In most years, Team Puerto Rico is a juggernaut in the World Baseball Classic. The American Territory has boasted stars on the roster over the years, including Yadier Molina, Iván Rodríguez, Carlos Beltrán, Francisco Lindor, Carlos Correa, and Javier Baez.
Their 2026 roster is far less star-studded than past years, largely due to insurance problems. (Bad Bunny reportedly offered to pay the insurance for multiple players, including Lindor, but many parties decided that wasn’t a great idea.) Their pitching is a huge question mark, and they do not have as great a lineup as they had in past years to make up for it.
Notable Players
The bulk of their offense is made up of Nolan Arenado, Heliot Ramos, Eddie Rosario, MJ Melendez, Willi Castro and Christian Vázquez. The only player of that group who had an above-average WRC+ was Ramos at 106. Rookie Carlos Cortes, who was in the Mets’ system for seven years, did put up a .309/.323/.543/.866 slash across 99 plate appearances for the Athletics, but he was heavily platooned with only three PAs against a left-handed pitcher.
Former Mets Seth Lugo and Edwin Díaz are the two biggest pitching names on the roster. Unfortunately, they cannot throw all of the innings. That is not to say there is not talent—Fernando Cruz, Alexis Díaz, Rico Garcia, Jorge Lopez, and Yacksel Ríos are established major leaguers. But Team Puerto Rico does not have the large quality of front-line pitchers that some of the other teams have. Yankees prospect Elmer Rodriguez is a name to watch. He was ranked the 59th best prospect by Baseball America and pitched to a 2.58 ERA and 1.073 WHIP in the minors in 2025, ending his season in Triple-A.
Notable Coaches
Yadier Molina is returning as the manager of Team Puerto Rico after managing the team in 2023. Since then he has managed in the Roberto Clemente Professional Baseball League and the Venezuelan Professional Baseball League. Molina spent 19 years in the majors with the Cardinals and is considered one of the best defensive catchers of all time.
Bench coach Alex Cintrón is the Texas Rangers’ assistant hitting coach for the 2026 season. Hitting coach Juan González is a two-time MVP winner and will be sharing the role with Hall of Fame outfielder Edgar Martínez. Pitching coach Ricky Bones served as the Mets’ bullpen coach from 2012-2021 and was the National bullpen coach through the 2025 season. He will share the role with current Mets bullpen coach José Rosado.
WBC History
Puerto Rico has now made it to all six World Baseball Classics and has made it to the championship twice—in 2013 and 2017. Both times, they fell short and were the runner-up to the Dominican Republic and USA, respectively. In 2017, they carried a perfect 7-0 run heading into that championship game.
Pool
Team Puerto Rico will play in Pool A with Teams Panama, Cuba, Canada, and Colombia. They are in one of the arguably weaker pools, which could help them advance. They also have a home-field advantage, as Puerto Rico is hosting all of the games in the pool.
Their first game is against Team Colombia on March 6.
For a ranking of all 20 teams by MMO, click here.