Here are the teams vying for the 2026 Caribbean Series title

GUADALAJARA, Mexico -- The start of Spring Training is just a few days away, while the 2026 World Baseball Classic will begin in just over a month. But between those two dates marked on so many baseball fans’ calendars, the Caribbean Series -- the traditional tournament of Latin American winter league champions held every February -- is set to begin on Sunday at Estadio Panamericano de Béisbol in Guadalajara, Mexico.

The 68th edition of the event will consist of a five-team, five-day round-robin format to start, followed by two semifinal games on Friday, and the championship game next Saturday at 8 p.m. ET.

The tournament was originally scheduled to be played in Caracas, Venezuela. But in mid-December, three permanent members of the Caribbean Confederation of Professional Baseball (CBCP, per its initials in Spanish) -- Mexico, Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic -- expressed their reservations about playing in Venezuela, and the event was moved to Guadalajara. With that decision, Venezuela opted not to play in this year’s Caribbean Series, preferring to host an alternate tournament, the Serie de las Américas, consisting of their own champions, plus teams representing Colombia, Cuba, Argentina, Curaçao, Panama and Nicaragua.

Hence, the 2026 Caribbean Series will have Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic, Panama (a different club from the one representing the country in the Serie de las Américas) and two teams from the Mexican Pacific League, the circuit’s 2025-26 champion and the runner-up.

“We were prepared for any challenge on that front,” said the president of the Caribbean Confederation, Juan Francisco Puello Herrera, on the subject of the tournament moving from Venezuela to Mexico. “Of course, we had to work with more urgency. But the decision was made in time. So that’s why I think we’ll have a Caribbean Series that will be to the standards of the Caribbean Confederation.”

TEAMS VYING FOR THE 2026 CARIBBEAN SERIES TITLE

Dominican Republic: Leones del Escogido
Championships won by Escogido: 5
Championships won by the Dominican Republic: 23

The Leones’ path to their second consecutive Dominican League (LIDOM) championship -- and their 18th overall -- was an uneven one. After struggling at the beginning of the season with Rangers hitting coach Alex Cintron as manager, former Major League infielder and coach Ramon Santiago took the helm and led the club to the playoffs and eventually a five-game victory over Toros del Este in the championship series. Former Royals shortstop Alcides Escobar (.333/.333/.500, one home run, five RBIs) was named series MVP.

The Leones, with former Major League slugger Carlos Pena debuting as the club’s general manager this season, will be seeking their second consecutive Caribbean Series crown -- which would make them only the fourth club to do so in the history of the event -- after winning the tournament last year in Mexicali, Mexico, while being managed by none other than Albert Pujols.

“Anything besides another championship wouldn’t have been enough and would have been unacceptable, at least for me,” Pena said after Escogido’s series victory over the Toros. “I clearly understood the challenge I was facing.”

Added Santiago: “It was a tough situation, but we knew it wasn’t impossible. We had to battle to achieve what we achieved.”

After defeating the Charros de Jalisco in the championship game a year ago to win the club’s fifth Caribbean Series crown and the 23rd for the Dominican Republic -- the most of any participating country -- the Leones will look to win the championship in Mexico for the second straight time. Although Escobar will not continue on with Escogido for the series, former Major Leaguers Franchy Cordero, Sócrates Brito and Alex Colomé will be on board, as well as left-hander Jefry Yan -- he of the famous strikeout celebration on the mound.

Mexico (Red): Charros de Jalisco
Championships won by Charros: None
Championships won by Mexico: 9

With Venezuela opting not to play in the tournament this year, host country Mexico has two representatives: Charros de Jalisco, this year’s Mexican Pacific League champion -- designated “Mexico Red” -- and the runner-up, the Tomateros de Culiacán, or “Mexico Green.”

The Charros swept the Tomateros 4-0 in this year’s Mexican Pacific League Championship Series. The Jalisco club, which will be playing in its home stadium, is led by manager Benji Gil. In addition to a storied career in the league as a player, mostly with Tomateros, Gil is a former World Series champion with the Angels in 2002, a former Major League coach and is set to manage Team Mexico in March for the second consecutive time in the World Baseball Classic. With his second straight crown at the helm of the Charros, Gil has now managed Mexican Pacific League teams to six championships -- two with Charros and four with Tomateros -- but is still seeking his first Caribbean Series title as a skipper, after winning two as a player with the Culiacán club (1996, 2002).

Former Major Leaguers Manny Banuelos and Billy Hamilton are slated to play for Charros in the tournament.

Mexico (Green): Tomateros de Culiacán
Championships won by Tomateros: 2
Championships won by Mexico: 9

By virtue of their runner-up status in the host nation and with Venezuela not playing in the tournament, the Tomateros were granted a spot in the 2026 Caribbean Series. This is not without precedent. In 2008, after the Puerto Rican Winter League cancelled its 2007-08 season, host country Dominican Republic had its champion, Águilas Cibaeñas, accompanied by runner-up Tigres del Licey. On the last day of the tournament, Licey defeated the Águilas in what was essentially the championship game in the prior format of a straight six-day round-robin schedule with no championship rounds.

This year’s edition of the Tomateros, skippered by Lorenzo Bundy -- a longtime fixture in dugouts in Mexican professional baseball and in his third Caribbean Series as a manager -- will try to follow suit, with former Major League right-hander Odrisamer Despaigne and former Yankees prospect Estevan Florial as familiar names on the roster.

Puerto Rico: Cangrejeros de Santurce
Championships won by Cangrejeros : 5
Championships won by Puerto Rico: 16

Managed by Astros bench coach Omar López -- who will also be at the helm of Team Venezuela in this year’s World Baseball Classic -- the Cangrejeros defeated the Leones de Ponce 5-1 in their best-of-nine championship series.

For the Santurce club, this will be its first time in the Caribbean Series since 2020, when the tournament was held in its home territory of Puerto Rico. Second only to the Dominican Republic in championships by country/territory, the Cangrejeros will seek to bring a Caribbean Series trophy to Puerto Rico for the 17th time and the first since 2018, with veteran catcher Christian Vázquez and infielders Emmanuel Rivera and Isan Díaz among the players on the roster with Major League experience.

Panama: Federales de Chiriquí
Championships won by Federales: None
Championships won by Panama: 2

Although the professional league in Panama (Probeis) decided not to play a winter season this year, the country did commit to the 2026 Caribbean Series and will be represented by its championship club in 2023 and 2024, Federales de Chiquirí. Last year’s champions, Águilas Metropolitanas, will play in the Serie de las Américas.

The Federales will be eyeing the first Caribbean Series championship for Panama since 2019, when Toros de Herrera won the first title for the nation since 1950, during the tournament’s “first phase” from 1949-60.

The Federales are managed by Jose Mayorga, who guided the club to a third-place finish in the 2024 Caribbean Series at Miami’s loanDepot park. Mayorga is also slated to manage Team Panama in this year’s World Baseball Classic.

Former Major Leaguers Christian Bethancourt, Rubén Tejada and Paolo Espino are among the names to watch on the Panamanian club’s roster.