Liga de Béisbol Profesional de la Republic Dominicana will start their 74th season on October 16 with all six teams in action for three games. The teams in LIDOM are Águilas Cibaeñas, Gigantes del Cibao, Tigres del Licey, Leones del Escogido, Estrellas Orientales, and Toros del Este.
Águilas Cibaeñas- Águilas Cibaeñas went 22-28, finished fifth in the regular season standings, and missed the LIDOM Playoffs. They have the second most LIDOM Championships with 22, and last won it all against Gigantes del Cibao in seven games in the 2020-2021 season.
Notable players- Dominican right-handed pitcher Johnny Cuteo, 38, is an accomplished MLB pitcher and appeared in two games for the Los Angels of Anaheim in 2024. Cueto is a 17-year veteran who spent most of his career with the Cincinnati Reds and won a World Series with the Kansas City Royals in 2015 against the New York Mets. He is a two-time All-Star with career stats of 2,256 innings, 1,857 strikeouts, and 3.52 ERA.
Cueto pitched three seasons for Aguilas from 2006-2009, logging 38.2 innings, 42 strikeouts, and an ERA of 3.96.
Outfielder Juan Lagares was on the losing end of that 2015 World Series with the New York Mets. Lagares won a Gold Glove in center field with the Mets and spent eight seasons with them from 2013-2020. He spent the last two years of his MLB career with the Angels. In 2022, he played 20 games with the Angels and then was released and played one season with the SGS Landers in the KBO.
Lagares has a lengthy resume, with Águilas Cibaeñas playing the last 12 seasons with them. His LIDOM career stats are 13 home runs, 131 RBI, 26 stolen bases, and a slash line of .296/.339/.388 in 929 at-bats.
Gigantes del Cibao– Gigantes del Cibao was 29-20 last season and finished as the top seed in the regular season. They lost their previous game 4-3 to Tigres del Licey and were eliminated in the semifinals at Estadio Quisqueya Juan Marichal in Santo Domingo. They have won two LIDOM Championships, and their last one was in 2021-2022 when they beat Estrellas Orientales in five games.
Notable players- Outfielder Leury Garcia, 33, is their leadoff hitter and spent ten seasons in MLB with the Chicago White Sox. The switch hitter has played eight seasons with Gigantes del Cibao. His career LIDOM numbers are ten home runs, 71 RBI, 57 stolen bases, and a slash line of .291/.359/.388 in 810 at-bats.
Third baseman Hanser Alberto spent eight seasons in MLB from 2015-2023, and in his last game was with the Chicago White Sox. Alberto is also a veteran with Gigantes del Cibao, playing ten seasons for them. His career LIDOM numbers are seven home runs, 93 RBI, and 19 stolen bases. His slash line is .313/.354/.397 in 1,021 career at-bats.
Tigres del Licey– Tigres del Licey went 25-25 last year and snuck into the LIDOM Playoffs as the final team and fourth seed. They are the defending LIDOM Champions and beat Estrellas Orientales 3-2 in the seventh game of the series at Estadio Tetelo Vargas in San Pedro de Macoris. Tigres del Licey has won the last two LIDOM championships and has the most in LIDOM history, with 24. Tigres del Licey lost 3-0 in the Caribbean Series finals at loanDepot Park in Miami to Tiburones de la Guaria, which represented Venezuela in Liga Venezolana de Beisbol Profesional.
Notable Players-
Center fielder Emilio Bonifacio, 39, is their leadoff hitter. He played for several other teams and was an MLB player for 12 years, including four years with the Florida Marlins. His last MLB appearance was in 2020 with the Washington Nationals. The Dominican Bonifacio drove in 15 runs and stole 14 bases in 141 at-bats last season with Tigres del Licey.
Catcher Francisco Mejia, 28, is Dominican and played in Triple-A this past season for the Milwaukee Brewers and the Nashville Sounds. Mejia has played seven MLB seasons with the Tampa Bay Rays from 2021-2023. Mejia hit one home run and drove in 12 runs with an OPS of .707 with Tigres del Licey last season.
