Gregorio Petit’s career in Major League Baseball was relatively brief.
He played parts of six seasons in the Majors, but appeared in just over a season’s worth of games spread over a 10-year period, often shuttling down to Triple-A during the season and always returning home to Venezuela in the offseason, where he played 13 winter ball seasons with the Leones del Caracas.
And how, six years after his last season with the Leones, he’s managing their archrival, the Tiburones de La Guaira.
“It’s what it is. My playing career is over, and this is a new challenge; that’s baseball,” he said to the Tiburones’ website. “We can’t be fanatics. As professionals, you have to switch things off. I can’t change my past, but I’m building my present and my future, and that’s what brought me here.”
Among the players Petit hopes to see on the field at Estadio Forum this year are MLB stars Maikel Garcia and Ronald Acuna Jr., though he didn’t confirm that either player has been signed.
“These MLB players’ social media activity indicates they’re thinking about La Guaira. There’s a lot of contact with them, and they’re eager to do so, but until some time passes and they make their decisions, no one can confirm anything,” he said. “Everyone wants to be here, and hopefully, most of them will show up to have the best team possible.”
Additionally, the lack of a Winter League Agreement between Major League Baseball, the Major League Baseball Players Association, and the Confederacion de Beisbol Profesional del Caribe and its four member leagues likely throws a wrench in Acuna, Garcia, and other MLB players coming home to Venezuela for the winter, even if it is for limited duty.
The coming season will be Petit’s first managing in winter ball, though he now has five seasons of managerial experience in affiliated minor league baseball in the United States. He has a career record of 267-265 over four seasons managing in Double-A in the Houston Astros and the Athletics’ organizations, and went 50-82 in the 2023 season managing Stockton, the High-A affiliate of the Athletics in the California League.
Arnaldo Hernandez Working With Francisco Rodriguez In La Guaira – After pitching 42 2/3 innings in relief this summer with the Conspiradores de Queretaro in the Liga Mexicana de Beisbol, Arnaldo Hernandez is back in La Guaira, where he’s working with legendary closer Francisco Rodriguez in camp.
“The opportunity to have ‘Kid’ Rodríguez as my pitching coach has encouraged me even more to be here from day one. I’ve barely had one bullpen session with him, and we’re already warming up, talking to each other, and I’m talking to him,” the right-hander told LVBP.com. “Having one of Venezuela’s best closers as my coach is going to help me a lot, and I have to make the most of it.”
Hernandez, 29, missed part of last season with La Guaira due to a contract dispute, but was in camp early this year.
“I didn’t want what happened last year to happen again. I’d been back from Mexico for a month, and that’s why I’ve been here since day one,” he told the Tiburones website. “My preparation has been very good, the pace is going well, and I think I’ll be 100% by October 16. I rested for a month, started from zero to 100, and I’m now at 60% physical fitness. I’ve done some running and weight training, and I feel like the minicamp was very good for the players. I have faith that this season will be very good for the Sharks and for me. And that’s what matters: being there and helping the team.”
Hernandez has played five seasons of winter ball, all with La Guaira in the LVBP, throwing 119 2/3 innings in 111 appearances with a 3.61 ERA. He’s appeared in the last three Caribbean Series with Venezuela, winning the title with La Guaira in 2024.
Draft Set For Wednesday, Oct. 8 – The Liga Venezolana de Beisbol Profesional’s annual draft will be held on Oct. 8, with teams having the opportunity to select players to solve immediate needs with the season just a week away.
Each of the league’s eight teams will have the opportunity to select players from Venezuela or Venezuelans playing abroad who are not currently active in the LVBP.
The Caribes de Anzoategui, who finished eighth in 2024-25 with a record of 22-34, will have the first selection, while the Tiburones de La Guaira, who finished seventh at 26-30, will pick second. The third selection will go to the Leones del Caracas, the fourth pick will be made by the Tigres de Aragua, with the Navegantes de Magallanes, Aguilas del Zulia, and Bravos de Margarita following. The defending champion, the Cardenales de Lara, will pick last.
El draft de la #LVBP se realizará el 8 de octubre del presente año.
En este orden serán las escogencias por equipos:
1) Caribes
2) Tiburones
3) Leones
4) Tigres
5) Magallanes
6) Aguilas.
7) Bravos
8) Cardenales pic.twitter.com/1SqSwSHc2K— Georgeny Pérez (@GeorgenyPerez) October 4, 2025
Photo: Maikel Garcia from Tiburones de la Guaira connects a single against Leones del Caracas during Venezuela’s Winter League baseball season in Caracas, Venezuela, Sunday, Nov. 6, 2022. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos)
