Team Puerto Rico is considering withdrawing from the 2026 World Baseball Classic after the competition’s “insurance constraints” have suddenly sidelined between eight and 10 of its players.
New York Mets star shortstop Francisco Lindor is among them despite the expectation that he will be a full go for spring training after undergoing an elbow debridement procedure back in October — his second elbow surgery in the last three seasons.
“Due to the cleanup procedure that Francisco Lindor had on his right elbow earlier this offseason, he will not be participating for team Puerto Rico in the 2026 World Baseball Classic,” a statement from the MLB Players’ Association read. ” Francisco is obviously disappointed that he will be unable to participate. However, because of WBC insurance constraints, he is ineligible to play in WBC games.”
Since the previous World Baseball Classic in 2023, insurance rates have skyrocketed after then-Mets star closer Edwin Diaz and Houston Astros great Jose Altuve suffered significant injuries during the tournament. It has made National Financial Partners (NFP), an official MLB partner that brokers insurance policies, far more selective in its cases.
Players who were denied insurance can still compete in the tournament if their MLB team chooses to pick up the tab if their player gets injured, but that is obviously an unlikely avenue for most.
It has left Puerto Rico, particularly, in the lurch, as it draws from a smaller talent pool given the nation’s population. With WBC rosters set to be revealed on Thursday, there is little time to supplement these losses, and it all but destroys any hopes of contention for one of the more significant world baseball powers.
The process has also raised questions about the selectiveness of these insurance cases.
Yankees star and American captain Aaron Judge, who spent significant time on the IL two years ago with a toe injury and was plagued by an elbow issue all summer last season and into the postseason, got the OK. So is American center fielder Byron Buxton, who has played in just 51.9% of all possible games dating back to the start of the 2018 season.
It appears that trips to the 60-day injured list and recent surgeries are being used as the disqualifiers, though the goalposts (or foul poles) still feel like they are being moved.
Shohei Ohtani had major elbow surgery in 2023 and shoulder surgery after the 2024 season, but he will only be barred from pitching.
The optics are not great, and it’s raising questions about the competition showing preferential treatment in hopes of setting up a championship rematch between the United States and Japan. Ohtani’s Dodgers teammate, Miguel Rojas, who was barred by NFP from insurance coverage to compete with Team Venezuela because he turns 37 next month, was one of them.
“I’m not trying to attack anybody or attack what’s going on,” Rojas said on Saturday at the Dodgers’ annual Fan Fest. “But if I can still play in the big leagues for the Dodgers, why am I not going to play for my team in Venezuela and represent my country?”
So was Team Puerto Rico’s operations manager, Joey Sola, who spoke with Evan Drellich of The Athletic.
“You have guys on other teams, they have an injury history, and then I got guys on my roster who will be playing at the Double-A level with no [major-league] guarantee, no MLB invitation [to spring training], and they get flagged,” Sola said. “And guys on other teams who can play in the WBC are earning $30 million per year. It’s kind of tough to understand it.”
