Former Major League Baseball player Miguel Cabrera will serve as hitting coach for the Venezuela national team in the 2026 World Baseball Classic under second-year manager Omar Lopez, who returns after managing the squad in 2023.
Es oficial: ¡Miguel Cabrera sera el coach de bateo del @TeamBeisbolVe en el Clásico Mundial de Béisbol!
El legendario slugger estuvo en las ediciones de 2006, 2009, 2013, 2017 y 2023. #WBC | #ElExtrabase⚾️🇻🇪 pic.twitter.com/oEKNiOiBo1
— El Extrabase ⚾️ (@ElExtrabase) May 5, 2025
Venezuela will play in Pool D in Miami, Florida, at loanDepot Park and will face the Dominican Republic, Israel, Nicaragua, and the Netherlands from March 6 through 11.
Cabrera made his MLB debut with the Florida Marlins on June 20, 2003, and won a World Series title in his first season, helping the Marlins defeat the New York Yankees in six games. He spent four seasons with the Marlins before being traded to the Detroit Tigers on December 5, 2007, in a deal that sent Cabrera and starting pitcher Dontrelle Willis to Detroit in exchange for pitchers Andrew Miller, Dallas Trahern, Eulogio De La Cruz, and Burke Badenhop, along with outfielder Cameron Maybin and catcher Mike Rabelo.
Cabrera spent 16 seasons with the Tigers before retiring after the 2023 season.
Over his 21-year career, Cabrera was a 12-time All-Star from 2004 to 2007, 2010 to 2016, and in 2022. He won the American League MVP Award in 2012 and 2013 and claimed the Triple Crown in 2012. He earned the Louisville Silver Slugger Award seven times, in 2005, 2006, 2010, 2012, 2013, 2015, and 2016. Cabrera also won the AL Hank Aaron Award in 2012 and 2013, claimed the AL batting title in 2011, 2012, 2013, and 2015, led the league in home runs in 2008 and 2012, and topped the AL in RBIs in 2010 and 2012.
In 2,769 career games, Cabrera compiled a .306 batting average with 11,796 plate appearances, 3,174 hits, 627 doubles, 17 triples, 511 home runs, 1,881 RBI, 40 stolen bases, 1,258 walks, 2,105 strikeouts, and a .901 OPS. His lifetime WAR is 67.2.
Cabrera is one of only six Latin-born players to record 3,000 hits in Major League Baseball, joining Roberto Clemente, Rafael Palmeiro, Rod Carew, Adrian Beltre, and Albert Pujols. Ichiro Suzuki, a 2025 Hall of Fame inductee, is the only player born outside of the United States to reach 3,000 hits. Cabrera is also one of only five Latin-born players with 500 or more home runs, alongside Pujols, Palmeiro, David Ortiz, Sammy Sosa, and Manny Ramirez.
The 42-year-old right-handed slugger from Maracay, Venezuela, is the only player to appear in all five editions of the World Baseball Classic since the tournament’s inception in 2006.
Carlos Beltran and Yadier Molina of Puerto Rico, and Frederich Cepeda of Cuba, are the only other players to have played in four WBC tournaments, appearing in 2006, 2009, 2013, and 2017.
Cabrera played in six games in the 2006 WBC and batted .211 with a .400 on-base percentage and a .579 slugging percentage. He had 19 at-bats, collecting four hits, one double, two home runs, five RBI, four walks, and six strikeouts.
In the 2009 WBC, Cabrera played in eight games and hit .281 with a .303 OBP and .594 slugging. He recorded nine hits in 32 at-bats, including four doubles and two home runs, drove in four runs, walked once, and struck out six times. Venezuela was eliminated by South Korea in the semifinals after a 10-2 loss at Dodger Stadium.
During the 2013 WBC, Cabrera appeared in three games and batted .333 with a .429 OBP and .583 slugging. He had four hits in 12 at-bats, including two doubles and one home run, drove in three runs, stole one base, walked twice, and struck out twice.
In the 2017 WBC, he played in six games and hit .190 with a .320 OBP and .333 slugging. He had four hits in 21 at-bats, with one home run, three RBI, four walks, and four strikeouts.
Cabrera made his final WBC appearance in 2023, playing in two games and going 1-for-9 with two strikeouts, finishing with a .111 average before beginning his final MLB season.
Venezuela Looking Ahead For 2026 WBC
Venezuela lost 9-7 to the United States in the quarterfinals of the 2023 WBC quarterfinals.
The farthest Venezuela has gone in the WBC was when the nation went to the semifinals of the 2009 event and lost 10-2 to South Korea at Dodger Stadium.
Lopez recently led Venezuela to the 2024 Premier12 Super Round at the Tokyo Dome this past November.
