The 2026 Caribbean Series has added a third invitee for the February event, bringing the number of confirmed teams to seven.
The champion of Panama’s ProBeis league has been invited play in the Caribbean Series as an invitee according to a report by Panamanian newspaper La Prensa, joining the champions of Cuba’s Serie Nacional and Colombia’s Liga Beisbol Profesional Colombiano, along with the champions of the Dominican Republic’s LIDOM, Puerto Rico’s LBPRC, Mexico’s Liga ARCO Mexicana del Pacifico, and host nation Venezuela’s Liga Venezolana de Beisbol Profesional. The event will run from Jan. 30 to Feb. 7 at Estadio Monumental Simon Bolivar in Caracas and Estadio Forum in La Guaira.
Should Panama accept the invitation, it would be the 19th time that the country has sent a representative to the Caribbean Series, and the first time since 2024, when the Federales de Chiriqui played at loanDepot Park in Miami as an invitee, finishing third.
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Panama last won the Caribbean Series in 2019, a series they hosted at Estadio Rod Carew in Panama City, when the Toros de Herrera of ProBeis beat Cuba’s Lenadores de Las Tunas in the championship game. Panamanian teams also won the Caribbean Series in 1950, when the Licoreros de Carta Vieja took the title.
The invitation extended to Panama to play in the Caribbean Series could also potentially affect another winter ball postseason tournament. All three invitee countries to the Caribbean Series are also playing in the Serie de Las Americas, which will be hosted by Panama at Estadio Mariano Rivera in La Chorrera and Estadio Rod Carew in Panama City. It remains unknown whether the same team representing each league would participate in both events, or if an alternate team would be sent to one of the two events.
There has been speculation that the 2026 Caribbean Series could be moved out of Venezuela as tensions between that country’s government and the United States have risen in recent months.
Photo: Panama’s Ivan Aaron Herrera gestures after hitting a home run during the seventh inning of the team’s Caribbean Series baseball game against Curacao, Friday, Feb. 9, 2024, in Miami. Panama won 5-4 to take third place in the series. (AP Photo/Marta Lavandier)
