The World Series wrapped up this week, and with it went the 2024 Major League Baseball season. Baseball, however, is a year-round event.
The MLB offseason will run for the next three and a half months, with the final six weeks seeing players ramping up to Spring Training. Some players will never stop playing. They will go to a winter league and continue getting work during the offseason.
There are several offseason leagues, highlighted by the Arizona Fall League, which I’ve been covering on Pirates Prospects this offseason. There are four winter leagues in the Caribbean over the offseason: LIDOM (Dominican Republic), LVBP (Venezuela), LMP (Mexico), and LBPRC (Puerto Rico). There’s also an offseason league in Australia, as well as a few tournaments throughout the winter.
Below is a primer of what to expect from each winter league, along with the Pirates prospects who are playing in each league this offseason. Stats are included for those players who have already begun play.
LIDOM (Dominican Republic)
The most prestigious of the winter leagues is in the Dominican. The talent level includes many present and former Major League players. The competition and energy levels are often more intense than a regular season MLB game. And not just the lowly attended games at PNC Park.
The Dominican Winter League (LIDOM) is the equivalent of the Triple-A level, and would be good added experience for any player who wants to show what they can do in a high-talent, high-competition environment. What’s special about this league is that you need to be productive in order to stick around. One or two bad performances can get a top prospect sent home. It’s the best replica of the Major League environment.
The league started on October 16th, and has a 50 game schedule. The playoffs are intense, with the crowd energy adding a new element to the talent and competition in the league.
The Pirates have a few players already playing in the Dominican this winter.
Liover Peguero leads the group, playing for Tigers del Licey. He’s batting .310/.375/.379 in 29 at-bats so far, while hitting two doubles. He’s struck out 11 times and walked three times so far. Peguero spent the majority of the 2024 season in Triple-A, hitting .257/.319/.410. He’s fallen behind in the race for a Major League job, but is still only 23 years old. Hitting in the high-pressure Dominican league would be a great step forward from Peguero.
Yoyner Fajardo is playing for Gigantes del Cibao, where he is hitting .136/.231/.227 in his first 22 at-bats. Fajardo has one triple, one steal in two attempts, and a 3:7 BB/K ratio. The Pirates acquired him this summer as depth in Double-A, and he was one of the more consistent hitters in Altoona, with a .300/.406/.373 line. Fajardo doesn’t hit for a lot of power, limited to extra base hits from the top of the lineup. It will be a challenge for him to continue hitting for a high average against upper-level pitchers without improving his power production.
Nick Dombkowski is teammates with Fajardo on the Cibao Giants roster. The lefty has appeared in two games, allowing one run on a hit and two walks in 2.2 innings, with one strikeout. Dombkowski split the 2024 season between Double-A and Triple-A, working as a swingman option at both levels. He had a 3.17 ERA in 48.1 innings in Altoona, and a 4.32 ERA in 33.1 innings with Indianapolis. Dombkowski had control issues at the higher level, with 25 walks in those 33 innings.
LVBP (Venezuela)
The Venezuelan Winter League is a step below the one in the Dominican, but still represents Triple-A talent.
If I were to distinguish the difference, LIDOM is more on the level of a 35-grade player who is on the verge of the Majors, while LVBP is more 30-grade, getting acclimated to Triple-A range of talent. There are some former Major League players in this league, providing something similar to a Triple-A experience. The competitiveness doesn’t match the LIDOM environment.
The league started on October 11th and runs for 56 games. There have been safety issues with this league, due to ongoing economic unrest and crime in Venezuela. As a result, this league doesn’t get as many players.
The Pirates have one player in the league right now.
Carlos Jimenez is from Venezuela, and is playing for the Cardenales De Lara. In two games, Jimenez has allowed two runs in four innings, with three strikeouts and one walk. Jimenez spent most of his season in Bradenton, where he showed some of the best stuff in the lower levels, along with some of the worst control. His control improved in the second half, and he finished his season in High-A. Jimenez will still need to focus on improving the control, and should benefit from this experience. By playing for the Cardinals, he will also get an added tournament experience in Miami next week, detailed in a bit.
LMP (Mexico)
The Mexican Winter League is a smaller version of Mexico’s summer professional league. The summer league has 20 teams. The winter league cuts that to ten teams, which makes the talent level on the verge of Triple-A. Using the Current Grade comparisons above, I’d grade the talent in the LMP to be 25, just below the LVBP. The LMP features some former big leaguers.
The league started on October 11th, and runs for 68 games. The Pirates have two players on the rosters.
Andres Alvarez is playing for Tomateros de Culiacán, where he also played last offseason. Alvarez is hitting .300/.358/.483 in 70 plate appearances this year, with two homers. He hit .305/.370/.423 last offseason, with five homers in 209 plate appearances. This was followed by an improved minor league season in 2024, which saw Alvarez hit .271/.360/.417 across 286 plate appearances in Triple-A. This won’t be the only offseason league for Alvarez, as he’ll also be appearing in the Premier12 event, detailed below.
