Dodgers' Miguel Rojas alludes to discrimination as Latin players are denied WBC coverage

On Monday, Team Puerto Rico officially announced that Dodgers closer Edwin Díaz will compete for them in March's World Baseball Classic, bringing the Dodgers' total participant count up to four (five, if you count Clayton Kershaw). Will Smith is locked in as part of Team USA's superstar squad, and Shohei Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto will lead the defending champs on Team Japan.

However, this year's WBC-related news cycle has been a little more complicated than it was the last time around. Multiple players, including Miguel Rojas, have been denied the insurance coverage needed to participate. Rojas didn't mince words about it when asked at this weekend's DodgerFest.

"[I'm] definitely disappointed. I didn't know that my chance to go represent my country for the first and only time, probably as a player, was gonna get blocked because of an insurance problem."

But he also took it a step further, saying: "I don't see that happening with the United States, or happening with Japan. [...] At the end of the day, it feels like it's just happening with the players that want to represent their country from Latin America. So there's a lot of things I would like to talk about with someone in control, with someone from MLB."

Miguel Rojas alleges discrimination against Latin American players after many are denied World Baseball Classic insurance

Rojas was gearing up to represent his native Venezuela alongside Jose Altuve and Carlos Narváez, who have also been denied insurance. Francisco Lindor, Carlos Correa, José Berrios, and Emilio Pagán (among others) were all hoping to play for Team Puerto Rico, but ran into the same problem. Puerto Rico, which is hosting pool play, considered withdrawing after multiple players were denied coverage.

Díaz's addition to their roster is incredibly risky, given the freak accident he suffered in 2023, which sidelined him for the entire MLB season. Given the circumstances, his participation sort of reads as an olive branch to Team Puerto Rico who, according to Katie Woo of The Athletic, still has to make an official decision on whether or not to remain in the tournament.

In Rojas' case, it doesn't seem personal. MLB's insurance broker National Financial Partners has cut off coverage for anyone 37 or older, and Rojas turns 37 on Feb. 24. Players like Correa have a history of injuries, and Lindor had a "cleanup procedure" on his elbow this offseason.

Still, it's undeniable that players from Latin American countries are being impacted far more heavily than the two favorites — USA and Japan — and it's not a great look for MLB.