Touching Base: MLB Teams Making Sure World Baseball Classic Stars Stay Healthy
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Nearly three years ago, Edwin Diaz got Teoscar Hernandez looking with an inside slider on the 10th pitch of the at-bat and raised his hands into the air as his Team Puerto Rico teammates emptied out of the dugout to celebrate in Miami. Díaz’s spotless work in the ninth preserved an upset win over the Dominican Republic to advance to the quarterfinals of the 2023 World Baseball Classic. The Puerto Rican players marked the occasion by hopping up and down in front of the mound. Moments later, the star closer was on the ground grabbing at his knee. In a freak accident amid the revelry, Díaz tore his patellar tendon, forcing him out for the entire 2023 season. Three years later, the fluke injury has not deterred him from returning to the competition, especially with his country set to host Pool A in San Juan starting March 6. "That was an easy decision," Díaz said. "It’ll be my first time playing in front of my people in Puerto Rico, so that was an easy ‘yes’ when I knew the WBC was going to be there." Nevertheless, the devastating injury to Díaz is among the reasons why it has been more difficult for other prominent MLB players to receive clearance to play in the tournament this year — fellow Puerto Rico standouts Francisco Lindor and Carlos Correa, for example, are among the notable standouts who weren’t able to get insured — and why many MLB managers still hold their breath when their players perform in the highly-competitive competition just weeks ahead of Opening Day. "We want our players to play well and want them to show off," said Padres manager Craig Stammen. "The other part, it’s all in the back of our heads, we want them to stay healthy and be ready for us, not have a catastrophic injury that sometimes happens in the WBC." The Díaz injury was the most significant one in 2023, though Jose Altuve also missed the first 43 games of the regular season that year after fracturing his thumb when he was hit by a pitch in the WBC. Altuve only played in 90 games that yea
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- No Data Available - BROWSE BY SPORTS & TEAMS PLAYERS SHOWS PERSONALITIES TOPICS Built on World Baseball Classic World Baseball Classic Touching Base: MLB Teams Making Sure World Baseball Classic Stars Stay Healthy Updated Mar. 5, 2026 6:17 p.m. ET share facebook x reddit link Rowan Kavner MLB Writer Nearly three years ago, Edwin Diaz got Teoscar Hernandez looking with an inside slider on the 10th pitch of the at-bat and raised his hands into the air as his Team Puerto Rico teammates emptied out of the dugout to celebrate in Miami. Díaz’s spotless work in the ninth preserved an upset win over the Dominican Republic to advance to the quarterfinals of the 2023 World Baseball Classic. The Puerto Rican players marked the occasion by hopping up and down in front of the mound. Moments later, the star closer was on the ground grabbing at his knee. In a freak accident amid the revelry, Díaz tore his patellar tendon, forcing him out for the entire 2023 season. Three years later, the fluke injury has not deterred him from returning to the competition, especially with his country set to host Pool A in San Juan starting March 6. "That was an easy decision," Díaz said. "It’ll be my first time playing in front of my people in Puerto Rico, so that was an easy ‘yes’ when I knew the WBC was going to be there." Nevertheless, the devastating injury to Díaz is among the reasons why it has been more difficult for other prominent MLB players to receive clearance to play in the tournament this year — fellow Puerto Rico standouts Francisco Lindor and Carlos Correa, for example, are among the notable standouts who weren’t able to get insured — and why many MLB managers still hold their breath when their players perform in the highly-competitive competition just weeks ahead of Opening Day. "We want our players to play well and want them to show off," said Padres manager Craig Stammen. "The other part, it’s all in the back of our heads, we want them to stay healthy and be ready for us, not h...
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