Patricio Ress is playing for Águilas de Mexicali, after having a comeback season in the DSL. The Mexico-native missed the 2023 season in the DSL, only to return this year and put up a 2.22 ERA in 24.1 innings. He’s made two appearances in the LMP, allowing one run on three hits in 1.1 innings, with a strikeout and no walks.
LBPRC (Puerto Rico)
The Roberto Clemente Professional Baseball League will begin on November 7th, with a 40 game season. This is the lowest talent level of the Caribbean winter leagues, amounting to around a Double-A experience at best. I’d grade it a 20+ for the Current Talent level, in relation to the other leagues.
The Pirates have four players on the rosters.
Joshua Palacios, OF – This is the second time that Palacios has played in Puerto Rico. The first time came in the 2022-23 offseason, when he hit .214/.291/.329 in 81 plate appearances. Palacios is playing for Indios de Mayagüez, and should use the level to make up for lost time, following a season where injuries limited him to 239 plate appearances.
Shawn Ross, C – Ross was signed as an undrafted free agent out of Clarendon College, and was born in Puerto Rico. Teammates with Palacios on the Indios de Mayagüez, Ross will look to build upon his 2024 season. He hit .193/.334/.459 in High-A, blasting 23 homers in 375 plate appearances. He has impressive raw power, but needs to hit consistently for the power to play in the upper levels.
John Lopez, C – The Pirates drafted Lopez out of the Puerto Rico Baseball Academy in the 15th round of the 2023 draft. He hasn’t seen much playing time, with 29 plate appearances since being drafted, along with two plate appearances in the LBPRC last year. He’s playing for the Senadores de San Juan this year, but the 18-year-old Lopez is still raw, and might not be ready for extended in-game playing time.
Pitterson Rosa, RHP – Rosa made the jump to the FCL this season, after being signed out of Puerto Rico in early 2022. Rosa had a 7.27 ERA in 8.2 innings in the FCL this year, after pitching 29 innings as a starter in the DSL in 2023. He’s playing for Gigantes de Carolina this offseason.
ABL (Australia)
The lowest talent level in the offseason leagues can be found in the Australian Baseball League. Resembling A-ball at best, or a 15-20 Current Grade talent level, this league begins on November 14th and runs through mid-January.
The biggest benefit of this level is that it provides a lot of playing time for inexperienced players, with hitters getting 150+ plate appearances, and pitchers having the ability to add a few innings to their totals.
The Pirates have a large presence in this league, helped by the team’s Australia scout Tony Harris, who also coaches in the league. A lot of the players on the rosters are eligible for the league. That doesn’t mean they will be playing this offseason.
Below are the players, by team, who are on the rosters, along with a note on each player’s status.
Adelaide Giants
Blake Townsend, RHP – The Pirates signed Townsend this year to help fill out their Double-A roster. He pitched nine innings, allowing just two runs, before going down with an injury. The 23-year-old is from Australia, and has played in this league since he was 16 years old. He last pitched in this league during the 2022-23 offseason, getting two innings of work. Townsend previously pitched for Melbourne, but signed with Adelaide this past April. He should have a chance to make up for lost innings with his new team.
Brisbane Bandits
Brandan Bidois, RHP – Bidois is currently in the Arizona Fall League. He hasn’t pitched for Brisbane since 2020-21, when he threw ten innings. He made his pro debut the following season, and pitched a career high 30.2 innings and 27 appearances in 2024. It’s possible he follows up the AFL with pitching in Australia, but he might be over 40 innings by that point.
Sydney Blue Sox
Carlos Jimenez, RHP – Jimenez is currently pitching in Venezuela, which offers a much higher talent level than Australia. He pitched for Sydney last year, throwing 7.2 innings and allowing three earned runs. That followed a year where he only threw 13 innings in minor league ball. He went 75.2 innings this year, with four so far in the LVBP. Like Bidois, Jimenez could continue his offseason by going to Australia to play. It wouldn’t be a surprise to see them both stick to one league.
Wyatt Hendrie, C – Hendrie played for Sydney last offseason, hitting .182/.308/.273 in 131 plate appearances. He spent the 2024 season as a depth option between Altoona and Greensboro, getting 127 plate appearances total. He might have a chance to get more playing time in Australia this offseason than he did in the Pirates’ system this year, if he returns to the league.
Jase Bowen, OF – Bowen played for Sydney in 2022-23, hitting .268/.329/.417 with three homers in 141 plate appearances. He spent last offseason in the AFL, and didn’t double up on winter leagues with a return to the ABL. He could return to Australia for the playing time, but there’s a difference between the experience for him at age 21 in Single-A, versus age 23 after extended time in Double-A. An offseason of rest and off-field work for the first time in three years wouldn’t be the worst outcome for Bowen.
