2025–26 LVBP season

2025–26 LVBP season
LeagueVenezuelan Professional Baseball League
SportBaseball
DurationSeptember 2025 – January 2026
Games56 games (regular season)
Teams8
TV partner(s) Venevision
One Sports+
Regular season
Season championsCardenales de Lara
Season MVPBalbino Fuenmayor
Final Series
ChampionsNavegantes del Magallanes (14th title)
  Runners-upCaribes de Anzoátegui

The 2025–26 LVBP season is the 80th edition of the Venezuelan Professional Baseball League (LVBP), the top-level professional baseball league in Venezuela. The regular season started on October 15, and will run to December 27, 2025. Playoffs are scheduled to begin on December 28th, with the final series is expected to begin on January 23rd, 2026.[1]

The season is the 80th edition of Venezuela's professional winter league, and will be played in honor of Dave Concepción, a former player and manager with the Tigres de Aragua.[1] Cardenales de Lara are the defending champions, having won their seventh championship in the 2024 season.

The winners of the 2025–26 season was initially slated to represent Venezuela at the 2026 Caribbean Series, scheduled to be held on home soil in Caracas and La Guaira.[2][3] However, the tournament was later moved to Mexico due to geopolitical tensions; the LVBP announced that Venezuela would instead host the 2026 Serie de las Américas.[4][5] It was the first time since 2003 that the LVBP did not participate in the Caribbean Series.[6]

On January 3, 2026, the playoff round robin was temporarily suspended due to the 2026 United States strikes in Venezuela.[7]

Competition format

The regular season will feature 56 games for each team, with each team playing eight games series against the others. The top four teams in the standings will advance directly to the round robin playoffs, while the fifth and sixth-place teams will compete in a Wild Card Series for the 5th spot there. The top two teams in the round-robin tournament will move on to the final series, which is expected to begin on January 23.[1]

Regular season

The season opened with a game between the champion Cardenales de Lara and the Tigres de Aragua on October 15, with the rest of the league opening on October 16.[1] Estadio Metropolitano in San Cristóbal, Táchira will host the "Serie Táchira" on Dec. 7-8, between the Navegantes del Magallanes and the Caribes de Anzoátegui. Observers have suggested the series may be a means to gauge interest in expanding the league to Táchira State.[8]

Standings

As of 28 December 2025[9]
Pos Team GTooltip Games played W L Pct. GBTooltip Games behind Home Road RS RA RD
1 Cardenales de Lara 56 30 26 .536 — 16—12 14—14 352 307 +45
2 Bravos de Margarita 56 29 27 .518 1 15—12 14—15 308 295 +13
3 Navegantes del Magallanes 56 29 27 .518 1 18—10 11—17 309 277 +32
4 Águilas del Zulia 56 29 27 .518 1 16–12 13–15 261 337 -76
5 Caribes de Anzoátegui 56 28 28 .500 2 18—10 10—10 349 326 +23
6 Tigres de Aragua 56 28 28 .500 2 19—9 9—19 282 281 +1
7 Tiburones de La Guaira 56 27 29 .482 3 14—14 13—15 319 320 -1
8 Leones del Caracas 56 24 32 .429 6 14—14 10—18 319 356 -37
Classified to Round Robin
Classified to Wild Card Series

Playoffs

Wild Card Series

Caribes[a] won the series, 1-1.

Game Date Score Location Time Attendance 
1 December 29 Tigres de Aragua – 5, Caribes de Anzoátegui – 4 Estadio Alfonso Chico Carrasquel 3:48 6,143[11] 
2 December 30 Tigres de Aragua – 12, Caribes de Anzoátegui – 13 Estadio Alfonso Chico Carrasquel 4:28 —[12]
  1. ^ Under LVBP regulations, the Wild Card series is played between the fifth- and sixth-ranked teams in the regular season. The fifth-place team (Caribes) has the advantage of only needing to win one Wild Card game to advance to the playoff round robin while the sixth-place team would need to win both games to advance.[10]

Round Robin

As of 26 January 2025[13]
Pos Team GTooltip Games played W L Pct. GBTooltip Games behind Home Road RS RA RD
1 Caribes de Anzoátegui 16 10 6 .625 – 5—3 5—3 109 82 +27
2 Navegantes del Magallanes 16 10 6 .625 – 4—4 6—2 98 93 +5
3 Cardenales de Lara 16 9 7 .563 1 5—3 4—4 123 86 +37
4 Águilas del Zulia 16 7 9 .438 3 3–5 4–4 78 99 -21
5 Bravos de Margarita 16 4 12 .250 6 1—7 3—5 83 131 -48

Final Series

Magallanes won the series, 4-2.