Leones del Escogido- Leones del Escogido was 26-24 and finished in third place in the regular season. They were eliminated in the semifinals with a 4-0 loss to Estrellas Orientales at Estadio Tetelo Vargas in San Pedro de Macoris. Leones del Escogido has won 17 LIDOM Championships, and their last one was in the 2015-2016 season.
Notable Players- Infielder Jean Segura played 12 MLB seasons; his last action was with the Miami Marlins in 2023. Segura, 34, spent four years with the Milwaukee Brewers and time with the Philadelphia Phillies and four other teams. Segura was a two-time All-Star and stole 211 bases with an OPS of .729 in 5,469 MLB at-bats.
Segura played three seasons in LIDOM with Gigantes del Cibao from 2010-2013. His numbers are two home runs, 21 RBI, 11 stolen bases, and a slash line of .317/.376/.411 in 158 at-bats.
Catcher Martin Maldonado is Puerto Rican and has played 14 MLB seasons. He won a Gold Glove with the Angels in 2017 and the World Series with the Houston Astros in 2022. He played with the Chicago White Sox in 2024 and was released on July 21.
Maldonado, 38, has never played in LIDOM but has played nine seasons in Puerto Rico with Indios de Mayagüez in Liga de Beisbol Profesional Roberto Clemente. His numbers in Puerto Rico are 11 home runs and 67 RBI in 536 at-bats.
Estrellas Orientales– Estrellas Orientales was 29-21 in the regular season and finished second in the standings. They have won three LIDOM Championships, with their last one coming in the 2019-2020 season against Toros del Este.
Notable players- First baseman Miguel Sano, 31, is a nine-year MLB veteran who spent the first eight seasons of his career with the Minnesota Twins from 2015-2022. He was unsigned by an MLB team in the 2023 season and signed with the Angels before the 2024 season. The Angels released him on July 23. Sano was an All-Star in 2017, hitting 164 home runs in 2,585 career at-bats. He also had 424 RBI and a slash line of .233/.325/.477.
Sano has played four seasons for Estrellas Orientales, including last year. His LIDOM numbers are eight home runs, 33 RBI, and a slash line of .239/.360/.447 in 197 at-bats.
Right-handed reliever Neftali Feliz played in MLB for ten seasons and spent seven with the Rangers. Feliz, 36, won the Rookie of the Year award in 2010 and made his lone All-Star appearance. The closer helped guide the Rangers to consecutive World Series appearances in 2010 and 2011. The Rangers lost to the San Francisco Giants and the St. Louis Cardinals, respectively. Feliz was solid in the Postseason, with six career saves and an ERA of 1.93 in 18.2 innings.
His career regular season numbers are 393.1 innings, 363 strikeouts, an ERA of 3.55, and 107 saves. He pitched eight seasons in LIDOM and debuted with Estrellas Orientales last season. His career LIDOM numbers are 225.1 innings, 241 strikeouts, 2.68 ERA, and 87 saves.
Toros del Este– Finished at 18-31 last season and were in last place. They have won three LIDOM Championship Series, and the last time was in the 2019-2020 season against Tigres del Licey.
Notable Players-
Outfielder Ronny Simon won the LIDOM MVP with Toros del Este last season. Simon, 24, had five home runs, 21 RBI, and 14 stolen bases. He hit for a .323 batting average and an OPS of .926 in 164 at-bats. This will be his fourth season playing for Toros del Este.
He is currently in the Tampa Bay Rays organization and played the entire 2024 season with their Triple-A affiliate, the Durham Bulls.
According to their social media accounts, Infielder Emmanuel Rivera was added to the Toros Del Este roster on October 11. Rivera played in the World Series with the Arizona Diamondbacks in 2023 but lost against the Texas Rangers. The Diamondbacks designated him for assignment before the 2024 regular season.
This past season, he played for the Miami Marlins and Baltimore Orioles. Rivera began his career with the Kansas City Royals in 2021 and was traded to the Diamondbacks in 2022. Rivera has played the majority of his four MLB seasons at third base. His MLB career numbers are 22 home runs, 103 RBI, and a slash line of .244/.306/.369 in 942 at-bats.
Rivera, 28, is Puerto Rican and has played with Indios de Mayaguez for eight seasons in Puerto Rico. His stats with Indios de Mayaguez are ten home runs, 81 RBI, 11 stolen bases, and a slash line of .286/.349/.381 in 854 at-bats. Rivera will make his LIDOM debut this season.
