It was one-and-done for Albert Pujols with the Chosen Ones.
The Leones del Escogido, who won the 2025 LIDOM title and the Caribbean Series under first-year manager Albert Pujols, will be led by Alex Cintron in 2025-26.
Cintron is currently the hitting coach for the Houston Astros of Major League Baseball, and led the Senadores de San Juan in Puerto Rico’s LBPRC during the 2024-25 season.
Former LIDOM manager of the year Wellington Cepeda, who won the honor in 2023-24 with the Gigantes del Cibao, will serve as pitching coach, while Jorge Mejia will serve as hitting coach, Ramon Santiago will be the bench coach, Tony Diaz will be the assistant manager, Héctor De la Cruz will return as third base coach, Israel Alcántara will be the assistant hitting coach, and Charlie Valerio will coach the catchers.
Orlando Calixte Coming Back – Veteran outfielder Orlando Calixte will be returning to the Leones this winter, where he played each of the last two winters. Calixte won the Gold Glove Award as a third baseman during the 2016-17 and 2022-23 seasons with the Águilas Cibaeñas. He has 10 home runs, 46 RBIs, 24 steals, 80 runs scored, and 28 doubles in 189 career LIDOM games with the Estrellas Orientales, Leones del Escogido, and Aguilas Cibaenas.
He has split the last three summers between the Chunichi Dragons of Nippon Professional Baseball and their minor league affiliate, appearing in 222 games in NPB, accumulating 14 home runs and 63 RBIs.
He played in nine games with the Leones in 2024-25, going 5-for-27 with two stolen bases.
Fernando Abad Returning – Eleven-year MLB veteran Fernando Abad will return to the Leones’ bullpen after joining the club as a reinforcement for the 2025 Caribbean Series. Abad had a 1.09 ERA with the Toros del Este during the 2024-25 season, with a 0.89 WHIP, six saves and 28 strikeouts over 24 2/3 innings of work.
Abad has played 15 seasons of winter ball, all in La Romana with either the Azucareros or Toros del Este, winning the Caribbean Series in 2010 and 2025. He has a career ERA of 3.16 with 33 saves, a 1.17 WHIP and 212 strikeouts in 227 2/3 innings.
Six Key Free Agents Re-Sign With Leones – Outfielders Junior Lake, Franmil Reyes and Zoilo Almonte, first baseman Yamaico Navarro and relievers Rodolfo Martínez and Keury Mella are all returning to Santo Domingo this winter after signing as free agents with the Leones.
Lake has played the last two seasons with the Leones, hitting six home runs and recording 33 RBIs in 92 games, while Reyes played in 10 games last winter for Escogido and hit two home runs.
Almonte had seven RBIs and batted .271 through 15 games in the round robin playoffs.
Navarro, 37, won a LIDOM Gold Glove Award in 2024-25, hit .275/.420/.550 with two home runs and eight RBIs, and posted a .849 OPS at the Caribbean Series, where he was a key player in the Leones’ offense.
Martinez has a career ERA of 3.35 with 31 strikeouts in 37 2/3 innings in LIDOM with the Toros del Este and Leones, and was invited to spring training with the Baltimore Orioles in 2025. He has since made 16 appearances with Triple-A Norfolk, posting a 4.96 ERA with 21 strikeouts in 16 1/3 innings thus far this summer.
Mella made nine appearances for the Leones last winter, throwing 5 1/3 innings and allowing two runs on seven hits. He saw limited action for the Olmecas de Tabasco in the Liga Mexicana de Beisbol this summer, posting an 8.80 ERA in 15 1/3 innings.
WBN LIDOM: https://worldbaseball.com/league/dominican-republic/lidom/
Photo: Houston Astros hitting coach Alex Cintron talks with players in the dugout during a baseball game against the Tampa Bay Rays Sunday, Oct. 2, 2022, in Houston. (AP Photo/Kevin M. Cox)
