World Baseball Classic: Team Puerto Rico News, Notes, and Analysis

It has been a long three years, but the World Baseball Classic has finally returned. Thus far in the lead-up to the tournament, Puerto Rico has been the talk of the town. Unfortunately for Team Puerto Rico and their fans, it has not been for good reasons.

As many of you know, Puerto Rico will not be entering the WBC at full strength. Hence, the reasoning behind the plethora of coverage regarding their team up to this point.

Francisco Lindor, Carlos Correa, and Javy Báez will all miss this year’s WBC. Lindor and Correa both failed to secure insurance for the tournament. Báez, on the other hand, will be serving a suspension for a failed drug test (positive for marijuana).

This has made Pool A much more interesting. Puerto Rico was the clear favorite, but now people have started counting them out. Despite missing several of their stars, Puerto Rico is still the team to beat in Pool A and should not be taken lightly by anyone.

World Baseball Classic: Team Puerto Rico Roster

As stated, Puerto Rico will be down three of their best players. Despite this obvious disadvantage, they are still a strong team. They were selected as a host team for a reason.

For those who are unaware, Puerto Rico has a long and storied history in the world of baseball. Some of the biggest names to come out of Puerto Rico include Roberto Clemente, Roberto Alomar, and Ivan Rodriguez.

This is a team that has finished as the runner-up in the WBC twice, in 2013 and 2017. So, despite everything that has happened before the tournament gets underway, do not underestimate them.

Infielders

The Puerto Rico infield is going to be missing two starters this year. With that said, they still offer a formidable front. They are likely going to start Christian Vázquez at catcher, Emmanuel Rivera at first, Edwin Arroyo at second, Darell Hernaiz at short, and Nolan Arenado at third.

That is not an infield to scoff at. While it may leave a little to be desired at the plate, it could be one of the stronger defensive units in the tournament. Arenado obviously has an undeniable pedigree at third base. Vázquez was average defensively last season, but in 2024, he finished top 10 in fielding run value among catchers. Rivera is likely the weakest link at first base.

The two young players that will replace Lindor and Correa are Arroyo and Hernaiz. Arroyo grades out as a strong defender. While he has not played much second base in the minors, he has yet to commit an error at the position.

Hernaiz is set to be the shortstop, and he had a decent season last year. Despite only playing 199 innings at the position in 2025, he finished with two defensive runs saved and four outs above average.

While Puerto Rico is putting forth a strong showing defensively, the same cannot be said on the offensive side of the ball. They do not have a single infielder who posted a wRC+ above 100 in the majors last season.

This is where the absence of Correa and Lindor really hurts. Correa posted a 106 wRC+ in 2025 and a 113 wRC+ over his last three seasons. Lindor posted a 129 wRC+ last season, as well as over his last three. That is a lot of offensive production to lose out on.

While the bats may lag behind, Hernaiz and Arroyo have put together quality showings on the basepaths over their minor league careers. These are players to keep an eye on during the tournament. Unfortunately, they will likely draw scrutiny should Puerto Rico struggle, especially on offense.

Outfielders

The starting outfield for Puerto Rico will likely feature Carlos Cortes, Heliot Ramos, and Willi Castro. Whereas the infield for Puerto Rico sets up to be fairly strong defensively, the outfield does not shape up the same.

For one, there is no clear-cut center fielder. With Báez set to miss the tournament, Castro will likely start in center field, where he is not a great defender. On top of that, Cortes and Ramos grade out as average at best in the corners.

The difference here, however, is that a lot of the thump in this Puerto Rico lineup will come from the outfield. Castro, Cortes, and Ramos all have a wRC+ over 100 over their last three major league seasons. Bryan Torres has not made the majors yet, but he had a 147 wRC+ last season in 104 Triple-A games in 2025.

When facing some of the bigger teams in this competition, Puerto Rico is going to rely on this group of outfielders for offense.

Pitching Staff

Rotation

While this pitching staff lacks the firepower of the top countries, it is nothing to scoff at. The starting rotation will likely be Seth Lugo, Elmer Rodríguez, and Eduardo Rivera. They could opt for a four-man rotation, but it is more likely they throw a bullpen game instead.

There is not a lot of major league experience on this team with regard to starting games. Lugo is the only player with substantial experience starting in the majors. With 85 starts over the last three seasons at a 3.50 ERA, he is the team’s ace.

