The 2026 World Baseball Classic begins March 5. There are going to be a ton of great teams representing and Venezuela is hoping to make a deep run in a difficult group. They are in Group D with the Dominican Republic, Israel, the Netherlands, and Nicaragua. The DR and Venezuela will meet for their highly anticipated matchup on March 11.
Houston Astros star Jose Altuve will not be playing for Venezuela in this year's WBC. As many might remember, Altuve fractured his thumb after being hit by a pitch in 2023. Altuve would then miss the first 43 games of the following MLB regular season after surgery. This decision not play is coming at the request of the Astros. The team does not want to take a chance on their long-tenured star. Ironically, Astros' bench coach Omar Lopez is the Venezuela manager.
Before this decision was made, Altuve did say he wanted to play, according to the article from MLB.com.
“Altuve said at the team’s annual FanFest on Saturday he would like to play in this year’s WBC for his native Venezuela, which is managed by Houston bench coach Omar López, but the Astros would prefer for him to remain with the club during Spring Training and prepare for the season. López said at last month’s Winter Meetings he would start Altuve at second base and bat him third if he plays for Venezuela.”
2025 was arguably the worst year of Altuve's career outside of 2020 and his rookie season. He finished with a 0.5 WAR and batted only .265. He's been close to or above .300 for a majority of his 15-year career. However, because Altuve can play left field now, he played 155 games in 2025, the most in a season since 2016 (161). With a healthy offseason and focused on MLB, Altuve should have a bounce-back season.