Venezuela in the 2024 Premier12 went 5-4 in Pool A and the Super Round and lost 6-1 to the United States in the bronze medal game at the Tokyo Dome on November 24, 2024, prior to Lopez returning back to the Cangrejeros de Santurce to finish managing in the 2024-25 Liga de Béisbol Profesional Roberto Clemente regular season in Puerto Rico.
Lopez was promoted to bench coach for the Astros on December 1, 2023 and was named as their first base coach prior to the start of the 2020 season.
Lopez and Aracelis Leon, the president of the Federación Venezolana de Beisbol will have to evaluate their roster in the coming months, considering key position players such as Wilson Contreras, William Contreras, Ronald Acuña Jr., Anthony Santander, José Altuve, Andrés Giménez, Gleyber Torres, Jackson Chourio, Eugenio Suárez, David Peralta, Orlando Arcia, Luis Arráez, Wilmer Flores, Maikel Garcia, Miguel Rojas, Ezequiel Tovar, Francisco Álvarez, Luisangel Acuna, Oswaldo Cabrera, Wilyer Abreu, Salvador Perez, and Gabriel Moreno.
Venezuela will also have to look into how they can build their starting pitching rotation and bullpen for the 2026 WBC with the likes of Pablo Lopez, Jesus Luzardo, Ranger Suarez, Martin Perez, Eduardo Rodriguez, Edgardo Henriquez, Brusdar Graterol, Jose Ruiz, German Marquez, Jose Butto, Robert Suarez, Jose Alvarado, and Luis Garcia to either return from their last roster from 2023 or play for the first time with the national team this upcoming March.
FEVEBEISBOL will have to scout among other players to be with the Venezuelan national team during the 2025 seasons across other professional leagues in Japan with Nippon Professional Baseball, the Korean Baseball Organization, the Chinese Professional Baseball League in Taiwan, the Liga Mexicana de Béisbol and the 2025-26 Liga Venezolana de Beisbol Profesional season outside the other winter leagues in the Caribbean and Australia in order to build a strong roster for Pool D during the 2026 WBC.
Venezuela is ranked at No. 3 in the World Baseball Rankings that are published by the World Baseball Softball Confederation.
WBC Overview
Japan has won the most WBC championships with three in 2006, 2009, and 2023. The United States won in 2017 and the Dominican Republic won in 2013 and are the only other countries to win the WBC since the event started in 2006.
The WBC is sanctioned by the World Baseball Softball Confederation, the sports governing body alongside Major League Baseball, the Major League Baseball Players Association and the WBCI, that partner in organizing the event during spring training.
The 2026 WBC pool matchups for all games are slated on https://www.mlb.com/world-baseball-classic/venues with the confirmed dates, and no game start times have yet been announced.
2026 World Baseball Classic Information
The United States, Italy, Mexico, Great Britain and Brazil will compete at Daikin Park in Houston, Texas from March 6-11 in Pool B.
Puerto Rico, Cuba, Canada, Panama, and Colombia will compete in San Juan, Puerto Rico at Hiram Bithorn Stadium from March 6-11 in Pool A.
Japan, Australia, South Korea, Czech Republic, and Chinese Taipei will compete at the Tokyo Dome from March 5-10 in Pool C.
The Quarterfinals of the 2026 WBC will feature the Pool A runner-up facing the Pool B winner on March 13, while the Pool B runner-up will face the Pool A winner on March 14 at Daikin Park.
The other side of the Quarterfinals will be on March 13 with the Pool C runner-up playing the Pool D winner and the Pool D runner-up.
The 2026 WBC semifinals will be held on March 15 and 16 at loanDepot Park, with the championship game taking place on March 17.
The schedule for the 2026 @WBCBaseball is here! 👀 pic.twitter.com/B5MvUIrZK5
— MLB Network (@MLBNetwork) April 9, 2025
WBSC Rankings Outline
Japan is ranked at No. 1 in the World Baseball Rankings and will play in their sixth WBC. Chinese Taipei hails at No. 2. and will play in their sixth event. Venezuela at No. 3 and will appear for the sixth time at the WBC. Mexico is at No. 4 and will play in their sixth WBC. The United States is at No. 5 and will appear for the sixth time in the WBC. South Korea is labeled at No. 6 and will play in their sixth WBC.
The Netherlands at No. 7 will play in the WBC for the sixth time. Panama at No. 8 will play at the event for the fourth time. Puerto Rico crawling in at No. 9 will appear for the sixth time. Cuba is at No. 10 and will appear in the sixth WBC. The Dominican Republic at No. 11 will play in their sixth event. Australia pipelines at No. 12 and will play for the sixth time at the WBC.
