Francisco Lindor will miss the opportunity to play for Team Puerto Rico in the upcoming edition of the World Baseball Classic. The New York Mets shortstop wasn’t able to secure insurance for the tournament after undergoing an elbow procedure.
Lindor, who captained Team Puerto Rico in the previous edition, gave a statement via the MLB Players Association.
“Due to the cleanup procedure that Francisco Lindor had on his right elbow earlier this offseason, he will not be participating for team Puerto Rico in the 2026 World Baseball Classic,” the statement read.
“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.”
The five-time All-Star’s surgery in October was termed as a “minor cleanup” to his throwing arm. This is the second time Lindor has needed work on his right elbow. Two years before the latest surgery, he had to clean up bone spurs from the same elbow. This is the second major incident involving Lindor’s health in recent months after he played through a fractured pinky.
Lindor will be missed by Team Puerto Rico after he recorded a team-high .450 average and drove in five runs for them during the 2023 edition. They recorded wins over Team Nicaragua, Team Israel and heavyweights Team Dominican Republic in the preliminary round and qualified for the quarterfinals, where Team Mexico halted their run.
Team Puerto Rico is hosting the other participants in Pool A of the tournament at the Hiram Bithorn Stadium. They are set to take on Team Cuba, Team Canada, Team Panama and Team Colombia from March 6 to March 11. Two top teams from the pool will qualify for the knockout stages set to be held in Miami and Houston.
Francisco Lindor Among Many Stars Missing WBC
Francisco Lindor isn’t the only major name set to sit out of the 2026 World Baseball Classic. The Los Angeles Dodgers quartet of Mookie Betts (USA), Freddie Freeman (Canada), Roki Sasaki (Japan) and Miguel Rojas (Venezuela) announced their unavailability.
The Houston Astros’ Carlos Correa also failed to secure insurance to play for Team Puerto Rico, while his teammate Jose Altuve (Venezuela) was requested by the team to miss the event.
Lindor’s Mets teammates, Nolan McLean and Clay Holmes, however, are all set to take the mound for Team USA. Juan Soto has yet to confirm his participation for Team Dominican Republic, while their new addition, Bo Bichette, who signed a three-year, $126 million contract with New York recently, was expected to play for Team Brazil but has declined the deal.
