With its teams having won four of the last six Caribbean Series titles, it’s hard to argue, at least for now, that the Dominican Republic’s LIDOM is the top league in Latin American baseball — especially when you consider that in 2022 and 2024, the two Caribbean Series of the last six that the LIDOM representative didn’t win, they still made the championship game.
Heck, five of the six teams of LIDOM have represented the league at the past six Caribbean Series, demonstrating just how much parity exists in the league from year to year.
Winter ball is a bit of a different animal, with myriad roster moves happening daily and players joining other teams as reinforcements when their team has been eliminated, but it’s all part of the fun.
Last year, manager Albert Pujols and the Leones del Escogido brought in several reinforcements from the teams that didn’t make the Round Robin. If you’re unfamiliar with “reinforcements”, after the LIDOM’s 50-game regular season is over, the top four teams advance to an 18-game Round Robin, and they can select players from the eliminated teams to shore up their roster for the playoffs. Among them were Luis Liberato and Joe Corbett from the Toros del Este. Corbett was spectacular out of the bullpen for the Leones, not allowing a run in 7 2/3 innings over seven appearances, while Liberato went 8-for-29 with seven runs scored in 11 games in the four-team playoff.
From there, the Leones advanced to the LIDOM championship series, where Junior Caminero’s memorable homer in Game 7 sent them to the Caribbean Series in Mexicali, Mexico. They won that, too, despite going 2-2 in pool play, winning one-run games in the semi-finals against Venezuela and in the final against Mexico.
Pujols has moved on from the Leones, and is in the running to manage Major League Baseball’s Los Angeles Angels, for whom he once starred. Alex Cintron has taken over the Leones this year, and they still have a formidable roster.
But in winter ball, just about anything can happen, and if you watch LIDOM games on MLB.tv, you’ll undoubtedly hear the inimitable voice of Franklin Mirabal, who broadcasts the games of the Tigres del Licey in Santo Domingo.
Several times an inning, he’ll intersperse an English phrase into his rapid-fire Spanish play-by-play. Often, he’ll use a phrase in one that applies well in winter ball, regardless of where the game is being played.
That phrase?
“I can’t believe it!”
Where to Watch – The Dominican Republic’s LIDOM is streamed live on MLB.tv with commentary in Spanish. You’ll need to have a subscription to watch.
RELATED: 10 Things to Know About Winter Ball Around the World For 2025-26
RELATED: Notable Winter Ball Events During the 2025-26 Season
RELATED: LVBP 2025-26 Preview: Leones Hope To Play Another Caribbean Series At Home
Here’s a look at each team in LIDOM before the season starts Oct. 15.
Leones del Escogido
Stadium – Estadio Quisqueya Juan Marichal, Santo Domingo
Manager – Alex Cintron (First Season)
Notable Players – Jose Marmolejos, 1B/OF; Jean Segura, IF; Franchy Cordero, OF; Junior Lake, IF/OF; Yamaico Navarro, IF; Phillips Valdez, P; Junior Caminero, 3B
Last Year – 24-25 Regular Season (fourth place), 10-5 Round Robin (second place), Won Serie Final 4-3, Won Caribbean Series.
Outlook – The Leones del Escogido squeaked into the Round Robin, but reinforcements helped propel them to both the LIDOM title and the Caribbean Series title in Mexicali. Alex Cintron has taken over the team from Albert Pujols, who showed his abilities as a manager last season by capturing two championships in his first time at the helm of a professional team. Cintron, too, will getting his first chance to run a professional team with the Leones, and has the bulk of last year’s core returning. Expect the Leones to be competitive from the hop, though how they do down the stretch will, as often happens in LIDOM, be dictated by which players they sign as reinforcements.
Tigres del Licey
Stadium – Estadio Quisqueya Juan Marichal, Santo Domingo
Manager – Gilbert Gomez (Third Season, 56-51 Career)
Notable Players – Radhames Liz, SP; Cesar Valdez, SP; J.C. Mejia, RP; Francisco Mejia, C; Gustavo Nunez, IF; Cristian Adames, IF
Last Year – 27-22 Regular Season (third place), 11-4 Round Robin (first place), Lost Serie Final 4-3
Outlook – The team known colloquially as “El Glorioso” are no doubt smarting after losing a dramatic seven-game Serie Final to their archrival Leones del Escogido, but they will again be a talented squad with a lot of veterans, including pitchers Radhames Liz and Cesar Valdez, who will be the cornerstones of the staff again this year. Gilbert Gomez continues to improve as a manager and is likely going to lead an MLB club in the future. His candidacy would certainly be helped by winning a second LIDOM title.
