliated insurance broker that carries the policy. Players are not considered to have “infinite” injuries are very difficult to obtain insurance. Players who were injured 60 or more days last season, missed their team’s last two games due to injury last season, had offseason surgery, had multiple surgeries throughout their career, or were placed on the injured list on the last day of August or later last season can all be marked as released. “infinite” injury.
Another factor that makes them ineligible is age, as Rosenthal and Drellich point out that the NFP will not cover players once they turn 37. Miguel Rojas to be denied coverage before his 37th birthday on February 24, preventing him from joining Team Venezuela. Rojas won’t be the only one denied availability due to age, however, as Drellich and Rosenthal note that the NFP is also unlikely to be able to cover players who will turn 37 during the coverage window associated with a team’s acquisition if a player is injured. Insurance usually covers two years salary for position players and four years salary for strikers.
It should be noted that denial of insurance coverage does not automatically prevent a player from participating in the WBC. Rather, it places the onus on the player’s MLB club as to whether the team is willing to reduce the risk of that player participating in the tournament while not guaranteed. It is an unusual but not unknown step for the group to take. Rosenthal and Drellich note Miguel Cabreraparticipation in the tournament back in 2023 as an example where the player was allowed to play without insurance. Of course, it should be noted that Cabrera was heading into the final season of his Hall of Fame-level career and was already slated to be a part-time player, so Detroit’s risk if he ever got hurt was minimal.
This is not just an issue affecting players with high salaries. The Puerto Rico team’s operations manager, Joey Sola, told Drellich and Rosenthal that even some Double-A players without MLB salary guarantees or big-league Spring Training invitations are tagged in the insurance program. At the major league level, many relievers and other low-wage players are denied pay despite the relatively low pay associated with the injury to a star player on a nine-figure contract.
Addressing the Puerto Rico Group directly, Gonzalez writes that Victor Caratini, Carlos Correa, Jose Berrios, Emilio Paganagain Alexis Diaz all are expected to miss the tournament except Lindor. So does the southpaw Jovani Moranas noted by Tim Healey of the Boston Globe. Drellich and Rosenthal write that Moran’s case is being reviewed, as is the case with right-handers. Luis Quinones again Yacksel Rios. Puerto Rico, with only 3.2 million people on the island, has been hit hard by this loss due to the lack of quality substitutes. The capital of Puerto Rico, San Juan, is scheduled to participate in one of the four pools in Round 1 of the WBC, joining Houston, Miami, and Tokyo. Several reports indicated that the Puerto Rico team’s statements about withdrawing from the tournament may lead to a stricter sanctioning process for some of the team’s players.
The possible withdrawal of the Puerto Rico Team is not the only controversy stemming from the opposition to the installation. As noted by Drellich and Rosenthal, Rojas and others in the Puerto Rican media have criticized the process as particularly harsh in Latin American countries, where the United States and Japan receive favorable treatment.
“My only question is: Why is it like this in our countries [in Latin America]like Venezuela, Puerto Rico, a few Dominican players?” Rojas said, as relayed by Gonzalez. “I don’t see what’s happening with the United States or what’s happening with Japan. And I’m not trying to attack anyone, or attack what’s happening … but at the end of the day, it feels like it’s happening to players who want to represent their country from Latin America. So, there’s a lot of things I’d like to talk about with someone in charge, someone from MLB.”
It’s not hard to understand that idea, given that Ohtani would seem to fit the bill of a player with “infinite” injury according to Gonzalez’s post-surgery routine throughout his career. While Ohtani has been cleared to play for Team Japan as a DH, it is also important to note that he will not play in the WBC and that reports from Drellich and Rosenthal indicate that he will not be allowed to cover as a pitcher.
Another complaint expressed about the process is the very short turnaround time for decisions. The WBC rankings are expected to come out next Tuesday, February 3, and will be announced on Thursday, February 5. Some cases are still being reviewed and many decisions have come out in the past few days, leaving WBC teams scrambling for replacements when their expected players are suddenly denied inclusion.
“In some ways, I think it’s a little bad,” Sola said, as relayed by Drellich and Rosenthal. “Especially when you’re three days from submitting your final list. Who in the world would think Lindor wasn’t on the (eligible) list? You wait until the final weekend to get an answer from Lindor? C’mon.”
It remains to be seen whether the Puerto Rico team will withdraw from the tournament, or if the combination of players authorized to cover after the review and the pool of substitute players will be enough to allow them to remain part of the tournament. With less than 48 hours left until draft day, however, time is running out for the WBC, MLB, MLBPA, and NFP to address the issue.
