Omar Vizquel has been named manager of the Gigantes de Rivas in Nicaragua’s Liga Beisbol Profesional Nacional, the country’s winter circuit.
The former Major League Baseball shortstop was introduced as manager to the public at a news conference on Tuesday.
#Deportes ⚾️#TvNoticias 🌐
Omar Vizquel fue presentado como nuevo manager de los Gigantes de Rivas para la temporada 2025-2026 de la LBPN. El venezolano, que tuvo su última experiencia como timonel en 2021 al dirigir a los Toros de Tijuana en la Liga Mexicana de Béisbol. pic.twitter.com/0THPFtuJTg— Canal 2 (@Canal2Nicaragua) September 9, 2025
Vizquel hasn’t managed since 2021, when he was fired midseason as manager of the Toros de Tijuana in the Liga Mexicana de Beisbol.
Vizquel managed Venezuela’s 2017 World Baseball Classic squad to a 2-5 mark. He later managed in the Chicago White Sox minor league system, first at Advanced-A Winston-Salem, where his club went 84-54, and then Double-A Birmingham, before he was fired following allegations of sexual abuse by a male team employee in Birmingham.
He was named manager of the Toros in December 2019, but didn’t take the helm until the 2021 season, as the 2020 season was cancelled due to the Covid-19 Pandemic. Tijuana got off to a hot start under Vizquel, going 22-8 to start the year. The club then won just 12 of its next 26 games, and Vizquel was fired.
While managing Tijuana, Vizquel’s then-wife Bianca alleged that Vizquel abused her on several occasions during their marriage. Vizquel denied the allegations, and the couple divorced, with charges she had pressed against Vizquel being dropped.
The Gigantes de Rivas went 11-21 in the LPBN’s 2024-25 regular season, finishing fifth in the five-team league and missing the round robin stage of the playoffs. They last won the title in 2023-24, when they represented Nicaragua in the Caribbean Series at Miami’s loanDepot Park, going 0-6.
Photo: Detroit Tigers mascot Paws and first base coach Omar Vizquel (13) stand during the national anthem before a baseball game against the Chicago White Sox on Star Wars Night, Saturday, Sept. 16, 2017, in Detroit. The White Sox defeated the Tigers 10-4. (AP Photo/Jose Juarez)
