Houston Astros stars Jose Altuve and Carlos Correa will both miss the World Baseball Classic due to insurance issues.
Correa told The Athletic’s Chandler Rome on Tuesday that, after speaking with Astros owner Jim Crane, he won’t play for Puerto Rico in the upcoming tournament. Correa was unable to receive insurance on his current contract with the team. As a result, he would then risk forfeiting his regular-season salary if he missed any games due to injuries he may suffer at the World Baseball Classic.
Correa has dealt with several injuries in recent seasons, including a sprained ankle, back tightness and a concussion last year alone. He is set to make $31 million next season with Houston.
“I’m definitely upset because I’ve been preparing really hard this offseason to get better this year and be ready early so I can be ready for the WBC,” Correa told The Athletic. “I also understand the business side of things and that’s too big of a risk to take, to play with no insurance.”
Correa, who was deal to the Astros ahead of the deadline last season, held a .290 batting average with six home runs and 21 RBIs in 51 games with Houston.
Altuve is in a similar situation. The Astros second baseman won’t play for Venezuela in the tournament “at the request” of the Astros due to his lack of insurance.
“Jim called me and told me that he wants me to focus on the team and spring training, obviously he traded for me to win a championship here and we had too many injuries as a team [in 2025],” Correa said, via The Athletic.
Altuve, who has spent his entire career with the Astros, held a .265 batting average with 26 home runs and 77 RBIs last season, his 15th in the league. The 35-year-old is set to make $33 million next season, the second of a five-year, $125 million deal.
Altuve had a procedure on his right foot in November, but is expected to be ready for spring training. The Astros went 87-75 last season and missed the playoffs for the first time since the 2016 campaign.
The insurer for the World Baseball Classic players is agreed upon by Major League Baseball and the players union ahead of time. The issue is similar to what happened with both Clayton Kershaw and Miguel Cabrera ahead of the 2023 tournament. Kershaw ended up not participating in the event after he was deemed uninsurable. Cabrera still participated despite not securing insurance, though that was likely due to the Detroit Tigers choosing to guarantee his deal regardless.
The early rounds of the World Baseball Classic, which is set to run from March 5-17, will take place in Tokyo, San Juan, Puerto Rico, and Houston. The semifinals and championship game will be held in Miami.
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