In just a little over 12 months, the baseball world will see the next installment of the World Baseball Classic. The 2023 World Baseball Classic included wild quarterfinal and semifinal games, contests which did not include the Dominican Republic. The D.R. failed to make it past the group stage despite a loaded roster. For 2026, the country’s baseball federation has tabbed a legend to manage their team.
Per reports, the Dominican Republic is tabbing Albert Pujols, a native of Santo Domingo, to manage the country’s team for the 2026 World Baseball Classic.
Pujols will take over for Rays coach Rodney Linares, the D.R.’s manager for the 2023 World Baseball Classic. Under Linares, the Dominican Republic went 2-2 in 2023 but struggled to find consistent footing as the team failed to make the quarterfinals.
The Dominican Republic’s performance could be considered a significant disappointment. Even though the country didn’t have Vladimir Guerrero Jr. available thanks to injury, the Dominican Republic’s roster included superstars like Juan Soto, Rafael Devers, Julio Rodriguez, and Manny Machado.
Devers had a poor tourney, slashing .125/.222/.125 across four contests. Teoscar Hernandez, another notable name on the 2023 roster, didn’t have a hit.
Team Dominican Republic also had the benefit of recruiting big-time arms, including Sandy Alcantara and Cristian Javier, to their tournament rotation.
However, Sandy Alcantara and Johnny Cueto both had ERAs north of 7.00 during the last international tournament.
Pujols, meanwhile, will get a shot to showcase his talents to prospective MLB teams for a future managerial gig. The future Hall of Famer guided Leones de Escogido to the LIDOM title this past winter, cemented by a Junior Caminero walk-off home run.
Caminero, with a strong 2025, could be one of the potential names available to the D.R. next March. One could hypothetically draw up an infield of Yainer Diaz (C), Vladimir Guerrero Jr. (1B), Ketel Marte (2B), Caminero, Machado, or Jose Ramirez at third, and Willy Adames at short, with Devers in the DH spot.
Their outfield options include the previously-mentioned Hernandez, Soto, and Rodriguez.
Dominican Republic will start the 2026 tournament in Pool D at loanDepot Park, alongside Israel, the Netherlands, and Venezuela.
The news of Pujols joining Team Dominican Republic as manager was first reported by ESPN.