With less than a year to go until the 2026 World Baseball Classic, Venezuela manager Omar Lopez wants his players to be ready when spring rolls around, and is hoping they’ll come home to play in the Liga Venezolana de Beisbol Profesional.
“We’re working to ensure that the position players who are currently on the national team play 15 to 17 games in the LVBP so they can get some action and be a little more ready for the World Baseball Classic,” Lopez told Venezuela’s Teledeportes in Spanish last week, according to a report by Meridiano.net, a Venezuelan sports media outlet.
https://twitter.com/MovAguilucho/status/1951343950482252005
Venezuela’s lineup could include Jackson Chourio and William Contreras of the Milwaukee Brewers, as well as Ronald Acuña Jr., the 2023 National League MVP, slugger Eugenio Suárez, and Maikel García.
The South American nation has announced its full coaching staff for next year’s World Baseball Classic last week.
Lopez managed Venezuela to a fourth-place finish at the 2024 WBSC Premier12, and led the national team to the quarterfinals a the 2023 World Baseball Classic, where they lost to the United States at loanDepot Park in Miami.
The Panda Might Return to Valencia – Meridiano reported this week that former Major League Pablo Sandoval might return to the Navegantes de Magallanes this winter. The former Boston Red Sox and San Francisco Giants corner infielder has been playing for the Staten Island FerryHawks in the Atlantic League the last two summers, and is batting .226/.309/.351 this year with seven homers and 40 RBIs in 66 games.
He last appeared in winter ball with the LBPRC’s Cangrejeros de Santurce in 2022-23, going 12-for-57 with four RBIs in 22 games, and has played parts of six winter ball seasons for the Navegantes, most recently in 2021-22, when he went 33-for-105 with 19 RBIs in 28 games, and served as a reinforcement for Venezuela’s Leones del Caracas at the Caribbean Series, where he went 8-for-24 with a homer and two RBIs.
Jorge Barrosa to La Guaira – Barrosa, 24, made his Major League Baseball debut in 2024, and has had cups of coffee with the Arizona Diamondbacks each of the last two seasons, playing 17 games in the majors. He’s batting .300/.384/.436 with Triple-A Reno and has 57 RBIs in 83 games. He was property of the Bravos de Margarita, who traded him to La Guaira this past week to get power hitter Wilson García and William Casique, but has never appeared in the LVBP. His only winter ball action came with the LBRPC’s Cangrejeros de Santurce last winter, where he went 11-for-64 in 19 games.
First Week’s Schedule Revealed – The LVBP announced the schedule for the first week of the regular season, which will begin on October 15 with the Tigres de Aragua facing the Cardenales de Lara. The season is being played in honor of Dave Concepcion, who played for the Tigres de Aragua and Cincinnati Reds, where he won two World Series, two Silver Sluggers, five Gold Gloves, and was a nine-time All-Star.
The full schedule for the first week of the 2025-26 LVBP regular season is below.
Wednesday, October 15
7 p.m. – Tigres de Aragua vs. Cardenales de Lara – Barquisimeto
Thursday, October 16
7 p.m. – Leones del Caracas vs. Bravos de Margarita – Porlamar
7 p.m. – Cardenales de Lara vs. Tigres de Aragua – Maracay
7 p.m. – Caribes de Anzoátegui vs. Navegantes del Magallanes – Valencia
7 p.m. – Tiburones de La Guaira vs Águilas del Zulia – Maracaibo
Friday, October 17
7 p.m. – Leones del Caracas vs Bravos de Margarita – Porlamar
7 p.m. – Caribes de Anzoátegui vs Tigres de Aragua – Maracay
7 p.m. – Navegantes del Magallanes vs Cardenales de Lara – Barquisimeto
7 p.m. – Tiburones de La Guaira vs Águilas del Zulia – Maracaibo
Saturday, October 18
5 p.m. – Tigres de Aragua vs. Bravos de Margarita – Porlamar
5 p.m. – Caribes de Anzoátegui vs. Leones del Caracas – La Rinconada
5 p.m. – La Guaira Sharks vs. Lara Cardinals – Barquisimeto
5 p.m. – Magallanes Navigators vs. Zulia Eagles – Maracaibo
Sunday, October 19
4 p.m. – Tiburones de La Guaira vs. Cardenales de Lara – Barquisimeto
5 p.m. – Tigres de Aragua vs. Bravos de Margarita – Porlamar
5 p.m. – Caribes de Anzoátegui vs. Leones del Caracas – La Rinconada
5 p.m. – Navegantes del Magallanes vs. Águilas del Zulia – Maracaibo
Photo: Venezuela manager Omar Lopez talks with the news media during batting practice before an exhibition baseball game against the Houston Astros, Wednesday, March 8, 2023, in West Palm Beach, Fla. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)
