The Sultanes de Monterrey of the Liga Mexicana de Beisbol have named former Atlanta Braves and Chicago Cubs catcher Henry Blanco manager for the 2026 season.
The club announced the move in a post on their Instagram page on Tuesday.
Blanco, 54, has managerial experience in his native Venezuela, having led the Cardenales de Lara of the Liga Venezolana de Beisbol Profesional to the league championship and a Caribbean Series appearance in the 2024-25 season. The Cardenales went 33-23 in the LVBP regular season that year and 11-5 in the 16-game Round Robin before beating the Bravos de Margarita four games to two in the LVBP championship series. He previously managed the Bravos de Margarita in the 2014-15 season
A native of Caracas, Venezuela, Blanco appeared in 971 Major League Baseball games over 16 seasons from 1997 to 2013, making appearances with the Los Angeles Dodgers, Colorado Rockies, Milwaukee Brewers, Minnesota Twins, San Diego Padres, New York Mets, Arizona Diamondbacks, Seattle Mariners, and Toronto Blue Jays, as well as the Cubs and Braves, batting .223 with 72 homers and 298 RBIs.
¡TENEMOS NUEVO MANAGER! ????
Considerado uno de los mejores receptores de su generación y con 16 temporadas en las Grandes Ligas, ???????????????????? ???????????????????????? tomará las riendas de Sultanes y sumará su amplia experiencia dentro de cuerpos técnicos de #MLB a nuestro equipo.
????Como… pic.twitter.com/omYVPfaDaZ
— Sultanes de Monterrey (@SultanesOficial) November 4, 2025
Widely viewed as one of the best defensive catchers in baseball during his MLB career, Blanco transitioned to coaching after he was released by the Arizona Diamondbacks in 2014. He spent three years as a coach with the Chicago Cubs, winning the World Series in 2016, and joined the Washington Nationals as bullpen coach in 2018, winning another World Series in 2019. He took over as bench coach for the Nationals midway through the 2025 season when manager Dave Martinez was fired and bench coach Miguel Cairo was elevated to interim manager.
The Sultanes finished atop the LMB’s Zona Norte with a 55-37 record in the regular season under Roberto Kelly, but lost in the first round of the playoffs to the Charros de Jalisco four games to three, advancing because they won the most games in a first round series loss. The Sultanes won their second round series against the Tecolotes de los Dos Laredos to earn a rematch with Jalisco, which eliminated Kelly’s club in five games to advance to the Serie del Rey.
Kelly left the club shortly after the LMB season ended and joined the Toros de Tijuana as manager for 2026.
Blanco and the Sultanes will travel to San Francisco to face MLB’s San Francisco Giants for a pair of preseason games next March.
Photo: Washington Nationals bench coach Henry Blanco has been named manager of the LMB’s Sultanes de Monterrey. (Photo by John McCreary/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
