Dominican fans had high hopes of watching New York Mets Juan Soto play for the Tigres del Licey. He had announced the Mets had cleared him so he could play. But this will not happen. The Gigantes del Cibao on 22 December 2025 did the unexpected and defeated the Tigres del Licey to clinch the fourth slot to make it to the playoffs of the Dominican Winter Professional Baseball Championship. A triple by Marcos Hernandez made the difference. Ironically, Hernandez had previously played for the Licey.
The Leones del Escogido saved face for the capital city by defeating the Estrellas Orientales to qualify for the playoffs, too. Hector Rodriguez, who has just been recruited to play for the Cincinnatti Reds, decided the game for the Escogido. He had been cleared by the Reds to play that one game.
The regular season has practically ended with the Aguilas Cibaeñas, Toros del Este, Leones del Escogido and Gigantes del Cibao, the contenders as was decided in the last week of the tournament.
There are still two games pending on Tuesday, 23 December 2025, but the games will only decide the final positioning of the teams in the standing of the regular season. The Toros are scheduled to play the Aguilas, and the Licey (that is already eliminated) will match the Gigantes.
The playoffs begin on 27 December.
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Diario Libre
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23 December 2025