Three of the five berths in the 2026 Caribbean Series will be decided in the next eight days as the winter ball playoffs sprint towards their finish.
Puerto Rico’s LBPRC began its championship series Monday night, with the Cangrejeros de Santurce edging the Leones de Ponce 5-4 in Game 1 of the title series, and the two semifinals in Mexico’s Liga ARCO Mexicana del Pacifico are underway.
The LBPRC’s champion will represent Puerto Rico at the 2026 Caribbean Series in Guadalajara, Mexico, while the two finalists from Mexico’s LAMP will each get a berth in the Caribbean Series. Rounding out the series will be the champion of the Dominican Republic’s LIDOM and the Federales de Chiriqui, who will be representing Panama.
In the LAMP, the Charros de Jalisco and the Tomateros de Culiacan each have a two-games-to-none lead in their semifinals series. Both finalists from the LAMP will go to the Caribbean Series this year, as Venezuela has elected to forego the event after it was pulled from Venezuela and moved to Guadalajara in late December.
For the Charros de Jalisco and manager Benji Gil, a trip back to the Caribbean Series would give them a chance at redemption after falling 1-0 in the championship game of the 2025 Caribbean Series in Mexicali, Baja California. Should both the Charros and the Tomateros de Culiacan make the LAMP championship series, it would be a managerial rematch of the 2025 Serie del Rey in the Liga Mexicana de Beisbol, where Gil’s Charros fell to the Diablos Rojos del Mexico, who are managed by Tomateros de Culiacan manager Lorenzo Bundy. The two semifinal series will end on Jan. 19 should they both go seven games.
On Tuesday, the Federales de Chiriqui were reported to be Panama’s representative by Enrique Rojas of ESPN Deportes. The Federales last appeared at the Caribbean Series in 2024 at loanDepot Park in Miami, where they finished third, defeating Curacao 5-4 in the third-place game. They also appeared in the 2023 Caribbean Series in Caracas, Venezuela, but failed to make it to the elimination games. The Federales did not play a regular season in 2025-26, as Panama’s ProBeis league did not operate this year.
RUMBO A SERIE CARIBE (PANAMÁ)
Los Federales de Chiriquí representarán a Panamá en la Serie del Caribe de Guadalajara 2026.
— Enrique Rojas/ESPN (@Enrique_Rojas1) January 13, 2026
In the Dominican Republic, the Leones del Escogido (10-3) can clinch a spot on the LIDOM championship series with a win on the road against the Toros del Este (7-6) tonight in the four-team, 18-game round robin. Both the Toros and the Aguilas Cibaenas are 7-6, and a win by the Aguilas on Tuesday over the Gigantes del Cibao (2-11) would eliminate Cibao. The round robin will conclude when two of the four teams have been mathematically eliminated, with the two remaining teams advancing to a best-of-seven championship series.
Elsewhere around the world, winter leagues playoffs are also underway.
In Nicaragua, the Gigantes de Rivas, led by former Major League Baseball shortstop Omar Vizquel, are in the championship series of the Asociación Profesional de Béisbol Nicaragüense, where they’re facing the Leones de Leon. The series is tied at one game apiece, with the Gigantes having won Game 1 7-6 on Jan. 11 and the Leones taking Game 2 8-1 on Jan. 12.
Venezuela’s five-team, 16-game round robin was suspended for four days after the U.S. military captured Venezuela’s president, Nicolas Maduro, but resumed on Jan. 7. The Aguilas del Zulia (4-2), Cardenales de Lara (4-1), and Caribes de Anzoategui 94-2) are leading the round robin thus far, while the Navegantes del Magallanes (1-5) and Bravos de Margarita (1-4) have struggled early on. The best-of-seven championship series will begin following the conclusion of the round robin.
Photo: Estadio Panamericano in Zapopan, Jalisco, Mexico will host the 2026 Caribbean Series. (Photo: Leif Skodnick/World Baseball Network)