Colombia at No. 13 and will appear in their third WBC. Italy is at No. 14 and will play in their sixth event The Czech Republic at No. 15 will appear in their second WBC. Nicaragua is ranked at No. 16 and will appear in the WBC for the second-time.
Great Britain at No. 18 will play for the second time at the WBC. Israel is ranked at No. 19 and will play in their third WBC. Canada is at No. 22 and will play in their sixth event. Brazil is ranked at No. 23 and will play in their second WBC.
In the 2023 WBC, Nicaragua, Great Britain, and the Czech Republic played in their first event. Israel and Colombia have played in three consecutive WBC events dating back to 2017. Brazil is appearing in the WBC for the first time since 2013. Panama has played in the WBC previously in 2006, 2009 and 2023, prior to 2026.
China will not be participating for the first time in the WBC since they did not qualify in the second qualifier in Tucson, Ariz., while going 0-3. They have been in the WBC since 2006, in the event’s first year.
The teams that are playing in the 2026 WBC and are part of the WBSC Americas sector are the United States, Canada, Mexico, Venezuela, Colombia, Panama, Puerto Rico, Cuba, Nicaragua, Brazil, and the Dominican Republic. In the WBSC Europe sector, Italy, Israel, Great Britain, the Czech Republic and the Netherlands are participating in the 2026 event.
Japan, Chinese Taipei, and South Korea are in the WBSC Asia sector and Australia is in the WBSC Oceania sector.
All the other listed remaining countries have played in the WBC since its first year in 2006.
The WBC is sanctioned by the World Baseball Softball Confederation, the sports governing body alongside Major League Baseball, the Major League Baseball Players Association and the WBCI, that partner in organizing the event during spring training.
The 2026 WBC pool matchups for all games are slated on MLB’s World Baseball Classic site with the confirmed dates, and no game start times have yet been announced.
If teams end up with the same record in pool play the Total Quality Balance run differential rule will be in effect for runs for and runs against alongside the head-to-head record.
2026 WBC Pool Matchups With Confirmed Dates
Pool A – Puerto Rico, Colombia, Panama, Canada & Cuba
Venue – Hiram Bithorn Stadium – San Juan, Puerto Rico
March 6
Game 1 – Cuba vs. Panama
Game 2 – Puerto Rico vs. Colombia
March 7
Game 3 – Colombia vs. Canada
Game 4 – Panama vs. Puerto Rico
March 8
Game 5 – Colombia vs. Cuba
Game 6 – Panama vs. Canada
March 9
Game 7 – Colombia vs. Panama
Game 8 – Cuba vs. Puerto Rico
March 10
Game 9 – Canada vs. Puerto Rico
March 11
Game 10 – Canada vs. Cuba
Pool B – United States, Mexico, Brazil, Great Britain & Italy
Venue – Daikin Park – Houston, Texas
March 6
Game 1 – Mexico vs. Great Britain
Game 2 – United States vs. Brazil
March 7
Game 3 – Brazil vs. Italy
Game 4 – Great Britain vs. United States
March 8
Game 5 – Great Britain vs. Italy
Game 6 – Brazil vs. Mexico
March 9
Game 7 – Brazil vs. Great Britain
Game 8 – Mexico vs. United States
March 10
Game 9 – Italy vs. United States
March 11
Game 10 – Italy vs. Mexico
Pool C – Japan, Chinese Taipei, Australia, South Korea & Czech Republic
Venue – Tokyo Dome – Tokyo, Japan
March 5
Game 1 – Chinese Taipei vs. Australia
Game 2 – Czechia vs. South Korea
March 6
Game 3 – Australia vs. Czechia
Game 4 – Japan vs. Chinese Taipei
March 7
Game 5 – Chinese Taipei vs. Czechia
Game 6 – South Korea vs. Japan
March 8
Game 7 – Chinese Taipei vs. South Korea
Game 8 – Australia vs. Japan
March 9
Game 9 – South Korea vs. Australia
March 10
Game 10 – Czechia vs. Japan
Pool D – Dominican Republic, Netherlands, Venezuela, Israel & Nicaragua
Venue – loanDepot Park – Miami, Fla.
March 6
Game 1 – Netherlands vs. Venezuela
Game 2 – Nicaragua vs. Dominican Republic
March 7
Game 3 – Nicaragua vs. Netherlands
Game 4 – Israel vs. Venezuela
March 8
Game 5 – Netherlands vs. Dominican Republic
Game 6 – Nicaragua vs. Israel
March 9
Game 7 – Dominican Republic vs. Israel
Game 8 – Venezuela vs. Nicaragua
March 10
Game 9 – Israel vs. Netherlands
March 11
Game 10 – Dominican Republic vs. Venezuela
(AP Photo/Marta Lavandier)
