Major League Baseball’s insurance company for the World Baseball Classic is denying coverage to players 37 or older. New Arizona Diamondbacks first baseman Carlos Santana turns 40 in April. Yet, he will compete in next month’s tournament for the Dominican Republic.
The reason: The Diamondbacks are willing to assume the financial risk on Santana if he is injured.
The risk isn’t all that great, by major-league standards: Santana agreed to a one-year, $2 million free-agent contract with Arizona, a deal that became official Tuesday.
The Los Angeles Dodgers, however, were evidently unwilling to take the same chance with infielder Miguel Rojas, who turns 37 on Feb. 24. Rojas, earning $5.5 million this season, will not play for Venezuela in the tournament.
The difference for the Diamondbacks is that they saw a distinct benefit in Santana playing for the Dominican Republic alongside two of his new teammates, second baseman Ketel Marte and shortstop Geraldo Perdomo.
They signed Santana, in part, because of the positive impact he might have on Marte, who ruffled teammates by missing three games last summer after his home was burglarized, and later issued a public apology.
“If those two guys weren’t playing, I’m not sure we would have seen this in the same light,” Diamondbacks general manager Mike Hazen said Tuesday. “There’s a value there for us that those guys will be together. Part of the reason we signed him is that he’s such a great leader and influence. It made a lot of sense for us to absorb a little risk here.”
Hazen said he discussed the matter Monday with Santana. He also consulted with his assistant general managers, Amiel Sawdaye and Mike Fitzgerald. Santana, a 16-year veteran, told Hazen he wanted to represent his country but would do whatever the team preferred.
“He was basically like, ‘What’s in your gut? What do you think is the right thing for me to do?’” Hazen said. “I said, ‘I think you being with Marte and Perdomo is the right thing.’ He was very respectful, not to tell me how important it was to him. He didn’t make it a personal plea.”
Hazen then spoke with owner Ken Kendrick and team president and CEO Derrick Hall on Monday night, and informed Santana’s agent, Ulises Cabrera of Octagon, on Tuesday morning of the team’s decision.
Santana, needless to say, was grateful. He was well aware that New York Mets shortstop Francisco Lindor and Houston Astros third baseman Carlos Correa are among those unable to play in the WBC because they could not be insured.
Both are under contracts far bigger than Santana’s. Neither could be insured because of their medical histories. Mets president of baseball operations David Stearns said Tuesday that Lindor was being evaluated for a stress reaction in his left hamate bone, an issue that might require surgery.
“That happened to a couple of players,” Santana said of those who were denied coverage for the WBC. “But everybody’s different. The Diamondbacks supported me, and it’s wonderful they’re giving me the opportunity to play.”
In a sense, he was fortunate. He had a relatively low salary. He had his two fellow Diamondbacks infielders playing for the Dominican Republic. And he had a front office and ownership that understood what it would mean to him to participate in the WBC.
Santana played for the Dominican Republic in 2013, when the country won the tournament, and also in 2017.
“I know it’s a big deal for him representing his country, maybe for the last time in something like this,” Hazen said. “I think that’s important. For a veteran player like that who has given what he’s given to the game, that’s part of this, too.
“All of those things sort of combined. If any of them was out of whack, maybe we wouldn’t have come to the same decision.”