The Gigantes del Cibao of LIDOM, the Dominican Republic’s professional winter league, have brought a Dominican legend and former player back to the organization for the 2026-27 season.
Nelson Cruz, a veteran of 19 Major League Baseball seasons and four World Baseball Classics who played during six different winter seasons for the Gigantes and two Caribbean Series, was named as a Special Operations Advisor by the Gigantes, the team announced on Wednesday.
“I want to thank the management of the Gigantes for the confidence in allowing me to be part of this great organization as Special Operations Advisor,” Cruz wrote in Spanish in a post on Instagram. “The Gigantes aren’t just a team, they’re a family I carry in my heart. Here I have lived unforgettable moments and today I have to contribute from another position, with the same commitment, passion and respect for this uniform.”
In 2,055 MLB games, Cruz batted .274/.313/.513 with an .856 OPS, 464 homers and 1,325 RBIs.
Cruz got his first taste of management work during the 2023 World Baseball Classic, when he served as the Dominican Republic’s general manager while also pulling double duty as a player. He currently works as a special assistant for the Los Angeles Dodgers, mostly at the team’s academy in the Dominican Republic, and as a special advisor for baseball operations for Major League Baseball regarding Latin America.
The Gigantes finished 24-26 in the 2025-26 LIDOM season, qualifying for the four team, 18-game round robin playoff.
Four games into the round robin, the team fired manager Jose Leger, replacing him with Jefry Sierra after an 0-4 start. The change didn’t make much of a difference, as the Gigantes went 2-12 the rest of the way, finishing fourth in the round robin.
Photo: Rob Manfred, left, commissioner of Major League Baseball, Nelson Cruz, center, former baseball player and general manager of the Dominican National team, and Albert Pujols, former baseball player and manager of a Dominican professional baseball team, take part in a news conference at the MLB winter meetings, Monday, Dec. 8, 2025, in Orlando, Fla. (AP Photo/John Raoux)
