After losing a number of its top players for the upcoming World Baseball Classic for insurance reasons, Puerto Rico is considering pulling out of the tournament altogether.

José Quiles, president of the Puerto Rico Baseball Federation, shared the news on Saturday during a Spanish-language interview, per USA Today’s Bob Nightengale.

In the lead-up to March’s tournament, Puerto Rico has seen some of its top names, notably Francisco Lindor, Carlos Correa and José Berríos, withdraw from participating due to their inability to secure insurance coverage.

“Due to the cleanup procedure that Francisco Lindor had on his right elbow earlier this off-season, he will not be participating for team Puerto Rico in the 2026 World Baseball Classic.

“Francisco is obviously disappointed that he will be unable to participate. However, because of WBC insurance constraints, he is ineligible to play in WBC games. He will participate fully in all spring training activities.”

MLB requires all players on a 40-man roster to be insured for the Classic in case of injury. During the 2023 WBC, star closer Edwin Díaz and second baseman Jose Altuve were injured but were still paid by their insurance policies, not by their respective MLB clubs.

The Athletic reported Saturday that insurance for MLB players “has grown considerably more expensive” since the 2023 tournament, adding that “the league’s insurer has become more stringent about which players it approves.”

Altuve, who had planned to play for Venezuela once again this spring, was also unable to secure insurance and won’t suit up at the event, per the MLBPA.

If Puerto Rico were to officially pull out of the tournament, it would be a significant blow to this year’s WBC. The country is slated to host Pool A round-robin play, which includes Canada, Colombia, Cuba, Panama and the Puerto Rico team.

It is unclear how tournament organizers would respond if Puerto Rico backed out.

Each team must submit their official roster by Tuesday, ahead of Thursday’s announcement.

The Athletic added that “MLB and the MLBPA, co-owners of the tournament, are lobbying the insurer to change some decisions.”

Puerto Rico has participated in all five World Baseball Classics up to this point. It finished as the tournament runners-up in 2013 and 2017.

In 2023, it advanced from pool play before losing to Mexico in the quarterfinals.