Atlanta Braves bullpen catcher and Cardenales de Lara sports manager Jose “Chato” Yepez will serve as the general manager of Venezuela’s team for the 2026 World Baseball Classic.
The news was first reported by Ignacio Serrano, a noted Venezuelan baseball journalist, who also reported that Robinson Chirinos will be Venezuela’s bench coach and Miguel Cabrera will also be part of the coaching staff.
Houston Astros bench coach Omar Lopez, who managed Venezuela at the 2024 WBSC Premier12, will be the team’s field manager at the 2026 WBC.
Yepez played 12 seasons in the affiliated minor leagues in the Toronto Blue Jays, Seattle Mariners, and Atlanta Braves organizations and three seasons of independent ball from 2000-16. He also spent 10 winter seasons with the Cardenales de Lara, appearing at the Caribbean Series in 2013 with Lara.
Chirinos, a catcher, played parts of 11 seasons in MLB with six different teams and is currently the bench coach for the Baltimore Orioles.
Cabrera retired after the 2023 MLB season, his 21st in the big leagues, with 3,174 career hits and 511 homers.
Photo: Pittsburgh Pirates catcher Francisco Cervelli, left, talks with the Atlanta Braves’Jose Yepez, center, and Julio Teheran, right during batting practice before their baseball game, Monday, Aug. 20, 2018, in Pittsburgh. Cervelli will manage Italy at the 2026 World Baseball Classic, while Yepez will be the general manager of Venezuela’s team. (AP Photo/Keith Srakocic)
