Star infielders Francisco Lindor and Carlos Correa were conspicuously absent Thursday from Puerto Rico\u2019s roster for the 2026 World Baseball Classic.<\/p>\n
MORE: The Angels appeared to sign a free agent for 50 minutes Wednesday<\/a><\/p>\n 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<\/a> with the Puerto Rican team that ended his season in March 2023. <\/p>\n Lindor and Correa were hardly alone in their inability to get insured. Jose Altuve was not included on Venezuela\u2019s roster because of insurance, the Associated Press reported<\/a>. (Diaz, ironically, was cleared to play.)<\/p>\n According to one report Saturday, insurance wasn\u2019t the reason Lindor and Correa won\u2019t play in the WBC. Former Mets infielder and Puerto Rican radio personality Carlos Baerga reported that singer Bad Bunny paid for the two players\u2019 insurance, but did not receive permission from their respective teams to play in the Classic.<\/p>\n Carlos Baerga dice que Bad Bunny pag\u00f3 por completo los seguros de Carlos Correa y Francisco Lindor y a\u00fan as\u00ed los jugadores no recibieron permiso por parte de sus respectivas organizaciones para jugar en el Cl\u00e1sico.<\/p>\n \u2014 Eliezer Gonz\u00e1lez Caraballo (@ElTioElie) February 7, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n Lindor plays for the Mets. Correa plays for the Astros.<\/p>\n Bad Bunny, who will perform the halftime show at Sunday\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n In 2023, Bad Bunny launched the Rimas Sports agency<\/a> with Rimas Entertainment executives Noah Assad and Jonathan Miranda.<\/p>\n Puerto Rico will begin pool play at the WBC March 6-11 at Hiram Bithorn Stadium in San Juan.<\/p>\n \u2014 Enjoy free coverage of the top news & trending stories on The Big Lead <\/a>\u2014<\/p>\n NFL: Ranking the greatest Super Bowl quarterback performances<\/a><\/p>\n NBA: Former NBA champion Anthony Davis dealt in blockbuster trade<\/a><\/p>\n OLYMPICS: Mikaela Shiffrin has 4-word message for Snoop Dogg two days before Winter Games<\/a><\/p>\n SPORTS MEDIA: 9 MLB teams abandoning FanDuel Sports Network immediately<\/a><\/p>\n ENTERTAINMENT: Police deny viral claim about suspect in disappearance of Savannah Guthrie\u2019s missing mother<\/a><\/p>\n VIRAL: WWE Hall of Famer Nikki Bella clears air on Cooper DeJean dating rumors<\/a><\/p>\n \t\t\t\t