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New York Mets shortstop Francisco Lindor celebrates his home run against the Florida Marlins at Citi Field in Queens on Friday, April 7, 2023. News over the weekend that team captain Lindor and at least seven other Team Puerto Rico players had been denied insurance coverage to play in the World Baseball Classic was received with shock and dismay on the island. (Hilary Swift\/The New York Times)<\/p>\n
With final team rosters due Tuesday, denial of insurance coverage for at least 8 players jeopardizes Team PR\u2019s participation<\/p>\n
Upon learning over the weekend that some Major League Baseball players were not authorized to play by the company that insures the league\u2019s teams, Gov. Jenniffer Gonz\u00e1lez Col\u00f3n joined the calls for Team Puerto Rico, known locally as \u201cTeam Rubio,\u201d to be able to play in the World Baseball Classic (WBC) in March.<\/p>\n
\u201cI spoke with Jos\u00e9 Quiles, president of the Baseball Federation, and Tuti Mu\u00f1oz, promoter of the Caribbean Classic, an event in which the government of Puerto Rico is the main sponsor,\u201d the governor said. \u201cGiven the legitimate request of the Federation president, we join his petition to reconsider the authorization so that our star players can participate.\u201d<\/p>\n
Puerto Rico is one of the global tournament\u2019s first-round hosts, with Canada, Colombia, Cuba and Panama slated to join Team Puerto Rico in pool play at Hiram Bithorn Stadium in Hato Rey from March 6 to March 11. The WBC runs from March 5 through the final on March 17. <\/p>\n
The governor added that Puerto Rico eagerly awaits seeing its complete team on the field.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe believe that the denial of authorization for seven of our athletes should be immediately re-evaluated,\u201d she said. \u201cWe reaffirm our commitment to sports and to the pride of our island, supporting those who represent us with talent and dedication.\u201d<\/p>\n
Gonz\u00e1lez Col\u00f3n said she hopes to speak with Jim Small, president of the World Baseball Classic, to seek alternatives.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe will be awaiting the final decision and will do everything in our power to ensure that our players are able to participate,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
The governor noted that she is also considering other actions.<\/p>\n
Quiles, the Baseball Federation president, anticipated the possibility that the Puerto Rican team might not participate in the WBC.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat option is on the table,\u201d Joey Sola, Team Puerto Rico\u2019s operations manager, told The Athletic\u2019s Ken Rosenthal on Saturday. \u201cIt obviously will depend upon if we can figure out the substitute players.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Athletic report had the number of Team Puerto Rico players denied coverage at eight to 10.<\/p>\n
New York Mets shortstop Francisco Lindor, who is expected to be ready for spring training, was denied coverage based on two right elbow surgeries he underwent in the past three offseasons.<\/p>\n
Also not cleared to play were third baseman Carlos Correa (Houston Astros), right-handed pitcher Jos\u00e9 Berr\u00edos (Toronto Blue Jays) and catcher V\u00edctor Caratini (Minnesota Twins), though the cases of Correa, Berr\u00edos and several others are under review, Sola told The Athletic.<\/p>\n
According to The Athletic, \u201c[t]he heightened insurance concerns stem from injuries to Jos\u00e9 Altuve and Edwin D\u00edaz during the last WBC in 2023, which created aftershocks that will lead to fewer star players on the field\u201d in this year\u2019s edition of the tournament.<\/p>\n
\u201cSince the last tournament, insurance for major league players has grown considerably more expensive, and the league\u2019s insurer has become more stringent about which players it approves,\u201d The Athletic report said, citing \u201cpeople briefed on the underwriting process who were not authorized to speak publicly.\u201d<\/p>\n
The criteria by which the insurer reviews a contracted player\u2019s eligibility for coverage varies from case to case depending on that player\u2019s injury history, along with other factors including age.<\/p>\n
Some in Puerto Rico have suggested that players from the island are not being treated on equal footing compared to players from other nations who have dealt with injuries in the recent past. Sola also pointed out the difficulties created due to the decisions on insurance coming just days before final team rosters are due. (Puerto Rico, among the smaller jurisdictions fielding teams in the WBC, has a smaller player population from which to search for replacements). The deadline for the submission of rosters is Tuesday, with the official announcement slated for Thursday.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn some ways, I think it\u2019s a little bit unfair,\u201d Sola told The Athletic, adding that he knows \u201cthe WBC isn\u2019t in those decisions. It\u2019s the insurance companies.\u201d \u201cEspecially when you are three days from submitting your final roster. Who in the world would think Lindor wasn\u2019t on the [eligible] list? You wait until the last weekend to get an answer on Lindor? C\u2019mon.\u201d<\/p>\n
San Juan Mayor Miguel Romero Lugo, meanwhile, echoed the calls for reconsideration and fairness.<\/p>\n
\u201cPuerto Rico deserves to compete with its full team and on equal terms,\u201d he posted on Facebook. \u201cAfter years of hosting the World Baseball Classic, it\u2019s not fair that administrative, permit, or insurance issues are limiting the participation of our players.\u201d<\/p>\n
The mayor pointed out that \u201cPuerto Rico submitted its roster more than two months ago, and only now are we being notified of the rejection of key players.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cEven Francisco Lindor, previously announced as the team captain, is now facing restrictions that prevent him from representing Puerto Rico,\u201d Romero said in the post.<\/p>\n
\u201cFrom San Juan, we are in direct communication with the local organizers and the president of the World Baseball Classic with the goal of ensuring that Puerto Rico can field its complete team and that we are treated with the fairness we deserve,\u201d the mayor added.<\/p>\n
\u201cNow we need our players to be able to be on the field as well,\u201d Romero said.<\/p>\n
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Houston Astros\u2019 Carlos Correa (1) and Jos\u00e9 Altuve (27) celebrate after winning Game 6 of the American League Championship Series against the Boston Red Sox at Minute Maid Park in Houston, Friday, Oct. 22, 2021. Correa was not cleared by Major League Baseball\u2019s insurer to play in the World Baseball Classic, although his case, along with other players\u2019, is said to be under review. (Annie Mulligan\/The New York Times)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"New York Mets shortstop Francisco Lindor celebrates his home run against the Florida Marlins at Citi Field in…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":444353,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[65],"tags":[363,99],"class_list":["post-444352","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-mlb","tag-mlb","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/444352","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=444352"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/444352\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/444353"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=444352"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=444352"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=444352"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}