Former Major League Baseball player Miguel Cabrera will play for the Tigres de Aragua during the 2025-26 Liga Venezolana de Beisbol Profesional regular season. The team—managed by Ozzie Guillén, who led clubs to the 2005 World Series and 2024 Caribbean Series titles—announced the move on May 23.
¡El buen hijo regresa a casa!
En el marco del 6️⃣0️⃣ Aniversario la organización Tigres de Aragua, y en nombre de su Pdte Víctor Zambrano, nos llena de mucha emoción anunciar el ingreso oficial de Miguel Cabrera al roster activo, para la venidera temporada 2025-26 de la LVBP. pic.twitter.com/V6y50aOoW1— Tigres de Aragua (@TigresOficiales) May 23, 2025
The last time Cabrera played for Tigres de Aragua was during the 2007-08 LVBP season.
Los Tigres de Aragua anuncian oficialmente el ingreso de Miguel Cabrera al roster activo para la temporada 2025-2026.
Será el regreso de Cabrera a la #LVBP. No juega desde la gran final de la temporada 2007-2008.
Vía: @TigresOficiales
— Daniel Álvarez-Montes (@DanielAlvarezEE) May 23, 2025
Cabrera made his professional debut with the Tigres at age 16 during the 1999-2000 LVBP regular season.
Throwback to Miguel Cabrera with Tigres de Aragua ????????
Now, in 2025, he's returning to play for the club where it all began.
???? via @baseballinpix on Instagram
???? https://t.co/6MeDRblUaO#MiguelCabrera #LVBP #TigresDeAragua #Venezuela #WBC2026 #WorldBaseball pic.twitter.com/ItSKGMEggP— World Baseball Network (@WorldBaseball_) May 23, 2025
In the 2007-08 campaign, he batted .362 with 10 RBI in 12 games. During the LVBP best-of-seven championship series, he hit .455 with 10 hits in 22 plate appearances.
Cabrera helped lead Tigres de Aragua to the Caribbean Series in the 2003-04, 2004-05, 2006-07, and 2007-08 seasons. His lifetime stats in the LVBP include a .305 batting average with 181 hits, 34 doubles, three triples, 20 home runs, and 93 RBI.
The LVBP has not yet announced an official start date for the 2025-26 season, though it is expected to begin in mid to late October.
The LVBP Round Robin will run from late December to early January, followed by the league’s best-of-seven championship series. The winner will advance to the 2026 Caribbean Series, set for January 30 to February 7 in Caracas, Venezuela. Games will be held at Estadio Simón Bolívar, Estadio Fórum de La Guaira, and Estadio Universitario.
Champions from the 2025-26 LVBP season, Liga de Beisbol Profesional Roberto Clemente (Puerto Rico), Liga de Béisbol Profesional de la República Dominicana, and Liga ARCO Mexicana del Pacífico will all qualify for the 2026 Caribbean Series.
The LAMP, LVBP, LIDOM, and LBPRC are part of the Confederación de Béisbol Profesional del Caribe (CBPC). The 2026 Caribbean Series will once again include the Japan Breeze, along with Cuba’s Serie Nacional champion. South Korea will send a KBO All-Star team featuring both minor and main roster players. Italy is expected to participate either with its Serie A1 champion or an assembled All-Star team as a scouting platform for 2026 World Baseball Classic roster additions.
Cabrera will also serve as hitting coach for the Venezuela national team at the 2026 World Baseball Classic under manager Omar López, who returns after managing the squad in 2023.
Miguel Cabrera irá al #WorldBaseballClassic 2026 como Coach de Bateo de Team Venezuela. ???????? pic.twitter.com/I9IjXghQAU
— MLB Español (@mlbespanol) May 5, 2025
Venezuela will play in Pool D at loanDepot Park in Miami, facing the Dominican Republic, Israel, Nicaragua, and the Netherlands from March 6-11.
