As of 17 October 2026. The Dominican league, LIDOM, opened its 2026–27 season on 16 October with five Cuban-born players on its rosters. Every one of them played in the major leagues this year. That sets the Dominican group apart from the 13 Cuban-born players we counted in Mexico and Venezuela two days ago, where only four have ever reached the majors.
The standard is the same as in that count. A player is listed only when two independent sources agree on the club: MLB’s transaction log or roster data on one side, and a club announcement, a Dominican outlet or Swing Completo on the other. Birthplace comes from the MLB Stats API, the record behind every “Cuban-born” list on this site.
The five Cuban-born players in LIDOM
On MLB’s roster data there is one Cuban on each of five clubs; the Toros del Este have none. Four of the five were born in Havana.
| Player | Pos. | LIDOM club | Born | MLB debut | 2026 MLB club(s) | 2026 MLB games |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| César Prieto | 3B | Estrellas Orientales | Cienfuegos, 1999 | 2025 | St. Louis Cardinals | 16 |
| Raynel Delgado | 2B | Águilas Cibaeñas | Havana, 2000 | 2026 | Houston Astros | 20 |
| Yunior Tur | RHP | Gigantes del Cibao | Havana, 1999 | 2026 | Athletics | 8 |
| Andy Ibáñez | 2B | Leones del Escogido | Havana, 1993 | 2021 | Athletics, New York Mets | 14 |
| José Barrero | SS | Tigres del Licey | Havana, 1998 | 2020 | Baltimore Orioles | 2 |
Player notes
César Prieto, Estrellas Orientales
Prieto, from Cienfuegos, played 16 games for the St. Louis Cardinals in 2026 and spent the rest of the season with their Triple-A club, the Memphis Redbirds, according to MLB’s transaction log. The Estrellas announced him as one of their imports on 8 October (Teleradio América), and Revista Mercado’s opening-day guide lists him with them. His Cuban career is on his player page.
Raynel Delgado, Águilas Cibaeñas
Delgado made his major-league debut this season. The Tampa Bay Rays traded him to the Houston Astros for cash on 10 June, and the Astros added him to their major-league roster two days later. He hit .243 with one home run and four RBI in 20 games for Houston (MLB, 2026), moving back and forth between the Astros and Triple-A Sugar Land through the summer. Revista Mercado lists him among the Águilas’ signings for the new season.
Yunior Tur, Gigantes del Cibao
Tur, a right-hander from Havana, reached the majors with the Athletics in July. His first look was hard: 12⅔ innings over eight games with a 16.34 ERA and 14 strikeouts (Athletics, MLB, 2026). Swing Completo reported his signing with the Gigantes on 11 October, and MLB’s log recorded the assignment on 16 October.
Andy Ibáñez, Leones del Escogido
Ibáñez is the veteran of the group, with 434 major-league games since his 2021 debut for the Texas Rangers, including three seasons with the Detroit Tigers (2023–25). In 2026 he played 11 games for the Athletics and three for the New York Mets. Triple-A Syracuse released him on 13 August, and the Seattle Mariners signed him to a minor-league contract on 18 August (MLB transaction log). Revista Mercado lists him among Escogido’s signings.
José Barrero, Tigres del Licey
Barrero has played in the majors for the Cincinnati Reds (2020–23), the St. Louis Cardinals (2025) and, this September, the Baltimore Orioles, who added him to their major-league roster from Triple-A Norfolk on 16 September. He played two games for Baltimore. Licey announced his signing on 23 September (Listín Diario). He knows the league: he played for the Estrellas Orientales against Licey in the 2023–24 final (Listín Diario; El Caribe).
Our reading
This is our analysis, not a source’s. The Dominican Cubans are a different kind of list from the Mexican and Venezuelan ones. In the LMP and LVBP, four of the 13 Cuban-born players have ever played in the majors. In LIDOM, all five played there in 2026, 60 games between them. That fits LIDOM’s place as the winter league most closely tied to MLB organisations.
The second point is how short most of those looks were. Apart from Ibáñez, none of the five has 200 major-league games, and Delgado and Tur only debuted this year. For them the winter is about 2027: a good Dominican season is the most visible audition a fringe major leaguer gets before spring training. The full picture of Cuban-born major leaguers this year is in Cubans in MLB 2026.
Still to confirm
- Yariel Rodríguez (Toronto Blue Jays) with the Indios de Mayagüez in Puerto Rico’s league: reported by Swing Completo only, and MLB’s log shows no transaction for him since 1 September. We will add him when a second source confirms it.
- Luis Romero, a right-hander born in Guantánamo in 1994, was assigned to the Cañeros de Los Mochis (LMP) on 15 October, according to MLB’s transaction log. He joins the waiting list in our Mexico and Venezuela count.
Sources
MLB Stats API (LIDOM rosters, transaction logs, person records and 2026 MLB statistics for all five players, read 17 October 2026); Revista Mercado, 16 October (signings for all six LIDOM clubs: Prieto, Delgado, Ibáñez); Teleradio América, 8 October (Prieto); Swing Completo, 11 October (Tur); Listín Diario, 23 September (Barrero); El Caribe (Barrero with the Estrellas in the final against Licey).
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