The other two likely starters, Rodríguez and Rivera, come with a lot of intrigue. Rodríguez is one of Just Baseball’s top-ranked Yankees prospects. He grades out with three plus pitches and had a strong 2025. Across three levels, he threw 150 innings with a 2.58 ERA, finishing the year in Triple-A. He is definitely someone to keep an eye on.

Rivera, on the other hand, is not a top prospect for Boston but had a strong 2025 as well. The 22-year-old only threw 87 innings in 15 starts across two levels. He was able to make the most of those innings, with a 2.48 ERA while striking out 11.17 per nine.

It should be noted that José Berríos is in Puerto Rico’s designated pitcher pool. This means that Puerto Rico can elect to replace a predetermined pitcher with Berríos following either the group play stage or the quarterfinals. This would be huge for Puerto Rico should they make it through the group stage.

Bullpen

Where Puerto Rico should have a strong advantage is in the bullpen. Particularly, the back of this bullpen has an argument to be called one of the best in the tournament. It starts with Edwin Díaz, who is one of, if not the best closer in the majors.

He will likely be following Fernando Cruz, who is set to pitch the eighth inning. On the surface, Cruz has only been solid the last couple of seasons. It is worth noting, however, that among players with 180 or more innings since 2022 (Cruz’s first MLB season), only one player has a higher K/9 than Cruz. That one player is Edwin Díaz.

Beyond those two, Puerto Rico will rely on veterans Jorge López and Jovani Moran. They will also feature some interesting young talent. Ricardo Velez, Luis Quinones, and Jose Espada are among those lacking much MLB experience but who could be difference-makers for this team.

Another name on the designated pitcher list for Puerto Rico is Alexis Díaz. Díaz is coming off a poor 2025 season, but his previous three seasons were good. In those three seasons, he threw 187 innings to a 2.93 ERA. He would be quite the mid-tournament addition to this bullpen.

Coaching and Administrative Staff

Yadier Molina is the manager, and PR also has Edgar Martinez as a hitting coach. The Hall of Famer and soon-to-be Hall of Famer have 121.1 fWAR between them. Molina handled the Cardinals’ pitching staff for 19 years, and there is no one better to manage WBC games for Puerto Rico than him.

This will be Molina’s second WBC serving as manager for Puerto Rico. He helped lead them to the quarterfinals in 2023. He was also a member of both runner-up teams in 2013 and 2017. Molina has had a lot of success in this tournament as both a manager and a player.

Alex Cintron has served as a hitting coach for the Astros for the last four seasons. He recently joined the Rangers as a hitting coach for this coming season. He is an experienced coach that will be on the bench for Puerto Rico.

Another notable name on this staff is two-time MVP Juan Gonzalez. Gonzalez also served as Puerto Rico’s national baseball team manager in 2018 and ’19.

Jose Rosado has long been the pitching coach for Puerto Rico. He helped them win their silver medals in the 2013 and 2017 WBCs in the same role.

World Baseball Classic: Team Puerto Rico Schedule

Exhibition Schedule

Puerto Rico will play two exhibition matches against the Red Sox and Twins in Florida.

Pool Play

Puerto Rico will be in Pool A, which they are also the host of. All of their first-round games will be played in San Juan. They are joined in the pool by Canada, Colombia, Cuba, and Panama.

Knockout Rounds

Tournament Outlook

This is obviously not the team Puerto Rico was hoping to field. Despite missing numerous key players, including their captain, they are still positioned to make a run in this tournament.

Puerto Rico is hosting Pool A in San Juan. The group will also feature Colombia, Canada, Cuba, and Panama. While Puerto Rico is arguably still the favorite to win the group, Colombia and Canada both have strong teams in their own right.

This is one of the weaker Cuban teams that we have seen in recent memory, but they are still capable of playing spoiler. Panama is also not a team to take lightly; they have the talent to surprise some people.

Pool A is the most well-balanced group in the tournament. This group is not as top-heavy as the others, but it is by far the deepest. This makes Puerto Rico’s path out of the group look more challenging.

Expect Puerto Rico to come out and play with some fire. They feel like they have been treated unfairly by MLB and the MLBPA with regard to their players being denied insurance. They still have plenty of talent; couple that with a chip on their shoulder, and they could be a very dangerous team.