Opening Day Schedule, October 16
Águilas Cibaeñas vs Gigantes del Cibao 7:00 p.m. EST at Estadio Julian Javier in San Francisco de Macoris, Dominican Republic.
Tigres del Licey vs Leones del Escogido 7:15 p.m. EST at Estadio Quisqueya Juan Marichal in Santo Domingo.
Estrellas Orientales vs Toros del Este 7:30 p.m EST al Estadio Francisco A. Micheli in La Romana.
LIDOM Draft for the 2025 season
Each team made 16 picks and the draft order was determined by worst to best record in the 2023-2024 season. The players selected in this draft aren’t eligible to play in Lidom until the 2025-2026 season.
Toros del Este– First overall pick Welbyn Francisca infielder. (Cleveland Guardians organization) Francisca, 18, is a shortstop/second baseman and is the eighth-ranked prospect on MLB Pipeline.com in the Guardians farm system and finished last season in their Low-A affiliate, the Lynchburg Hillcats. His stats in the Arizona Complex League and Low-A were seven home runs, 43 RBI, 19 stolen bases, and a slash line of .326/.411/.474 in 291 at-bats last season.
Francisca signed with the Cleveland Guardians in their 2023 international free-agent class out of the Dominican Republic for $1.3 million.
Águilas Cibaeñas- Second overall pick Leodalis De Vries infielder. (San Diego Padres Organization) De Vries, 17, is a shortstop, the Padres second-ranked prospect on MLB Pipeline.com, and is 28th in their Top 100 Prospect list. He spent the entire 2023 season in their Low-A affiliate, the Lake Elsinore Storm. His numbers were 11 home runs, 38 RBI, 13 stolen bases, and a slash line of .237/.361/.441 in 299 at-bats.
He was the top prospect in the 2023 international class and signed for $4.2 million out of the Dominican Republic.
Tigres del Licey- Third overall pick Starlyn Caba infielder. (Philadelphia Phillies Organization) Caba is a shortstop, the fourth-ranked prospect in the Phillies farm system on MLB Pipeline.com, and is 81st on their Top 100 Prospects list. He started last season with their Florida Complex team and ended the season with their High-A affiliate, the Clearwater Threshers. His combined numbers were two home runs, 26 RBI, 50 stolen bases, and a slash line of 228/.385/.284 in 268 at-bats.
The Phillies signed him for $3 million in the 2023 international free-agent class out of the Dominican Republic.
Leones del Escogido- Fourth overall pick Carlos Jimenez outfielder. (Seattle Mariners Organization) Jimenez, 21, is the Mariners 28th ranked prospect on MLB Pipeline.com and spent last season in the Mariners Arizona Complex League and their Low-A affiliate, the Modesto Nuts. His combined numbers were eight home runs, 53 RBI, 22 stolen bases, and a slash line of .318/.426/.508 in 321 at-bats.
The Mariners signed him in the 2019-2020 international signing period for $480 thousand out of the Dominican Republic.
Estrellas Orientales- Fifth overall pick Roderick Arias, infielder. (New York Yankees Organization) Arias, 20, is a shortstop/second baseman, the Yankees fourth-ranked prospect on MLB Pipeline.com. Arias spent all last year with the Yankees Low-A affiliate, the Tampa Tarpons. Arias had 13 home runs, 74 RBI, 37 stolen bases, and a slash line of .233/.335/.393 in 473 at-bats.
Arias was the top-rated Prospect in the 2022 international class, and the Yankees signed him for $4 million.
Gigantes del Cibao- Sixth overall pick Echedry Vargas infielder. (Texas Rangers Organization) Vargas, 19, is a shortstop/second baseman ranked 17th in the Rangers farm system on MLB Pipeline.com. In 2024, he spent the entire season with their Low-A affiliate, the Down East Wood Ducks. His numbers were 14 home runs, 48 RBI, 29 stolen bases, and a slash line of .276/.321/.454 in 392 at-bats.
In 2022, the Seattle Mariners signed him in their international free agent class for $10,000 out of the Dominican Republic.
