1 HR by J:Rod and a high strikeout rate pretty much confirm that his major league career is on the verge of going nowhere

Yeah. I've pretty much given up on J-Rod. He didn't make the Puerto Rican WBC Team. Even though he was the league's MVP this year, he still did not make the team. He did go to Puerto Rico this year to work on his strikeout totals. I think his power numbers suffered because he worked on his contact game. Another reason the Guardians should have gotten a right hand hitting outfielder this off season. Too bad. I really liked J-Rod.

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Caimanes de Barranquilla 2026 Serie De Las Roster

Pitchers –

Jean Herrera, Elkin Alcala, Ezequiel Zabaleta, Emerson Martínez, Yoryi Simarra, Luis Pérez, Henderson Álvarez, Anthony Vizcaya, Moisés Díaz, Emilker Guzman, Jhon Romero, José Salvador, Julio Vivas, Pedro García, Yapson Gómez

Infielders –

Carlos Arroyo, Kelvin Melean, Jaider Morelos, Leandro Emiliani, Dario Borrero, Kevin Maitan

[ Looks like Dayan Frias was not invited to participate in this Classic despite putting up some decent numbers.

G 27, GS 27, AB 105, R 22, H 30, 2B 2, 3B 3, HR 1, RBI 16, TB 41, AVG 286, SLG 390, OBP 409, OPS 799, BB 19, HBP 3, SO 17, GDP 0, SF 0, SH 0, SB 8, CS 2

Dayan Frias participated in one World Baseball Classic, competing for Team Colombia in the 2023 tournament.
During the 2023 WBC, he served as a shortstop and infielder for Colombia, appearing in games against Mexico, Great Britain, Canada, and the United States. ]

Outfielders –

Andrés Angulo, Jesús Marriaga, Harold Ramírez, Derwin Pomare, Tito Polo

Catchers –

Carlos Martínez, Gabriel Lino

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Dayan Frias played for Colombia in the 2023 World Baseball Classic, primarily as their starting shortstop, appearing in 4 games. He recorded a .231 batting average 3-13 with 2 RBI, with his best performance being a 2-for-4 game against Great Britain. 

Dayan Frias with a bases loaded base hit

https://x.com/i/status/1635380447445405696

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2026 Caribbean Series: Charros de Jalisco Make It An All-Mexico Championship Game With 8-6 Win

Mexico Red joins Mexico Green in advancing to Caribbean Series final

Leif Skodnick

February 7, 2026

ZAPOPAN, Mexico – Five times wasn’t enough, so why not make it six?

In a battle of Caribbean baseball heavyweights, the Charros de Jalisco won a back-and-forth semifinal at the 2026 Caribbean Series Friday night 8-6 over Puerto Rico’s Cangrejeros de Santurce to earn a berth in the championship game at winter baseball’s biggest event for the second consecutive year.

With the win, the Charros and the Tomateros de Culiacan, who faced each other in the Liga ARCO Mexicana del Pacifico championship series, will face off for the sixth time in less than three weeks, this time for the Caribbean Series title. Benji Gil’s Charros have won all five meetings between the two teams going into tomorrow night’s championship game, sweeping the LAMP title series and winning the round robin game 4-2 on Wednesday night.

The matchup between the Charros and Tomateros on Saturday night means that Mexico is guaranteed to win its first Caribbean Series since the Venados de Mazatlan took the crown at Estadio Quisqueya Juan Marichal in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic in 2016.

“We haven’t won anything. Our goal is not to reach the final. Our goal is to win the championship. And if we play our baseball, it will be very clear who is the best team in the Caribbean. We have had that goal since last year,” Gil said in Spanish following the game. “It gives me an incredible peace of mind to have players with the talent they have and also with commitment and focus. So I’m very calm. For me, tomorrow is a normal game, right? We know what it means, but We know we are the best team in Mexico. We have shown it for a long time. Now we just need one more game.”

With the wind blowing out at Estadio Panamericano, both teams took advantage of the hitter-friendly environs, combining for 23 hits and four homers, trading punches back and forth through the first seven innings.

With two outs in the top of the first, Yohandy Morales hit Manny Banuelos’ 2-2 offering over the left field wall to give the Cangrejeros a 1-0 lead.

