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(Photo by Mike Coppola/Getty Images)
Team Puerto Rico was hit hard by the insurance news surrounding the upcoming 2026 World Baseball Classic, as they’ll be without New York Mets‘ Francisco Lindor. With Puerto Rico hosting games in group play, it was a major blow for the country not to have their best players.
Nonetheless, Houston Astros third baseman Carlos Correa did confirm on Feb. 13 that the island’s top celebrity, Bad Bunny, made one last-ditch effort to get an insurance company to help cover Correa and Lindor.
“It means a lot that he’s that involved,” Correa said (h/t Chandler Rome of The Athletic). “He tried to do everything possible. I wanted to play and make sure that I was going to go out there and play for Team Puerto Rico in Puerto Rico.
“The fact that he did that means a lot in how much he cares for the country, how much he cares for the fans back home. I’m deeply grateful that he tried that hard.”
Bad Bunny’s effort to have Lindor and Correa play for Team Puerto Rico fell short. The Astros standout also revealed that MLB, Houston, and his agent, Scott Boras, did not approve.
“They all told me it was a bad idea,” Correa said. “They all told me the insurance company that was proposed to me had cases where they were not paying players back. Since it was not approved by MLB, not approved by the organization and not approved by my agent, I could not sign my life away with something that three people that I trust are telling me not to do.”
Insider Gives Injury Update on Mets’ Francisco Lindor
As for Lindor, he underwent surgery on Feb. 11 after a specialist confirmed the diagnosis of a stress reaction in his left hamate bone and will miss the next six weeks while he recovers.
MLB Network insider Joel Sherman provided an update on the situation, noting that a major reason leads him to believe that the veteran infielder will be back for Opening Day.
“I don’t know that there are many tougher guys than him in the major leagues,” Sherman said during an MLB Network appearance on Feb. 11. “I mean, he’s played with a fractured finger, a broken toe, and a pinky toe.
“He had a back so bad a couple of years ago that he could hardly stand and he kept playing and had one of the biggest hits of the season to get the Mets in the playoffs that year. He’s tough, and the Mets firmly believe he’ll hit the six-week mark… They believe he’s going to be back in that period, in part because of his toughness that’ll get on the field.”
One Major Concern for Francisco Lindor Coming Off Surgery
Still, Sherman noted on the broadcast that he’s a bit concerned about whether Lindor’s power will be affected after the surgery.
“The question is in some of these instances, there is some loss of power,” Sherman added. “For example, Francisco Alvarez had this injury last spring training. At the very beginning, when he came back, it wasn’t until the second half of the season that we really saw some power from him…
“So now the question becomes, if Lindor takes a while to get into his power, can the Mets get enough of it from the rest of the lineup?”
Eduardo Razo Eduardo Razo is a sports writer for Heavy.com, covering the NFL, MLB, and college football. He has previously covered the NFL, NBA, NHL, and MLB for NBC Sports Washington and NBC Sports Bay Area & California, and has freelanced for PSG Talk, covering Paris Saint-Germain. He also worked as an editor at Athlon Sports, focusing on MLB and the NFL. More about Eduardo Razo
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