It has been a very exciting year for Dominican baseball, with superstar Vladimir Guerrero Jr. signing the second highest contract in MLB history in 2025 when he was extended for 14 years and $500 million by the Toronto Blue Jays.
The team the Dominican Republic will put together for the upcoming World Baseball Classic in 2026 will arguably be one of the best lineups ever assembled. They are led by two Dominican and MLB legends, with Albert Pujols being the manager and Nelson Cruz being the general manager for them in the WBC.
Vladimir Guerrero Jr. has always had the spotlight on him because of the legacy his Baseball Hall of Fame father, Vladimir Guerrero Sr., created. Guerrero Jr. was the top-ranked international prospect in the 2015 class, and he signed for $3.9 million out of the Dominican Republic. He was the Blue Jays top ranked prospect from 2017-2019, and he made his Major League Baseball debut with them on April 24, 2019.
He came up as a third baseman, but was ultimately switched to first base. He didn’t have his typical regular season, but still earned an All-Star Game appearance, and showed up when it counted and broke the Blue Jays franchise record for postseason home runs with eight in 2025. Guerrero Jr. also had more home runs than strikeouts in the postseason and had a .397 batting average and an OPS of 1.289 in 73 at-bats.
A look ahead to the Dominican Republic at the World Baseball Classic – Guerrero Jr. will also play for the Dominican Republic in the World Baseball Classic for the first time after he was unable to participate for them in the 2023 edition. He will try to help them break through and win their first WBC title since 2013. This is something that Nelson Cruz and Albert Pujols are also uber motivated to accomplish.
Cruz was also the general manager of the Dominican Republic in 2023.
Pujols gained valuable experience in LIDOM last winter, guiding Leones del Escogido to a Caribbean Series championship in the 2024-25 season.
Juan Soto, Fernando Tatis Jr., Julio Rodriguez, Jose Ramirez, Manny Machado, Ketel Marte, Junior Caminero, Geraldo Perdomo, and Jeremy Pena are among the notable names expected to fill out their lineup in some capacity. Their ace at the moment is Miami Marlins starting pitcher Sandy Alcañtra.
Soto finished third in the National League MVP voting with the New York Mets, and Ramirez finished third in the MVP voting on the American League side with the Cleveland Guardians. Tatis Jr. is a three-time All-Star and a two-time Platinum Glove Award winner with the San Diego Padres. His teammate Manny Machado is one of the best third basemen in the modern era and could be a future Hall of Famer.
Rodriguez won Rookie of the Year in 2022 and has been an All-Star in three out of four seasons with the Seattle Mariners.
Caminero hit 46 home runs last season and is an ascending young player with the Tampa Bay Rays. Caminero also hit a game-winning home run for the Leones del Escogido against the Tigres del Licey to clinch their appearance in the Caribbean Series with Pujols as his manager.
Peña won the World Series with the Houston Astros against the Philadelphia Phillies in 2022 and was named the World Series MVP. The Arizona Diamondbacks have two Dominican studs in Marte and Perdomo. Marte is viewed as the best current second baseman in MLB, and Perdomo just put together the best season for an NL shortstop.
Alcañtara won the National League Cy Young in 2022 and is the ultimate workhorse, despite being slowed down by Tommy John Surgery at the end of the 2023 season.
Dominican Republic’s confirmed players for the 2026 World Baseball Classic ?? pic.twitter.com/ySROLMevhN
— Shawn Spradling (@Shawn_Spradling) December 15, 2025
To put this in perspective, their bench will be stronger than the majority of the other teams’ starting players in the WBC. They will be playing in Pool D in Miami at loanDepot Park with the Netherlands, Venezuela, Israel, and Nicaragua. If they fail to make it out of pool play as they didn’t in 2023, it would be a colossal failure. The players, Pujols and Cruz, will view anything less than winning the WBC as an absolute failure.
The LIDOM Season In Review – The Aguilas Cibaeñas have shown themselves to be the class of LIDOM in the regular season, but will now be tested in the round robin. The Toros del Este were the second best team, and former MLB pitcher Aaron Sanchez helped put them in that position despite not finishing the regular season.
The Gigantes del Cibao finished in third, and Yamacio Navarro was their best hitter with six home runs and an OPS of .873, which was third among all qualified LIDOM hitters. The Lenoes del Escogido were fourth and were guided in large part by veteran outfielder Junior Lake, who became the first player in LIDOM history to have 100 stolen bases, 100 doubles, and 50 home runs.
The Estrellas Orientales were one team that didn’t make the round robin, and they fired manager Fernado Tatis Sr. during the regular season. The Tigres del Licey also failed to make the round robin, despite the addition of former LIDOM MVP Ronny Mauricio.
Photo: Vladimir Guerrero Jr. reacts during the seventh inning of a baseball game against the New York Yankees, Saturday, Sept. 6, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Adam Hunger)
