Weeks before the World Baseball Classic is scheduled to start, major stars are dropping out, with Puerto Rico’s team hit particularly hard. Shohei Ohtani won’t pitch; Francisco Lindor and Jose Altuve won’t play at all.
All three stars are restricted by how their contracts are insured for the WBC, a previously little-known situation that has become the dominant storyline of the tournament.
How Does Insurance Work for the WBC?
National Financial Partners is the insurer for the tournament, agreed upon by the MLB and MLBPA. The insurance policies in place cover a player’s guaranteed salary if they were to get hurt in the WBC, paying back the player’s major league team. These policies will cover a position player’s salary for two years and a pitcher’s for four years, according to The Athletic.
Insurance is reportedly more expensive this year than it was for the last WBC, largely as a result of the major injuries suffered by Edwin Díaz and Altuve in 2023. Díaz tore his right patellar tendon celebrating a win against the Dominican Republic and missed the entire 2023 season, with his $17.25 million mets salary covered by insurance. Altuve was hit by a pitch against the U.S. and fractured his right thumb, causing him to miss the first 43 games of the regular season for the Astros.
Francys Romero reported that players get grouped into one of three injury categories that help decide whether NFP will insure them or not. The most severe title is “chronic condition”. The criteria for this category includes players who have had multiple surgeries, underwent surgery following the season, or have had multiple stints on the 60-day IL. The next tier is “intermediate” for those who have landed on the 10-day IL multiple times in recent years. Lastly, players with a lack of injury history are considered “low risk” and are likely to be insured.
If a player is denied insurance as a result of their injury history, they can still participate in the WBC if their major league team is willing to assume the risk. This happened in 2023 with Miguel Cabrera, as the Tigers chose to let the first baseman play, taking responsibility for his $32 million salary.
Who Is Affected?
Team Puerto Rico has been hit the hardest, with several key players denied insurance. The MLBPA announced Friday that Lindor will not play in the WBC, saying in a statement that “because of WBC insurance constraints, he is ineligible to play in WBC games.” The Mets shortstop had a cleanup procedure on his right elbow during the offseason that was cited as the reason why he will not be insured. Unlike Detroit in 2023, New York will not take responsibility for its star’s salary, making Lindor ineligible to play. The 32-year-old Lindor has six years and $194.9 million remaining on the contract he signed with the Mets in 2021.
Carlos Correa, José Berríos, and Victor Caratini also planned to play for Puerto Rico, but are expected to not be insured and thus will be ineligible to participate. Joey Sola, Team Puerto Rico’s operations manager, told The Athletic that withdrawing from the tournament “is on the table” if they are unable to replace the reported 8-10 players that are having insurance issues.
Besides Puerto Rico, Venezuela’s roster has been noticeably impacted. On the same night Lindor was announced as ineligible, so was Altuve, with the MLBPA releasing a similar statement citing insurance as the reason why the longtime Astro will not suit up for his home country. Additionally, Dodgers infielder Miguel Rojas will not participate in the WBC as a result of a new insurance provision for the tournament that does not protect the salaries of players aged 37 and older.
Rojas expressed his frustrations about being ruled ineligible at DodgerFest on Saturday. “It feels like it’s just happening with the players that want to represent their country from Latin America,” he said. “It’s really hard to not have the opportunity to put my country on my chest and to represent them and help win a World Baseball Classic. Not having the opportunity to do it because I’m 37 years old, that’s not right.”
Ohtani will not be a two-way player for Team Japan, opting not to pitch in the tournament. While Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said the decision was Ohtani’s, it is not believed that he would have received insurance to pitch in the WBC after undergoing a major elbow surgery in 2023.
The United States has not had any players flagged for insurance issues as of Monday morning. Clayton Kershaw, restricted from playing in the 2023 WBC after being denied insurance, will play for Team USA this year as he is now retired and no longer has to be covered.
The MLBPA put out a statement to reporters in response to players not being granted insurance. “Players are passionate about being able to play the game they love for their country’s fans. It is why we understand and share in the disappointment of last night’s news regarding the insurance criteria not being met for the Players to participate in the World Baseball Classic.”
What’s Next?
The WBC will begin on Mar. 4, with a pool play matchup between Australia and Chinese Taipei at the Tokyo Dome. Teams will look to finalize their rosters in the coming days, with insurance issues looming large in the decision-making process.
“Rosters are announced on February 5th. The vetting process on player eligibility for all WBC teams is currently ongoing,” a WBC spokesperson told FOS.
