Last year, the champion of the Liga Venezolana de Beisbol Profesional sat out the Caribbean Series after the event was moved from Caracas, Venezuela to Guadalajara, Mexico as military tensions rose between the United States and Venezuela.
This coming winter, the LVBP champion will represent the league at the 2027 Caribbean Series in Hermosillo, Mexico, while the league’s runner up will represent the LVBP at the Serie de Las Americas, which will again be played in Venezuela, according to a report from Venezuelan baseball writer Carlos Rodriguez.
Ya la LVBP ha dispuesto participar tanto en la Serie del Caribe como en la Serie de las Américas, cuyos calendarios no se solaparán. A la primera irá el campeón y a la segunda, el subcampeón
— Carlos V. Rodríguez (@CarlosValmore) May 8, 2026
Rodriguez also posted that LVBP is optimistic that the SDLA’s organizer, the Asociation de Ligas Profesionales de Beisbol de Las Americas, will find a way to include teams from Mexico, Puerto Rico, and the Dominican Republic.
The logistics of those countries sending teams to the SDLA, however, aren’t clear. Players under contract to Major League Baseball organizations, whether they are on MLB or minor league deals, cannot play in the SDLA because the tournament is not covered by the Winter League Agreement, an agreement between MLB, the Confederacion de Beisbol Profesional del Caribe, and various labor unions covering the players. Were those leagues to send a representative to the SDLA, they’d likely be sending a team reinforced with players from around the league who aren’t under contract to an MLB organization.
After the 2026 Caribbean Series was moved to Guadalajara, the SDLA’s organizer, the Asociation de Ligas Profesionales de Beisbol de Las Americas, accepted Venezuela’s offer to host the Serie de Las Americas, which was originally planned to be held in Panama, and the series was moved, with the LVBP’s champion, the Navegantes del Magallanes, joining the tournament and winning in the title at Estadio Monumental Simon Bolivar in Caracas.
The ABAM announced the day of the 2026 SDLA championship game that the event would return to Venezuela in 2027.
The Caribbean Series annually includes the champions of the LVBP, the Dominican Republic’s LIDOM, Puerto Rico’s LBPRC, and Mexico’s Liga ARCO Mexicana del Pacifico, and often includes invitees from other countries in Latin American and the Caribbean. The 2026 Serie de Las Americas champions of leagues in Argentina, Curacao, Colombia, and Nicaragua, with Cuba, Panama, and Brazil sending their respective national teams, as well as the LVBP champion.
Photo: The Navegantes del Magallanes of Venezuela’s LVBP won the 2026 Serie de Las Americas, erasing a 9-1 deficit to beat the Caimanes de Barranquilla 10-9. (Photo courtesy of the LVBP)
