While the World Baseball Classic will feature some of the biggest names in the sport, plenty of superstars are also missing out due to their inability to acquire insurance for playing at the tournament. Here’s taking a look at storylines attached to insurance cases.
Jack Leiter Unable to Make it to Team USA’s WBC Roster
In an exclusive interview published on The Dallas Morning News on Tuesday, Texas Rangers pitcher Jack Leiter admitted that he had to turn down the opportunity to play for Team USA at the upcoming World Baseball Classic. He said that he was denied insurance to represent his country at the international showcase event.
“It wasn’t a hard ‘no,’” Leiter said. “But it just came down to crossing the ‘Ts’ and dotting ‘Is’ on the insurance. It came down to insurance stuff I don’t really understand. I couldn’t control it. And at the end, you worry about what you can control.”
The 25-year-old has a deep personal connection to the event, as his dad, Al Leiter, was part of the inaugural Team USA roster at the 2006 World Baseball Classic.
“It’s a dream of mine and high up on my list,” he added. “It didn’t work out in the end. I was definitely frustrated and still am a little bit, but it will be fine.”
Leiter impressed in his first full season for the Rangers in 2025. He went 10-10 with a 3.86 ERA in 151.2 innings pitched, finishing seventh in the American League Rookie of the Year standings.
He would have joined an impressive pitching staff for the USA led by the two Cy Young winners from last season, Tarik Skubal and Paul Skenes. Leiter will also see New York Mets breakout star from 2025, Nolan McLean, share the clubhouse with the other stalwarts.
Leiter’s Rangers teammates Austin Bergner (Colombia), Nabil Crismatt (Colombia), Robert Garcia (Mexico), Daniel Missaki (Brazil), Alejandro Osuna (Mexico), Cal Quantrill (Canada), Blake Townsend (Australia) and Ricardo Velez (Puerto Rico), will also be part of the event.
Diamondbacks Grant Carlos Santana Permission to Play at the WBC
Team Dominican Republic added plenty of experience to its lineup through the addition of 16-year veteran Carlos Santana. But for him to have his participation confirmed, the Arizona Diamondbacks, who had reportedly signed him to a one-year, $2 million contract last week, had to take up his insurance, as players above 37 years of age weren’t given injury cover for the World Baseball Classic.
On Tuesday, after Santana’s deal became official, D-backs general manager Mike Hazen revealed the reason why the team was willing to take the risk with Santana. It had everything to do with Santana’s new D-backs teammates Ketel Marte and Geraldo Perdomo, who are expected to start side-by-side for the Dominicans.
“If those two guys weren’t playing, I’m not sure we would have seen this in the same light,” Hazen said as per Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic. “There’s a value there for us that those guys will be together. Part of the reason we signed him is that he’s such a great leader and influence. It made a lot of sense for us to absorb a little risk here.”
One of the reasons behind signing Santana has been to help Marte re-settle back into the lineup through the advice he receives from the 40-year-old. The star second baseman has found trouble with his teammates after his actions following a home burglary after the All-Star break last year.
Meanwhile, Santana brings his power game to the depths of the D-backs and Dominican Republic lineups. He slowed down a bit in 2025, hitting just 11 home runs but has managed at least 18 home runs in each of his full MLB seasons. In fact he hit 46 homers in his age 37 and 38 seasons in 2023-24.