Jesus Castillo, INF – Castillo played in Australia in 2022-23, hitting .142/.230/.168 in 129 plate appearances. His hitting hasn’t improved much in Single-A over the last two seasons, and he finished the 2024 season on the injured list in early May. He could benefit from the playing time, after only getting 110 plate appearances this year. He also might benefit from an offseason of rest and rehab, following the injury.
Mike Jarvis, INF – Jarvis played in the ABL last offseason. He hit .247/.283/.354 in 170 plate appearances in his age 25 season. At that point, Jarvis had little more than 100 plate appearances above A-ball. He spent all of 2024 in the upper levels, getting 170 plate appearances as a depth option between Altoona and Indianapolis. He could return to this league for the playing time, but the experience probably wouldn’t benefit him.
Sammy Siani, OF – Siani had a huge ABL season in 2022-23, hitting .291/.353/.546 in 156 plate appearances. He didn’t play anywhere last winter, and is currently playing in the Arizona Fall League. It’s doubtful that he would follow that up with a return to this level, especially after over 525 plate appearances this year. And counting, with the AFL time. I’d expect him to limit himself to one league.
Solomon Maguire, OF – One of the top signings by the Pirates in the 2021 international class, Maguire is from Australia and has played in the ABL the last two offseasons. He will be the prospect to follow in this league for the Pirates. Maguire has a .233/.301/.316 line in 216 plate appearances in his previous ABL time. He hit .175/.287/.338 with six homers in 180 plate appearances in his first season at the Single-A level this year. He’s already re-signed this offseason to play in his home league. He will get a late start, due to the Premier12 event, which is detailed below.
Choque de Gigantes
On November 8th-10th, Miami is hosting Choque de Gigantes, a first-time tournament between clubs from LIDOM, the LVBP, and LBPRC.
There are six teams, with three from Venezuela (Navegantes del Magallanes, Leones del Caracas, Cardenales de Lara), two from Puerto Rico (Criollos de Caguas, Cangrejeros de Santurce), and one from the Dominican (Estrellas Orientales).
The tournament should provide a small sample and an individual data point to compare the talent of the leagues. Will the one Dominican team dominate the rest? Will the two Puerto Rican teams stand a chance? Does a three-day event tell anything?
From the Pirates perspective, Carlos Jimenez is playing for the Lara Cardinals, and will be the lone representative from the system in the tournament.
WBSC Premier12
The World Baseball Softball Confederation Premier12 event takes place from November 9th-24th. The event is hosted in Japan, Mexico, and Taiwan, featuring countries from around the world in a 12-team, two group tournament.
The tournament features round-robin play within the groups, with each team playing five games from November 9th-18th. The schedules vary by team. USA, for example, plays on the 9th, 10th, 11th, 12th, and 14th.
The top two teams from each group go on to the Super Round, played in the Tokyo Dome from November 21st-23rd. The finals take place on November 24th, featuring a first place game and a third place game, based on the Super Round results.
Pittsburgh is sending three prospects to the event, so far, with two teams yet to announce their rosters.
Termarr Johnson is the most notable in the event, playing for Team USA. Johnson is currently playing in the Arizona Fall League, but plans to leave to play in the Premier12 event. While the AFL will give Johnson extra time against upper-level and advanced pitchers, this event will allow Johnson a chance to play in some large stadiums. That will include the Coloso del Pacifico in Tepic, Mexico, and the Estadio Panamericano in Guadalajara, Mexico. Plus, the Tokyo Dome if Team USA makes the Super Round, which seems likely when considering the talent in the groups.
One interesting note is that Team USA’s hitting coach is Rick Eckstein, who was the Pirates’ hitting coach from 2019 until he was fired on August 30, 2021.
Andres Alvarez will be playing for Mexico, which is in the same group as Team USA. The two teams will meet up on November 14th. As mentioned above, Alvarez is currently playing in the Mexican winter league, which continues through the end of December. This tournament will give him the big stadium experience, and he will have the option to return to the LMP for the final month.
Along with USA and Mexico, Group A includes the Netherlands, Panama, Puerto Rico, and Venezuela. I don’t see two teams who would keep Team USA from the Super Round, and I think Mexico has a good chance to advance.
Solomon Maguire will play for Australia, which is in the opposite group of Johnson and Alvarez. Group B starts later, and is played in Japan and Taiwan. Maguire will play his games between the Vantelin Dome Nagoya in Japan (13th), the Taipei Dome in Taiwan (17th), and the Taipei Tianmu Baseball Stadium (15th, 16th, 18th). Maguire is going to be playing in the ABL, following this event.
Australia goes up against Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Japan, Korea, and Chinese Taipei. That’s a tough group that points to an exit after the Group Round Robin for Australia and Maguire.
Caribbean Series
The champions from the Dominican, Mexico, Puerto Rico, Venezuela, and Japan will meet up for a week-long tournament in Mexico to determine the Caribbean champion. The event will take place from January 31st to February 7th, running right up to Major League Spring Training.
Who says baseball has an offseason?