Cabrera made his MLB debut with the Florida Marlins on June 20, 2003, and helped the team win a World Series title that season, defeating the New York Yankees in six games.
He spent five seasons with the Marlins before being traded to the Detroit Tigers on December 5, 2007, alongside pitcher Dontrelle Willis. In return, the Marlins received pitchers Andrew Miller, Dallas Trahern, Eulogio De La Cruz, and Burke Badenhop, outfielder Cameron Maybin, and catcher Mike Rabelo.
Cabrera played 16 seasons in Detroit before retiring after the 2023 season.
He was a 12-time All-Star from 2004-07, 2010-16, and again in 2022. He won back-to-back American League MVP Awards in 2012 and 2013, earned the Triple Crown in 2012, and claimed seven Silver Slugger Awards. Cabrera also won two AL Hank Aaron Awards and four AL batting titles, led the league in home runs twice, and led in RBI in 2010 and 2012.
Across 21 MLB seasons, Cabrera played in 2,769 games, compiling a .306 career average, 3,174 hits, 627 doubles, 17 triples, 511 home runs, and 1,881 RBI, with a .901 OPS and a 67.2 WAR.
He is one of just six Latin-born players with 3,000 or more hits, joining Roberto Clemente, Rafael Palmeiro, Rod Carew, Adrián Beltré, and Albert Pujols. Ichiro Suzuki is the only other foreign-born player to reach the 3,000-hit milestone.
Cabrera also belongs to the elite group of Latin-born sluggers with 500 or more home runs, alongside Pujols, Palmeiro, David Ortiz, Sammy Sosa, and Manny Ramírez.
World Baseball Classic Legacy
The 42-year-old right-handed slugger from Maracay, Venezuela, is the only player in history to appear in every edition of the World Baseball Classic since its inception in 2006. His consistency on the international stage sets him apart as a foundational figure in Venezuela’s national team history.
Carlos Beltrán and Yadier Molina of Puerto Rico, along with Cuba’s Frederich Cepeda, are the only other players to have competed in four tournaments—2006, 2009, 2013, and 2017—but Cabrera stands alone in having participated in all five through 2023.
In the inaugural 2006 tournament, Cabrera played six games and posted a .211/.400/.579 slash line. He recorded four hits in 19 at-bats, including a double and two home runs, and drove in five runs while drawing four walks.
During the 2009 WBC, he appeared in eight games and hit .281 with a .594 slugging percentage, collecting nine hits in 32 at-bats. He added four doubles, two home runs, and four RBI as Venezuela advanced to the semifinals before falling 10-2 to South Korea at Dodger Stadium.
In 2013, Cabrera played in three games and delivered a .333 average and .583 slugging percentage across 12 at-bats. He contributed four hits, including two doubles and a home run, while also stealing a base and walking twice.
The 2017 tournament saw Cabrera struggle at the plate, hitting .190 over six games. He still managed to tally a home run and three RBI with four walks in 21 at-bats.
In his final WBC appearance in 2023, Cabrera played in two games, notching a single hit in nine at-bats for a .111 average before concluding his decorated international career ahead of his final MLB season.
Venezuela Looking Ahead to 2026 WBC
Venezuela fell 9-7 to the United States in the quarterfinals of the 2023 World Baseball Classic.
The nation’s best finish at the WBC came in 2009, when Venezuela reached the semifinals but lost 10-2 to South Korea at Dodger Stadium.
Omar López, who managed Venezuela during the 2023 WBC, led the team to the Super Round of the 2024 Premier12 this past November at the Tokyo Dome. Venezuela went 5-4 across Pool A and the Super Round and lost 6-1 to the United States in the bronze medal game on November 24. After the tournament, López returned to Puerto Rico to manage the Cangrejeros de Santurce during the 2024-25 Liga de Béisbol Profesional Roberto Clemente season.
López was promoted to Astros bench coach on December 1, 2023. He had previously served as Houston’s first base coach since the 2020 season.