Game Date Score Location Time Attendance 
1 January 27 Navegantes del Magallanes – 12, Caribes de Anzoátegui – 4 Estadio Alfonso Chico Carrasquel 4:14 10,446[14] 
2 January 28 Navegantes del Magallanes – 3, Caribes de Anzoátegui – 1 Estadio Alfonso Chico Carrasquel 3:18 10,917[15] 
3 January 29 Caribes de Anzoátegui – 9, Navegantes del Magallanes – 7 Estadio José Bernardo Pérez 3:49 15,867[16] 
4 January 30 Caribes de Anzoátegui – 5, Navegantes del Magallanes – 14 Estadio José Bernardo Pérez 3:50 15,897[17] 
5 February 1 Caribes de Anzoátegui – 5, Navegantes del Magallanes – 3 Estadio José Bernardo Pérez 3:26 15,900[18] 
6 February 1 Navegantes del Magallanes – 14, Caribes de Anzoátegui – 6 Estadio Alfonso Chico Carrasquel 3:58 12,423[19]

Managerial changes

Off season

Team Former manager Reason for leaving New manager Ref.
Tiburones de La Guaira Ozzie Guillén Reassigned Gregorio Petit [20]
Caribes de Anzoátegui Morgan Ensberg Reassigned Asdrúbal Cabrera [21]
Bravos de Margarita José Moreno Resigned Henry Blanco [22]
Cardenales de Lara Henry Blanco Reassigned César Izturis [23]
Tigres de Aragua Buddy Bailey Fired Ozzie Guillén [24]

In season

Team Former manager Reason for leaving New manager Notes
Navegantes del Magallanes Eduardo Pérez Resigned Yadier Molina On November 5, 2025, Pérez stepped down as manager of Navegantes by "mutual agreement" with the club, to be replaced on an interim basis by bench coach Mario Lisson. At the time, Magallanes was 5-11 and last in the standings; Pérez's overall regular season record with the team was 34-38 over two seasons.[25] The next day, the team announced that Molina, who previously served as manager in the 2021–22 season, would return as manager.[26]
Tiburones de La Guaira Gregorio Petit Fired Marco Davalillo On November 17, 2025, Tiburones announced they had fired Gregorio Petit; he finished with an 11-15 record, tied for last place.[27]

Postseason

Team Former manager Reason for leaving New manager Notes
Navegantes del Magallanes Yadier Molina Reassigned César Izturis Regular season manager Yadier Molina was ineligible to pilot Magallanes to the 2026 Serie de las Américas, due to his affiliation with MLB and his commitment to the Puerto Rico national baseball team ahead of the 2026 World Baseball Classic. He was replaced by Cardenales manager César Izturis.[28]

League leaders

As of 28 December 2025
  1. ^ Hernán Pérez (ANZ), Wilson García (MAR)
  2. ^ Gorkys Hernández (ANZ), Alexi Amarista (MAR)
  3. ^ Ronnie Williams (ARA), Emerson Martinez (LAG), Ricardo Sánchez (MAG), Saul García (MAG)

Awards and honors

Player of the Week

Week Player Position Team Ref.
1 Aldrem Corredor 1B Caracas [31]
2 Balbino Fuenmayor 1B Anzoátegui [32]
3 Harold Castro 2B Caracas [33]
4 Yonathan Daza CF Caracas [34]
5 Balbino Fuenmayor 1B Anzoátegui [35]
6 Jadher Areinamo 2B La Guaira [36]
7 Wilson García 1B Margarita [37]
8
9
10
11

