World Baseball Classic 2026: What’s the deal with all the WBC insurance issues?

In April 2025 — nearly 11 months before the 2026 World Baseball Classic — Mets superstar Francisco Lindor proudly declared his intention to participate in the triennial tournament. Lindor would serve as Puerto Rico’s team captain, an honor he carried during the 2023 event. But the 2026 edition would have added significance for Lindor, with Puerto Rico set to host WBC games in San Juan for the first time since 2013.

But on Friday, less than a week before the WBC roster announcement coming Thursday, news broke that Lindor had been denied the necessary insurance coverage due to a “cleanup procedure” on his right elbow that he underwent following the 2025 MLB season. The issue isn’t expected to hamper Lindor in spring training or beyond, but it was significant enough to preclude his participation in the upcoming WBC.

Predictably, that revelation unleashed a torrent of fury in Puerto Rico, where locals were eager to see their island’s biggest sporting star shine on home soil. The Lindor news came days after the team’s second-biggest draw, Astros infielder Carlos Correa, also failed to secure coverage for reasons related to his injury history. The same was true for a handful of other supplementary players on Puerto Rico’s roster, including José Berríos and Victor Caratini.

Those unforeseen absences left Puerto Rico’s roster dangerously undermanned and elicited a drastic response from the head of Puerto Rico’s Baseball Federation, José Quiles. In an interview conducted Friday, Quiles threatened to withdraw the entire team from the event if certain insurance decisions weren’t overturned.

Sources with knowledge of the situation told Yahoo Sports that it is extremely unlikely that Puerto Rico backs out, as doing so would lead to significant, lasting sanctions from the WBSC, baseball’s global governing body. However, according to other reports, MLB commissioner Rob Manfred and high-ranking MLB Players Association officials have begun lobbying the insurance company to review an unknown number of decisions. Their involvement seems to have precipitated the overturning of some lower-profile denials, but it remains to be seen if the league and union have the sway to greenlight stars such as Correa and Lindor.

This entire saga has thrust the World Baseball Classic’s arcane insurance policies into the spotlight. During an MLB season, all players on a team’s 40-man roster play on guaranteed contracts, meaning they get paid regardless of injury. The World Baseball Classic is a different story.

In order to protect MLB clubs in case of player injury, the WBC organization takes out insurance policies on the contracts of all 40-man-roster players participating in the tournament. If a player gets hurt while playing for his country, the MLB team in question receives financial compensation for any time missed. This dynamic became relevant during the 2023 tournament, when Mets and Puerto Rico reliever Edwin Díaz tore the patellar tendon in his right knee while celebrating a save in the WBC and missed the entire MLB season. Also, Astros and Venezuela second baseman José Altuve suffered a thumb fracture when he was hit by a pitch and was on the shelf for nearly two months.

National Financial Partners handles the requests for insurance coverage on a case-by-case basis, evaluating whether a player’s injury history is “low-risk,” “moderate” or “chronic.” The “chronic” label means a higher threshold for approval and applies to any player who fits any of the following criteria, according to ESPN’s Alden Gonzalez:

Spent at least 60 days on the injured list during the previous season
Injured for two of their team’s final three games the previous season
Underwent at least two surgeries over the course of their career
Underwent surgery following the previous season

A new provision also stipulates that players 37 or older are ineligible for coverage. That rule will likely prevent Dodgers World Series hero Miguel Rojas from suiting up for Venezuela, though it’s unclear whether he would have made the country’s final roster.

Both Lindor (elbow surgery after the 2025 season) and Correa (multiple career surgeries) qualify as “chronic” players. In addition, their relatively large contracts likely played a significant role in NFP’s decision, making it more difficult for their insurance to get approved.

As one person with inside knowledge explained it: “The insurance company is insuring the contract, not the player.” That’s likely why Lindor, with six years and $204.6 million left on his deal, was declined, while an oft-injured player such as Byron Buxton (three years, $45.4 million) was approved. Two-way superstar Shohei Ohtani is approved to hit in the tournament but won’t pitch, as his two elbow surgeries would’ve made it nearly impossible for him to get the necessary insurance.

Players who fail to get insurance have four options: (1) Don’t participate. (2) Waive insurance and risk forgoing salary in the event of injury. (3) Pay for insurance themselves. (4) Receive a waiver from their MLB club. The fourth option is rarely used, but it did occur in 2023, when a depleted version of future Hall of Famer Miguel Cabrera hoped to play for Venezuela ahead of his final MLB season. His insurance was predictably declined, but the Detroit Tigers took on the risk, agreeing to pay his salary regardless of possible injury.

More often than not, an uninsured player simply sits out the tournament. That’s what happened in 2023 with since-retired Dodgers hurler Clayton Kershaw. The future Hall of Famer had committed to play for Team USA but changed course after his insurance was denied. His unexpected absence left the 2023 pitching staff without an ace, which played a role in both of the team’s defeats in the tournament.

Motivated by that frustrating experience, Team USA manager Mark DeRosa adopted a more proactive approach when crafting his roster this time around. Notably, Team USA has focused its recruitment efforts on players more likely to get approved for insurance. That might be why, for instance, Mike Trout, a crucial character in 2023, is unlikely to compete in 2026. It could also help explain why Phillies first baseman Bryce Harper, despite having announced his participation on social media, has yet to be included on MLB’s page of participating players.

Total clarity is unlikely before the official roster announcements on Thursday. Even so, Puerto Rico’s omissions aside, most of MLB’s best players are expected to appear in next month’s tournament. That includes nine of the top 10 players in MLB Network’s recently released Top 100 Player Rankings (José Ramírez is the only exception), an uptick from 2023, when seven of the top 10 appeared in the WBC.

It’s a reminder that despite recent rancor, the event has only continued to grow in popularity among players. The consensus top two pitchers on Earth, Tarik Skubal and Paul Skenes, are both playing for the first time. So, too, are the game’s top two hitters, Aaron Judge and Shohei Ohtani. Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Juan Soto, owners of the two largest contracts in MLB history, will also suit up for the Dominican Republic.

None of that, however, will be any solace to Puerto Rico. Lindor is a generational talent at his professional peak, one of the greatest players in the island’s long and storied baseball history. He currently ranks fifth all time in bWAR among players born on the island; the four legends ahead of him — Roberto Alomar, Iván Rodríguez, Carlos Beltrán and Roberto Clemente — are all Hall of Famers.

The void created by Lindor’s absence in the WBC cannot be filled, leaving Puerto Rican ball fans feeling understandably aggrieved. And nobody, it seems, is at fault. In this instance, there is no obvious villain to blame. Just a sense of disappointment.

The tournament rolls on regardless.