Estrellas Orientales
Stadium – Estadio Tetelo Vargas, San Pedro de Macoris
Manager – Fernando Tatis Sr. (Third Season, 59-41 career)
Notable Players – Miguel Sano, 1B/3B; Magneuris Sierra, OF; Robinson Cano, 2B/DH; Raimel Tapia, OF; Neftali Feliz, RP
Last Year – 30-20 Regular Season (first place), 5-10 Round Robin (third place)
Outlook – The Estrellas Orientales have been around 115 years and only have three titles to show for it. They broke a 41-year drought in 2019 and are the subject of one of the best baseball books you’ll read, Mark Kurlansky’s The Eastern Stars. Fernando Tatis Sr. is back as manager this year after leading the Estrellas to a first-place finish in the regular season. If Miguel Sano can return to form after missing part of last winter to illness and taking the summer off, he’ll be a big piece of the Estrellas offense.
Aguilas Cibaenas
Stadium – Estadio Cibao, Santiago
Manager – Luis Urueta (First Season, 89-81 career)
Notable Players – Jerar Encarnacion, 1B/OF; Andretty Cordero, 1B/3B; Devin Smeltzer, P; Pedro Strop, P
Last Year – 28-22 Regular Season (second place), 4-11 Round Robin (fourth place)
Outlook – With two-time LIDOM Manager of the Year Luis Urueta taking over, the Aguilas have a talented pilot. But it remains to be seen if they’ll have enough talent on the field to get the job done. Jonathan Villar, who had 22 RBIs last year, is headed to Licey, but Philadelphia Phillies prospect Jose A. Rodriguez, who appeared in one MLB game with Chicago White Sox in 2023, is coming off a season marred by injuries, but if he can return to form, he could add to the lineup.
Gigantes del Cibao
Stadium – Estadio Julian Javier, San Francisco de Macoris
Manager – Jose Leger (First Season, 22-28 career)
Notable Players – Nabil Crismatt, SP; Henry Urrutia, 1B; Kelvin Gutierrez, 3B; Carlos Peguero, LF; Leury Garcia, CF
Last Year – 22-27 Regular Season (fifth place)
Outlook – Two years ago, the Gigantes finished atop the regular season standings before going 7-11 in the Round Robin and not making the championship series. Last season, they didn’t make the Round Robin, so the Gigantes of San Francisco de Macoris are hoping for a good season in 2025-26. They have a few bats, most notably Carlos Peguero, who led the team with eight homers and 25 RBIs in 37 games last winter, and Leury Garcia and Kelvin Gutierrez, who each drove in 20 runs a year ago. Workhorse pitcher Nabil Crismatt, who elected free agency after pitching eight games with the Arizona Diamondbacks in 2025, threw 54 1/3 innings over 11 starts with Cibao last year, striking out 49 while walking just 11 and posting a 3.15 ERA.
Toros del Este
Stadium – Estadio Francisco Micheli, La Romana
Manager – Victor Estevez (First Season, 26-24 career)
Notable Players – Esmil Rogers, SP, Aaron Brooks, SP; Joe Corbett, RP; Bryan De La Cruz, OF; Webster Rivas, C/1B
Last Year – 17-32 Regular Season (sixth place)
Outlook – There’s nowhere to go but up for the Toros, who finished five games short of the Round Robin last year. Former MLB starter Aaron Brooks adds a veteran arm to the starting rotation, while Jimmy Yacabonis and Justin Courtney are coming off winning the Liga Mexicana de Beisbol championship with the Diablos Rojos del Mexico. The Toros didn’t really have a power threat in the lineup in 2024-25; the team hit just 21 homers in 49 games, and was outscored 239-183. Ultimately, though, how the pitching corps performs will dictate where the Toros finish. Last year, 46 pitchers donned black and orange and posted a team ERA of 4.41, allowing 239 runs in 439 innings.
Photo: The Dominican Republic’s Leones del Escogido celebrate winning the 2025 Caribbean Series championship game 1-0 over Mexico’s Charros de Jalisco. (Photo Courtesy of CBPC)
