WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) \u2014 Bad Bunny really wanted to see Carlos Correa play for Puerto Rico at home in the World Baseball Classic. <\/p>\n
Correa, the infielder for the Houston Astros left off the WBC roster over insurance coverage<\/a>, said Friday that the music superstar and fellow native of Puerto Rico had offered to pay for a policy. <\/p>\n \u201cIt means a lot that he\u2019s that involved,\u201d Correa told reporters at the Astros\u2019 spring training complex. \u201cHe tried to do everything possible. I wanted to play and make sure that I was going to go out there and play for Team Puerto Rico in Puerto Rico. The fact that he did that means a lot in how much he cares for the country, how much he cares for the fans back home. I\u2019m deeply grateful that he tried that hard.\u201d<\/p>\n Correa, who has a $200 million contract through 2028<\/a>, had surgery in 2014 to repair a broken right tibia<\/a> and both San Francisco and the Mets failed to approve his physicals for a contract during the 2022-23 offseason.<\/p>\n While not providing the name of the provider Bad Bunny proposed, Correa said it was one that was not approved by Major League Baseball, the Astros and Correa\u2019s agent, Scott Boras. A person familiar with the process said MLB was not contacted about the possibility of Bad Bunny arranging an insurer. The person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because no public statements were made.<\/p>\n \u201cI could not sign my life away with something that three people that I trust are telling me not to do,\u201d Correa said.<\/p>\n Puerto Rico is hosting pool play games in the WBC next month. <\/p>\n Bad Bunny, who was born Benito Antonio Mart\u00ednez Ocasio, is one of the most-streamed artists on the planet. He was the featured halftime performaer at the Super Bowl<\/a> last Sunday, a week after winning album of the year at the 2026 Grammys for \u201cDeb\u00ed Tirar M\u00e1s Fotos\u201d, which is the first time an all Spanish-language album<\/a> took the top prize. <\/p>\n Bad Bunny\u2019s sports representation firm, Rimas Sports, and the MLB Players Association settled a lawsuit<\/a> last year after the union disciplined the agency over violations of its agent regulations. It revoked the agent certification of Rimas\u2019 William Arroyo and denied certifications of executives Noah Assad and Jonathan Miranda, citing citing a $200,000 interest-free loan and a $19,500 gift. The union issued a $400,000 fine for misconduct. Arbitrator Ruth M. Moscovitch upheld the union\u2019s five-year suspensions of Assad and Miranda and cut Arroyo\u2019s suspension to three years. <\/p>\n ___<\/p>\n AP Baseball Writer Ronald Blum contributed to this report from New York.<\/p>\n ___<\/p>\n