Star infielders Francisco Lindor and Carlos Correa were conspicuously absent Thursday from Puerto Rico’s roster for the 2026 World Baseball Classic.
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The two veterans had been denied insurance coverage for the tournament, which resulted in then-New York Mets closer Edwin Diaz suffering a freak injury with the Puerto Rican team that ended his season in March 2023.
Lindor and Correa were hardly alone in their inability to get insured. Jose Altuve was not included on Venezuela’s roster because of insurance, the Associated Press reported. (Diaz, ironically, was cleared to play.)
According to one report Saturday, insurance wasn’t the reason Lindor and Correa won’t play in the WBC. Former Mets infielder and Puerto Rican radio personality Carlos Baerga reported that singer Bad Bunny paid for the two players’ insurance, but did not receive permission from their respective teams to play in the Classic.
Lindor plays for the Mets. Correa plays for the Astros.
Bad Bunny, who will perform the halftime show at Sunday’s Super Bowl in Santa Clara, California, has been closely involved in baseball before. In 2022, he appeared in the celebrity softball game during the All-Star Game festivities at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles.
In 2023, Bad Bunny launched the Rimas Sports agency with Rimas Entertainment executives Noah Assad and Jonathan Miranda.
Puerto Rico will begin pool play at the WBC March 6-11 at Hiram Bithorn Stadium in San Juan.
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