Veteran leadership will be key for Team Venezuela in 2026 Classic

ORLANDO, Fla. -- Venezuela has been a force to be reckoned with in the international baseball landscape for many years, evidenced by its 63 players on active MLB rosters on Opening Day this year, second only to the Dominican Republic (100) for countries and territories outside the continental United States.

In the 2023 World Baseball Classic, the Venezuelan club managed by Astros coach Omar López -- who will once again lead the club in 2026 -- went 4-0 in the so-called “Group of Death” in Miami against the Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, Nicaragua and Israel, before being eliminated by the United States in the quarterfinals, when Jose Altuve suffered a broken right thumb from a 95.9 mph Daniel Bard fastball.

Although the bulk of the 2026 roster has yet to be determined, Salvador Perez has been confirmed as the team’s captain. Altuve and Ronald Acuña Jr. have expressed interest in returning. A plethora of potential talent is also on the table for Venezuela, including veterans Luis Arráez, Eugenio Suárez, Pablo López, Ranger Suárez and Gleyber Torres, as well as younger stars such as Ezequiel Tovar, William Contreras, Jackson Chourio and Wilyer Abreu.

As López and his staff continue to make those decisions, one theme for the Venezuelan club will be leadership from the manager, coaches and veterans for the younger players who will reinforce the club.

“Very important,” López said. “I think that’s going to be one of the keys for the generation of young guys that will be participating in the Classic for the first time. We have an agenda for the players to be able to come in and hear what the guys with a lot of years in the tournament have to say.”

In addition to Perez and potentially Altuve and other veterans, López will have a star-studded coaching staff. Miguel Cabrera will be Team Venezuela’s hitting coach, with Johan Santana as pitching coach and Victor Martinez as assistant manager. Gerardo Parra (outfield and baserunning) and Robinson Chirinos (bench coach) will also be on board.

“They’ve been in a lot of Classics and have been part of generation-to-generation turnover,” López said. “They’ve seen how the tournament has grown and what’s coming, and they’ve been mentors. That was the main reason they’re with us.”

The generational passing of the torch is something that López began for the 2023 tournament, when he took the reins of the national team for the first time.

“Part of my preparation for the last Classic was to create a group of players committed to a certain kind of project," he said. "We’ve been working on that for a long time, because those guys are the leaders and they’re the ones that will help me send that message to the younger players.”

In the first five World Baseball Classics, beginning in 2006, Venezuela has been eliminated three times in group stages and once in the quarterfinal, and has reached one semifinal, in ‘09. With the pedigree of Major League talent past and present in the dugout, López and his staff will eye taking the nation to the championship game for the first time. The first step will be Group D play in Miami against the Dominican Republic, Nicaragua, the Netherlands and Israel.

“To win the World Baseball Classic would be the ultimate [goal]. Even more than the World Series,” López said. “To play against countries like the Dominican Republic, the United States … the atmosphere and the environment are insane. I can’t wait to have another one.”