LBPRC 2026-27 Preview: Cangrejeros de Santurce Look to Defend Title in Six-Team Winter League

The 2026-27 Liga de Béisbol Profesional Roberto Clemente season in Puerto Rico kicks off on Wednesday night with three games, featuring each of the winter league's six organizations.

The Indios de Mayaguez will travel to Carolina, Puerto Rico, to take on the Gigantes de Carolina at Estadio Roberto Clemente. The Leones de Ponce are in San Juan for a matchup against the defending champion Cangrejeros de Santurce at Hiram Bithorn Stadium. Finally, the Senadores de San Juan face off against the Criollos de Caguas at Estadio Yldefonso Sola Morales in Caguas.

Each of the league's six clubs will play a 40-game regular season, with the top four records advancing to the postseason for an opportunity to play in the championship series. The 2027 champion will represent Puerto Rico at the 2027 Caribbean Series in Hermosillo, Sonora, Mexico.

Where to Watch - LBPRC fans can stream the games live on ViX, a streaming platform owned by TelevisaUnivision. The league has made a three-year agreement with the website. Game highlights are available on the teams' YouTube channels.

Cangrejeros de Santurce

Stadium - Estadio Hiram Bithorn

Manager - Omar Lopez

Notable Players - OF Joshua Palacios; 2B Shed Long; SS Andrew Velazquez

Last Year - 26-14 Regular Season (first place) Won Championship Series 5-1 against Leones de Ponce

Outlook - The defending champions are looking for back-to-back titles for the first time since the 2018-19 and 2019-20 seasons. Santurce lost in the semifinals of the 2026 Caribbean Series against Mexico's Charros de Jalisco. Palacios, the older brother of Tampa Bay Rays second baseman Richie Palacios, hit .339 with eight home runs in 35 games for the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball's Staten Island FerryHawks during the summer.

Leones de Ponce

Stadium - Estadio Francisco "Paquito" Montaner

Manager - Eduardo Nunez

Notable Players - 3B Nolan Arenado; OF Eli Serrano; SS Andrew Salas

Last Year - 23-17 Regular Season (second place) Lost Championship Series 5-1 to Cangrejeros de Santurce

Outlook - With Arenado in the lineup, the Leones have the most established Major League star in the LBPRC. Perhaps the eight-time All-Star can help in the power department, as Ponce's 10 home runs were tied for fifth last year. On the flip side, their pitching staff allowed just five homers in 352 2/3 innings during the 2025-26 season, which helped them advance to the championship series.

Gignates de Carolina

Stadium - Estadio Roberto Clemente

Manager - Ricky Rivera

Notable Players - 1B Abimelec Ortiz; C Walker Janek; RHP Kaito Uchino

Last Year - 20-20 Regular Season (Third Place) Lost Semifinals 4-2 to Leones de Ponce

Outlook - The Gignates were about as average as it gets last season, as they finished with a -3 run differential. Ortiz is an impressive young hitter with pop who made his MLB debut in 2026, hitting five home runs in 44 games with the Washington Nationals. Last year's team made 38 errors, so cleaning up the defense should be an area of focus.

Criollos de Caguas

Stadium - Estadio Yldefonso Sola Morales

Manager - Edwards Guzman

Notable Players - LF Zach Veen; OF Jaime Ferrer; RHP Jarret Whorf

Last Year - 20-20 Regular Season (Fourth Place) Lost Semifinals 4-2 to Cangrejeros de Santurce

Outlook - Caguas had a very similar result to the Gigantes, as they finished with a .500 record and then suffered a series loss in the semifinals. Guzman joins the Criollos after winning consecutive Manager of the Year Awards in 2022-23 and 2023-24 with Carolina. Before a promotion to Double-A Wichita from the Minnesota Twins, Ferrer had a .949 OPS and nine homers in 39 games at High-A Cedar Rapids.

Indios de Mayagüez

Stadium - Estadio Isidoro García

Manager - Martin Maldonado

Notable Players - 3B Emmanuel Rivera; 2B Isan Diaz; C Adam Zebrowski

Last Year - 19-21 Regular Season (Fifth Place) Missed Postseason

Outlook - A large number of baseball fans suspected that Maldonado, a former Major League catcher of 15 years, would become a manager. Under his guidance, the Indios could steal a few more wins and sneak into the postseason. Rivera was named to the LBPRC All-Star Team and won a Gold Glove in 2025-26, hitting .348 with 21 RBIs.

Senadores de San Juan

Stadium - Estadio Hiram Bithorn

Manager - Jose Molina

Notable Players - OF Yasiel Puig; OF Oscar Colas; LHP Brady Tedesco

Last Year - 12-28 (Sixth Place) Missed Postseason

Outlook - Last season wasn't too pretty for the Senadaores, scoring just 2.80 runs per game while allowing 3.98 per game. Molina, another former catcher who won a World Series title with the New York Yankees in 2009, could help right the ship. As usual, Puig's performance should be fun to track as he returns to the LBPRC for the first time in 13 years.