Puerto Rico’s WBC Participation at Risk: The Unseen Impact of Insurance Challenges

Insurance issues could potentially lead one nation to pull out of the World Baseball Classic, casting doubt on Team Puerto Rico’s participation in the upcoming tournament.

According to a report by The Athletic, Team Puerto Rico officials have raised the possibility of withdrawing after discovering that insurance coverage would be denied for eight out of their ten players.

“Withdrawal is indeed an option we’re considering,” Joey Sola, the operations manager for Team Puerto Rico, told The Athletic. “Our decision will largely depend on whether we can secure replacement players.”

Among the prominent players affected is Mets captain Francisco Lindor, who had to step back from the tournament last Friday. Lindor’s coverage was denied due to two surgeries on his right elbow over the past three years.

In positive news for Mets supporters, Lindor is anticipated to be fit for spring training.

The insurance dilemma has its roots in the injuries that plagued players during the 2023 WBC tournament. Mets fans, in particular, remember the season-ending right knee injury suffered by their then-closer Edwin Díaz, who now plays for the Dodgers.

Jose Altuve also broke his thumb in that year’s event, which was a months-long injury.

According to The Athletic, those injuries from the last tournament caused insurance for big leaguers to grow considerably more expensive, forcing the league’s insurer to become more stringent on which players it approves.

Astros third baseman Carlos Correa, Blue Jays right-hander José Berríos and Twins catcher Victor Caratini are among the other Puerto Rican players who were not cleared to play — though the cases of Correa, Berríos and several others are under review, Sola told the website.

Team officials fear if some of those reviews aren’t overturned, they will be unable to get enough substitutes to field a quality team.

If Puerto Rico can’t field a team it would be especially harmful because it‘s scheduled to host the first round of the WBC in San Juan from March 6-11.

Puerto Rico is in a pool that also includes Canada, Colombia, Cuba and Panama.

MLB declined comment as the statuses for many players in different countries are still to be decided. National Financial Partners, an official partner of the league that brokers insurance policy did not immediately respond to request for comment, according to The Athletic.

MLB and the Players Association, co-owners of the tournament, are lobbying the insurer to change some decisions before the rosters are due Tuesday.

They are scheduled to be announced Thursday.