The Tomateros wasted no time, striking back in the bottom of the first. Leadoff man Connor Hollis lashed a hot grounder right at Cangrejeros third baseman Emmanuel Rivera, who attempted to Olé the ball and missed, and Hollis took two bases on the error. Mateo Gil drove Hollis in to tie the game with a two-out single up the middle.

“I think we’ve had so much success so far because everyone’s bought in. And we know that our team is very talented, and nobody tries to be a hero,” the younger Gil, who went 2-for-4 with two RBIs, said. “I just take pride when those guys are on base. I try to, I take a lot of pride and I think it’s my job to drive them in. And you know, today I was fortunate enough to be in that situation a couple of times.”

An inning later, with Leo Heras on first after drawing a walk, Hollis hit a fly ball to left field that carried over the outstretched glove of Cangrejeros left fielder Johneshwy Fargas and over the wall for a two-run homer that gave the Charros a 3-1 lead.

Gabriel Cancel’s solo homer in the top of the third, again to left field, got Santurce within a run.

In the third, Michael Wielansky reached on a single, his 11th hit of the series, and two batters later, Bligh Madris hit a long fly ball 410 feet down the right field line and over the berm behind the bleachers to make it 5-2 Charros.

A lead off single by Emmanuel Rivera and a one-out double from former Boston Red Sox Christian Vazquez gave the Cangrejeros runners at second and third with one out. A wild pitch by Banuelos to Johneshwy Fargas allowed Rivera to score, and then Fargas singled home Vazquez to make it 5-4. That ended Manny Banuelos’ night after 4 1/3 innings, having allowed four runs on seven hits, walking one and striking out three.

“They went up, we tied them,” Charros manager Benji Gil said following the game. “And then we took the lead, they got closer, we opened the gap a little, then they took the lead again and then we came back. I think the game had everything.”

Consecutive one-out singles in the top of the fifth by Morales, Nelson Velazquez, and Isan Diaz got Morales home to tie the game at five apiece and advance Velazquez to third. A sac fly to left by Emmanuel Rivera scored Velazquez to make it 6-5 gave the Cangrejeros their first lead since the top of the first.

But the Charros weren’t done. Wielansky singled to lead off the home half of the seventh, and Willie Calhoun followed with a single to give the Charros runners at the corners. Mateo Gil made it three singles in a row and drove in Wielansky to tie the game at six apiece and chase righty reliever Derek West from the mound for lefty Gabriel Rodriguez to face left-handed power threat Bligh Madris. Rodriguez fanned Madris and Reynaldo Rodriguez, but threw a wild pitch that allowed Christopher Gastelum, pinch running for Calhoun, to advance to third, and Gil stole second base on strike three to Rodriguez.

Rodriguez got ahead of Liga ARCO Mexicana del Pacifico regular season home run leader Leo Heras 0-2, but Heras worked the count to 2-2 before popping a single through the left side of the infield to score Gastelum and Gil for an 8-6 lead.

On came LAMP reliever of the year Matt Foster, who had allowed one hit and two walks in three innings over three appearances in the round robin to pitch the eighth for the Charros. He induced a fly out from Jack Lopez, then battled through an 11-pitch at-bat with Christian Vazquez that ended when the Santurce catcher hit a fly ball to the warning track in left field and Julian Ornelas made a leaping grab and collided with the wall, holding onto the ball and drawing a chant of “MVP!” from the crowd. Foster then fanned Johneshwy Fargas looking to end the eighth.

Trevor Clifton came on for the ninth for the Charros to face the top of the Cangrejeros order and retired them 1-2-3 to earn his second save of the series.

Tommorow, Benji Gil and his Charros will face a familiar rival in Lorenzo Bundy and the Tomateros. Bundy’s Diablos Rojos swept Gil and the Charros in the Serie del Rey, the championship series of the Liga Mexicana de Beisbol, the country’s summer league, in September, before Gil and the Charros returned the favor to Bundy with a sweep of the Tomateros in January.

Asked about his friendly rivalry with Bundy, Gil said, “He’s a good friend. He’s an accomplished manager.”

