The World Baseball Classic is facing a major crisis, as swaths of players have been forced to drop out over the past week after being denied insurance coverage to participate.
The Puerto Rican team has been hit particularly hard, as captain Francisco Lindor—who was announced as Puerto Rico’s captain way back in April—has backed out after not getting insured. He joins Carlos Correa, José Berríos, Emilo Pagán, Victor Caratini, Alexis Díaz and Yacksel Ríos, who have all reportedly been declined insurance. Things have gotten so bad that Puerto Rico may have to back out of the tournament.
MLB and the MLBPA are reportedly lobbying the WBC’s insurer to change its decisions to deny some players, according to The Athletic. Carlos Rosa of El Nuevo Día reported Sunday that Puerto Rico pitchers Jovani Morán and Luis Quiñones are now being allowed to pitch after initially being denied insurance.
UPDATED: Players denied insurance coverage to participate in WBC
Puerto Rico:
F. Lindor
C. Correa
J. Berríos
V. Caratini
Y. Ríos
J. Morán
E. Pagán
A. Díaz
DR:
E. De La Cruz
VEN:
J. Altuve
M. Rojas
M. Pérez
C. Narváez
W. Contreras (TBD)
PAN:
J. Lawrence
I. Herrera (TBD)
— Erica Block (@EricaDaleBlock) February 1, 2026
Players electing to play in the WBC need to be insured in case they suffer an injury during the tournament and are forced to miss time during the MLB season. Essentially, if a player is insured and suffers an injury, the insurer will cover his salary for however many games he misses. If an uninsured player misses time due to an injury suffered during the WBC, MLB teams are not required to pay the player for the games they miss.
MLB teams can also opt to waive the insurance requirement and pay the player on their own.
Players undergo physicals before and after the WBC to distinguish between health issues they brought into the tournament and those they picked up while playing in it.
Typically, players who have recently been injured or had recurring injuries won’t be approved by the insurer. For example, Lindor underwent surgery on his right elbow this offseason and also had a bone spur removed from the same elbow in 2023. The Athletic reports that players age 37 or older are also being denied by the insurer, which led to Dodgers World Series hero Miguel Rojas being prevented from playing.
Any players who do not get insurance have three choices. They can opt to play without being covered and risk injury and, in turn, their salaries. They can purchase insurance themselves and pay out of pocket. Or they can choose not play in the WBC.
The insurance issue is a thorny one because several players have suffered serious injuries during the tournament. Famously, pitcher Edwin Díaz missed the entire 2023 season after suffering a knee injury while celebrating Puerto Rico’s WBC quarterfinals win over the Dominican Republic. That same year, Astros star Jose Altuve fractured his thumb after being hit by a Daniel Bard pitch. He was out until May due to the injury.
It’s worth noting that Altuve was also denied insurance coverage, as was Reds star Elly De La Cruz.
We still don’t have the full scope of who is in and who is out, and if teams can find replacement players on such short notice. Full 30-man rosters are due on Tuesday and set to be revealed Thursday before the WBC begins on March 5, so time is ticking.
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