References

  1. ^ a b c d "La temporada 25-26 se jugará en honor a David Concepción". Correo del Caroni. 9 October 2025. Retrieved 20 October 2025.
  2. ^ "Report: 2026 Caribbean Series Will Stay In Caracas, Venezuela Despite Rising Tensions In Region". World Baseball Network. 19 September 2025. Retrieved 20 October 2025.
  3. ^ "LVBP 2025-26 Preview: Leones Hope To Play Another Caribbean Series At Home". World Baseball Network. 13 October 2025. Retrieved 20 October 2025.
  4. ^ "2026 Serie de Las Americas Will Move to Venezuela, Play Opposite Caribbean Series". World Baseball Network. 25 December 2025. Retrieved 29 December 2025.
  5. ^ "La Serie de las Américas 2026: un evento sin presencia de la LVBP ni jugadores de MLB". El Nacional. 28 December 2025. Retrieved 29 December 2025.
  6. ^ "La Serie del Caribe 2026 anuncia su calendario, sin Venezuela". El Emergente. 28 December 2025. Retrieved 4 January 2026. Todo parece indicar que será la primera vez que Venezuela se ausente de la Serie del Caribe desde la edición 2003.
  7. ^ "Following Maduro's Capture By the U.S., Venezuela's LVBP Playoff Games Scheduled For Saturday Suspended: Report". World Baseball Network. 3 January 2026. Retrieved 4 January 2026.
  8. ^ "Navegantes del Magallanes and Caribes de Anzoátegui to Meet in Serie Táchira". World Baseball Network. 15 October 2025. Retrieved 19 October 2025.
  9. ^ "Posiciones (Temporada regular)". LVBP.com. 28 December 2025.
  10. ^ "Round Robin de la Liga Venezolana de Béisbol 2026: Juegos, resultados, posiciones y calendario". The Sporting News. 4 January 2026. Retrieved 4 January 2026.
  11. ^ "Boxscore - Aragua 5, Caribes 4". LVBP.com. Retrieved 4 January 2026.
  12. ^ "Boxscore - Caribes 13, Aragua 12". LVBP.com. Retrieved 4 January 2026.
  13. ^ "Posiciones (Round robin)". LVBP.com. 14 February 2026.
  14. ^ "Boxscore - Magallanes 12, Caribes 4". LVBP.com. Retrieved 14 February 2026.
  15. ^ "Boxscore - Magallanes 3, Caribes 1". LVBP.com. Retrieved 14 February 2026.
  16. ^ "Boxscore - Caribes 9, Magallanes 7". LVBP.com. Retrieved 14 February 2026.
  17. ^ "Boxscore - Caribes 9, Magallanes 7". LVBP.com. Retrieved 14 February 2026.
  18. ^ "Boxscore - Caribes 5, Magallanes 3". LVBP.com. Retrieved 14 February 2026.
  19. ^ "Boxscore - Magallanes 14, Caribes 6". LVBP.com. Retrieved 14 February 2026.
  20. ^ "Gregorio Petit nuevo mánager de Tiburones". LVBP. 9 May 2025. Retrieved 4 January 2026.
  21. ^ "Asdrúbal Cabrera será el mánager de Caribes". LVBP. 7 May 2025. Retrieved 4 January 2026.
  22. ^ "No va a los Leones: Henry Blanco será el manager de los Bravos Margarita". El Emergente. 25 March 2025. Retrieved 4 January 2026.
  23. ^ "César Izturis es el nuevo manager de Cardenales ¡y con contrato multianual!". El Emergente. 27 March 2025. Retrieved 4 January 2026.
  24. ^ "Oswaldo Guillén designado mánager de Tigres". LVBP. 16 May 2025. Retrieved 4 January 2026.
  25. ^ "Eduardo Pérez no sigue con Magallanes, Mario Lissón asume como mánager interino". LVBP. 6 November 2025. Retrieved 19 November 2025.
  26. ^ "Yadier Molina returns seeking revenge as manager of Magallanes". LVBP. 6 November 2025. Retrieved 19 November 2025.
  27. ^ "Tiburones despidió a Gregorio Petit y nombró mánager a Marco Davalillo". LVBP. 17 November 2025. Retrieved 19 November 2025.
  28. ^ "César Izturis will manage Magallanes in the Americas Series". El Universal. 4 February 2026. Retrieved 15 February 2026.
  29. ^ "Líderes en Bateo (Temporada regular)". LVBP.com. 28 November 2025.
  30. ^ "Líderes en Picheo (Temporada regular)". LVBP.com. 28 December 2025.
  31. ^ "Aldrem Corredor se alzó con el Jugador de la Semana por primera vez en su carrera". LVBP.com. 20 October 2025.
  32. ^ "Balbino Fuenmayor explotó y se llevó el Jugador de la Semana". LVBP.com. 27 October 2025.
  33. ^ "Harold Castro llegó y se llevó el Jugador de la Semana "Maggi"". LVBP.com. 3 November 2025.
  34. ^ "Yonathan Daza arrazó y se llevó el Jugador de la Semana "Maggi"". LVBP.com. 10 November 2025.
  35. ^ "Balbino Fuenmayor volvió a alzarse con el Jugador de la Semana "Maggi"". LVBP.com. 17 November 2025.
  36. ^ "Jadher Areinamo se alzó con el Jugador de la Semana "Maggi"". LVBP.com. 24 November 2025.
  37. ^ "Wilson García se alzó con el Jugador de la Semana "Maggi"". LVBP.com. 1 December 2025.


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