Puerto Rico Will Compete In World Baseball Classic
Over the last few days, there was a ton of doubt about Puerto Rico’s ability to compete in the World Baseball Classic. Puerto Rico’s team was hit the hardest out of any in the tournament due to clashes over injury insurance. It was announced today that they will, in fact, be entering the tournament.
Players on the roster must obtain insurance to participate in the World Baseball Classic. The coverage protects major league teams by reimbursing their salaries if a player is injured during the tournament and misses time during the regular season. Without insurance, players risk losing pay and won’t participate. Francisco Lindor was one of the biggest names not insured for the WBC.
Puerto Rico Was Scrambling
Puerto Rico considered withdrawing from the upcoming tournament due to insurance issues affecting the roster. Most notably, Lindor has not been approved for insurance coverage for the WBC, which begins next month. The insurance provider for the WBC declined to cover his salary obligations because he’s undergone a pair of elbow surgeries over the past three offseasons, per The Athletic.
They have 27 players ready to play, and are leaving three roster spots open for Carlos Correa, Lindor, and Javier Báez. Major League Baseball granted them until Thursday to complete their 30-man roster. Puerto Rico is an integral part of the tournament, but if they cannot find the money to cover the insurance, they’ll be without many of their top stars heading into the tournament.
The Tournament Will Be Historic
While insurance has played a big role in the roster construction, the tournament will still be one of the best we’ve seen in a long time. The United States has the most talented roster out of everyone, headlined by Aaron Judge, Paul Skenes, and Tarik Skubal. The Dominican Republic is always one of the better teams with an absolutely stacked lineup after not making it out of pool play in 2023.
Venezuela will trot out one of the best outfields in the entire tournament, featuring Wilyer Abreu, Ronald Acuña Jr, and Jackson Chourio. Venezuela went 4-0 in pool play in 2023, outscoring opponents 23-9. It took Trea Turner’s eighth-inning grand slam to send them home in the quarterfinals. They remain a huge threat to win the WBC next month.
If they cannot get Lindor and Correa insured, Puerto Rico have a really hard time sticking with other top teams compared to years past. It’ll be interesting to see how they fare in pool play after having to quickly reconstruct most of their roster. Given their influence in the tournament, it’s good they didn’t withdraw.
Puerto Rico Still Pushing For Their Stars
According to Carlos Rosa, the Baseball Federation is not throwing in the towel on the cases of Lindor and Correa. It has already taken a first step by securing insurance for both players. Other steps are still needed to complete both processes. Although the case of Baez is more complicated, they remain hopeful to have the big three ready to go for the tournament before the rosters are due.
What makes this even more special is that this would likely be the big three’s last run together in the tournament. All of them are in their early thirties, and this could be their last time to play in the World Baseball Classic while they’re still above-average players, looking to win the tournament for the first time ever.
