Venezuelan Baseball (LVBP): News, Notes, and Where to Watch

As the fourth week of the regular season for the Liga Venezolana de Béisbol Profesional (LVBP) progresses, here is a look at the top news and notes from the middle of the week in Winter League Baseball.

Danry Vásquez traded to Cardenales; Tiburones receive two relievers

Tiburones outfielder Danry Vasquez is headed to the Cardenales de Lara in exchange for Yapson Gomez and Pedro Garcia, announced by the Cardenales on Thursday. The 10-year veteran will be a great addition to the Cardenales, bolstering their offense in the race for a championship. Over his career in the Liga Venezolana de Béisbol Profesional, Vasquez has 421 hits, 27 home runs, 80 doubles, drove in 213 runs, and has a career .295 batting average in 1,424 at-bats.

Águilas break five-game losing streak with Wednesday’s victory over Cardenales

The Aguilas del Zulia defeated the Cardenales de Lara 6-5 on Wednesday, snapping a five-game losing streak and securing their first victory in a week. All 11 runs of the game were scored in the first five innings. From the sixth inning onwards, no walks were given, and only one hit was allowed by the Aguilas bullpen for the remainder of the game.

The Aguilas bats capitalized on critical errors made by the Cardenales defense to get their first three runs on the board. Zulia had two runners on after back-to-back base hits from Simon Muzziotti and Ali Castillo. On a grounder from Angel Reyes, both runners scored after Cardenales third baseman Jermaine Palacios committed an error. An RBI from Eduardo Torrealba drove Reyes into home to give the Aguilas the lead, 3-0.

The Aguilas offense did not stop there however. Castillo reached first again, this time with a walk, and stole second to put himself in scoring position in the bottom of the second inning. The Aguilas then had runners on the corners after an infield single from Jose Pirela. They then promptly scored again on an error trying to prevent Pirela from stealing second, allowing Castillo to reach home plate. Reyes and Osleivis Basabe drove in the final two runs of the inning, leaving the score at 6-1 Aguilas going into the third inning.

The Cardenales responded in the third inning with two runs driven in off of a double by Juniel Querecuto and an RBI from Cade Gotta. Pedro Castellanos hit a solo home run in the fifth inning, and Gotta hit another RBI, but that was not enough to put the game away. Apart from one more hit, the Cardenales were shut out for the rest of the game.

The door is open for New York Mets catcher Francisco Alvarez to return to the LVBP after NLCS run

Francisco Alvarez, who just came off a National League Championship Series run against the Los Angeles Dodgers, could make a return to the Navegantes del Magallanes. The catcher, entering his junior season with the New York Mets in 2025, is back in Venezuela after the Mets lost the NLCS to the eventual World Series champions in six games. All Alvarez is waiting on is the green light from Mets management to play in the LVBP once again.

“Right now, I think there is a 40% chance, or maybe a little less, that I will play with the team, but not for lack of desire…I will wait to see what they (the Mets) tell me in December, when the season is ending, to see if I can join Magallanes and qualify for the Round Robin,” said Alvarez in a statement to LVBP Press. “I would love for my family, and especially my grandmother, to see me play. I want to get about 30 or 40 at-bats, but it doesn’t depend only on me.”

For now, Francisco Alvarez will travel back to the United States to train. According to Baseball Reference, Alvarez posted a 0.8 WAR and .237 batting average with 73 hits, 14 doubles, two triples, 11 home runs, and 47 RBIs in 342 plate appearances in the 2024 season with the Mets.

LVBP Standings as of October 31:

1. Tiburones de La Guaira (11-5)
2. Tigres de Aragua (8-7)
3. Cardenales de Lara (8-8)
4. Navegantes del Magallanes (8-8)
5. Caribes de Anzoátegui (7-7)
6. Bravos de Margarita (7-8)
7. Leones del Caracas (6-8)
8. Águilas del Zulia (6-10)

Get all your information and news about the Liga Venezolana de Béisbol Profesional at worldbaseball.com

You can watch the LVBP on beisbolplay.com