{"id":546224,"date":"2026-01-30T18:02:22","date_gmt":"2026-01-30T18:02:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/546224\/"},"modified":"2026-01-30T18:02:22","modified_gmt":"2026-01-30T18:02:22","slug":"add-miguel-rojas-to-the-list-of-those-unable-to-play-in-wbc","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/546224\/","title":{"rendered":"Add Miguel Rojas to the list of those unable to play in WBC"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Miguel Rojas<\/a> is the latest Dodger to withdraw from consideration for the World Baseball Classic<\/a>, joining Teoscar Hern\u00e1ndez<\/a>, Andy Pages<\/a>, Andy Ib\u00e1\u00f1ez<\/a> and perhaps other players. MLB Network will reveal all 20 team rosters Thursday at 4 p.m. PT.<\/p>\n

Rojas, 37, will not represent his native Venezuela because of difficulty obtaining insurance. The versatile World Series star expressed regret that he cannot play in an Instagram story<\/a> that included a photo of himself with the Venezuelan flag draped over his shoulders.<\/p>\n

\u201cToday I am very sad,\u201d he wrote in Spanish. \u201cA real pity to not be able to represent my country and wear that flag on my chest. On this occasion, age wasn\u2019t just a number.\u201d<\/p>\n

Insurance was required to guarantee his $5.5-million salary<\/a> in case he missed Dodgers games because of injuries incurred during the WBC, which will take place from March 5-17 in Tokyo, Miami, Houston and San Juan, Puerto Rico. <\/p>\n

Rojas\u2019 situation is similar to that of Clayton Kershaw<\/a> ahead of the 2023 WBC. The pitcher was disappointed that he couldn\u2019t play <\/a>for Team USA because his injury history made obtaining insurance impossible. The Dodgers <\/a>declined to waive his insurance requirement and assume financial risk in case Kershaw got hurt during the tournament.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m frustrated,\u201d Kershaw said at the time<\/a>. \u201cThey should make it easy for guys that want to play to play.\u201d<\/p>\n

Insurance coverage protects teams from having to pay a player for time missed because of an injury stemming from the WBC, which requires participants to undergo entrance and exit physicals to document injury information.<\/p>\n

Players can be deemed uninsurable for several reasons, a source told The Times<\/a> in 2023. Included are players who finished the previous season on the injured list or spent considerable time on the injured list. Also uninsurable are players diagnosed with a \u201cchronic condition.\u201d <\/p>\n

Rojas, who has said this will be his last season major league season as a player, has sustained a succession of lower-body injuries in recent years. The 12-year veteran utility infielder began his career with the Dodgers in 2014 then played for the Miami Marlins for eight years before rejoining the Dodgers in 2023.<\/p>\n

He will always be remembered by Dodgers fans for his game-tying home run<\/a> in the ninth inning of Game 7 of the 2025 World Series against the Toronto Blue Jays. The baseball Rojas struck sold for $156,000 at auction. <\/p>\n

This will mark the second WBC in a row that Rojas has missed. He was on Venezuela\u2019s 2023 roster but withdrew after fellow infielder Gavin Lux tore his ACL<\/a> during spring training, increasing Rojas\u2019 role with the Dodgers. <\/p>\n

Hern\u00e1ndez has elected not to play for the Dominican Republic while Pages and Ib\u00e1\u00f1ez \u2014 who signed a one-year, $1.2-million contract with the Dodgers this offseason \u2014 won\u2019t suit up for Cuba. It is unclear whether insurance concerns were factors in their decisions.<\/p>\n

However, Houston Astros stars Jose Altuve and Carlos Correa were forced to withdraw<\/a> because of their inability to obtain insurance. Altuve would have played for Venezuela and Correa for Puerto Rico.<\/p>\n

Dodgers who plan to play<\/a> in the WBC include World Series heroes Will Smith of Team USA and pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto<\/a> of Team Japan. Shohei Ohtani announced in November that he would play for Japan, although the two-way superstar has not decided whether he will pitch. <\/p>\n

Smith will be a teammate of Kershaw, who because he retired from the Dodgers doesn\u2019t need insurance now to participate in the WBC. In fact, he\u2019s gone from needing insurance to being insurance. <\/p>\n

\u201cI just want to be the insurance policy,\u201d Kershaw told MLB Network. \u201cIf anybody needs a breather, or if they need me to pitch back-to-back-to-back, or if they don\u2019t need me to pitch at all, I\u2019m just there to be there. I just want to be a part of this group.<\/p>\n

\u201cI learned a long time ago, you just want to be a part of great things.\u201d<\/p>\n