“The only thing is I got the better team. I got the better players. Maybe in the summer, maybe he has a better team. We have the best team. There ain’t no doubt about it. And there ain’t nothing anybody can do. If we play our baseball, there’s nothing that can be done. We will win tomorrow.”

NOTEBOOK – Charros third baseman Mateo Gil made three spectacular diving plays on hard hit ground balls, two of them consecutively against Ruben Castro and Gabriel Cancel at the top of the first, and another with one out in the bottom of the ninth, again nailing Cancel at first. … Saturday’s championship game will be televised live in the United States in English on MLB Network and in Spanish on ESPN Deportes.

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Mexico has won its tenth Caribbean Series title!

07/02/2026

Zapopan, Jalisco (CBPC Press).- A wild pitch by Guadalupe Chávez with the bases loaded gave the Charros de Jalisco a 12-11 victory over the Tomateros de Culiacán, and the team managed by Benjamín Gil lifted their first championship trophy in the history of the Caribbean Series at their home stadium, the Pan American Stadium in this city.

The game went into the tenth inning after the Tomateros staged a legendary comeback, negotiating a 10-10 tie after being down 9-1.






With the Ghost Runner Rule, Tomateros took the lead in the top of the tenth inning, but the Charros responded with two runs, scored by Julián Ornelas and Michael Wielansky, both resulting from wild pitches by pitcher Guadalupe Chávez.

As if it were an undecipherable enigma, the Charros —who had lost last year's final in Mexicali against the Dominican Republic— once again prevailed over the Tomateros, just as happened in the four games of the most recent final of the ARCO Mexican Pacific League and in their direct confrontation within this Caribbean Series, although this time their rival fell "with their boots on".






After starter Luis Miranda failed to complete the first five innings (4.0 IP, 4 ER), César Gómez earned the win, while Guadalupe Chávez took the loss. Bligh Madris homered for the Charros and Víctor Mendoza homered for the Tomateros.


For the Charros, Connor Hollis stood out, going 4-for-5 with three runs scored and three RBIs; Julián Ornelas went 3-for-4 with three RBIs; while Michael Wielansky and Mateo Gil each contributed two hits.
For the Tomateros, Allen Córdoba led the offense, going 2-for-5 with a double and two RBIs; Víctor Mendoza and Estevan Florial also had two hits each.






It seemed the second inning would pass without major incident for the Charros' offense after Wilmer Ríos retired Bligh Madris and Reynaldo Rodríguez. However, he issued a walk to the eighth batter, Leo Heras, and from then on, things started to get complicated. Santiago Chávez singled, advancing Heras to third. Then, Connor Hollis drove in the first run with a single to center field. A throwing error by catcher Solís allowed the runners to advance, and after a walk to Julián Ornelas, Michael Wielansky lined a single to right field, driving in two runs and making the score 3-0.

An inning later, after the Tomateros scored a run in the top of the fourth, the Charros responded with a four-run rally against Odrisamer Despaigne and his reliever Miguel Vázquez, combining three walks and three singles, including a two-run single by Connor Hollis.
In that same inning, they added two more runs against Braulio Torres-Pérez, thanks to a home run by Bligh Madris—his third of the tournament—with Mateo Gil on base, making the score 9-1.






Lorenzo Bundy's team refused to give up and put together a six-run rally in the top of the fifth inning, prompting the removal of Luis Miranda and the punishment of relievers Miguel Aguilar and Jesús Cruz. In an inning that saw 12 batters and eight hits, including a double by Allen Córdoba, they closed the gap to 9-7.

In the seventh inning, Víctor Mendoza hit a home run off Gerardo Reyes to bring the Tomateros within one run. However, in the bottom of the inning, Sasagi Sánchez allowed the fourth hit of the game to Connor Hollis, who later scored on a double by Julián Ornelas, giving the Charros a two-run lead.






The drama reached its peak in the ninth inning. Facing Trevor Clifton, with one out, Yadir Drake was hit by a pitch, and immediately afterward, Víctor Mendoza hit his second home run of the game to tie the score at 10 runs, completing a historic comeback.






