With the 2026 World Baseball Classic upcoming, Major League Baseball players are starting to commit to one of the tournament's 20 teams.
Houston Astros second baseman and left fielder Jose Altuve played for Venezuela in the 2017 and 2023 editions of the WBC, but his status for next March is unclear.
Altuve underwent a minor foot procedure in November to remove fluid from his right foot. The injury nagged him for the last few weeks of the 2025 regular season.
Venezuela manager Omar Lopez told The Athletic's Chandler Rome that Altuve's participation depends on his health for the tournament.
Lopez added that Altuve expressed to him that he wants to play in the WBC, and he plans to use him at second base and slot him third in the batting order.
Altuve knows the injury risk of playing in the WBC
Altuve fractured his right thumb during the 2023 WBC, getting hit in the hand by a fastball from Team USA's Daniel Bard.
He missed the first 43 games of the Astros' 2023 season after undergoing surgery and played just 90 total contests.
Altuve's 2025 season was one of the worst offensive years of his career, despite managing 26 home runs. His 0.5 bWAR ranked 12th on Houston's roster, and his.771 OPS was his worst in a full season since he posted a.678 mark in 2013.
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