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BOX SCORE

https://www.mlb.com/gameday/mexico-verd ... tor.lmp.mx

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FINAL OUT

https://twitter.com/i/status/2020375374719513031

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COMPLETE GAME HIGH LIGHTS - 2 HRS 45 MIN

https://youtu.be/0yoCkuw6yN4

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Colombia in World Baseball Classic

The Guardians are hoping to see countless prospects break out in 2026, with Frias being a perfect example of one who could.

Cade Cracas

Feb 3, 2026

The Cleveland Guardians are going to be represented by a good chunk of players on the 40-man roster and those in the farm system at the World Baseball Classic (WBC).

On Monday, Feb. 2, infielder prospect Daiyan Frias was informed that he was selected to play for Team Colombia in the WBC. The 23-year-old is coming off a 2025 campaign where he suited up for both the Double-A Akron Rubberducks and Triple-A Columbus Clippers, slashing .216/.318/.318 for an OPS of .636.

It wasn't an impressive season, but year after year Frias is showing growth in different areas.

Being able to play for his home country will be an excellent opportunity, as being able to participate in a high-level competition like the WBC gives him a chance to both play with and take on some of the world's best athletes. He was also recently given a non-roster invite to join the Guardians' spring training camp.

Over the past two seasons, Frias hasn't been listed as one of the Guardians' top 30 prospects, with 2026 expected to be a year where all eyes fall on him. He'll need to show this season that he's ready to either maintain pace in Triple-A or be given a major-league shot.

Frias' Time in Cleveland

It's been a rocky road for the native of Cartagena, Colombia, slashing .236/.342/.352 across six seasons of minor league ball. He's still young and unpolished, with some of his tendencies that cause issues at the plate able to be broken with time.

The front office obviously believes he has the strengths to someday be a fairly consistent contributor, or they wouldn't have kept him around this long.

The first time they saw the potential in Frias was way back in 2018, when the front office decided to offer him an $80,000 deal. Across his teen years, he spent time with Cleveland's fall-ball and rookie teams, while also getting reps in international play. He had his fair share of ups and downs, but back in 2019, he was electric for Cleveland. That season, at just 19 years old, he was remarkable at the plate, slashing .322/.420/.520 for an OPS of .940 across 42 games.

That set the stage for him to get his first real minor league look in 2022, suiting up for the Lynchburg Hillcats. He wasn't putting up numbers like the Guardians saw in rookie ball, but it wasn't bad.

However, his development began to slow, and while he was able to get on base in 2022, 2023, and 2024 very frequently, his hitting just couldn't get into a groove. He consistently posted a .300 on-base percentage, but his batting average remained under .260, dropping as low as .209 in 2024.

Back in 2024, he was aware of what he needed to fix. In an interview with MLB.com, he spoke to his hope for trying to cut down on swinging and missing.

“If you don’t see anything, then you can’t hit and nothing happens,” he said. “I try to find a pitch that I know I’m going to hit well and execute it …Trying to miss less is what I’m looking for at home plate.”

He played over 100 games in each season as well, so it wasn't a case of being injured or not getting chances; it was just a lack of production. His fielding has never been in question, putting up fielding percentages of 99.4% at first, 98.7% from second and 93.1% from third. It's just his play at the plate that remains rocky.

In foreign play, he's been much better, a testament that either comfort or the strength of competition is favoring him. The WBC will be a chance to see if Frias is better competing with players he's comfortable with, as the competition they'll face is very high.

Either way, the chance for Frias to step into a batters box at this big of a stage is important for his development, especially if Cleveland's front office has plans of keeping him around longer than 2026. He's young, impressionable and still able to be molded, it's just putting the right things around him to get the most out of his bat.

The first game for Colombia in the WBC will be on Friday, March 6, against Puerto Rico, with first pitch set for 6:00 p.m. EST. Frias will have a chance to represent his country on a national stage and prepare for the start of the 2026 regular season.

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Based on available highlights, Colombian infielder Dayán Frías (representing Vaqueros de Montería) executed a triple play during his time in Caribbean Series-related competition, which has been featured on social media platforms like Facebook, rather than a mainstream, high-definition YouTube video.

https://www.facebook.com/10004190108015 ... hi_IN&_rdr

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