Gabriel Arias is heading home. The Venezuelan infielder, currently on the Chicago Cubs roster, has confirmed he will join the La Guaira Tiburones for the upcoming LVBP season as soon as his MLB commitments are finished. TiburonesReport broke the news on September 12, and it’s already making waves among Guaira fans.
What Arias Has Brought to Chicago
Arias came to the Cubs as a depth piece for the infield — the kind of versatile glove a manager leans on when he needs coverage at short, second, or third. Chicago has used him in exactly that role through the second half of the season. His stats with the Cubs this year are still being verified, but his value has always been tied to his defensive flexibility and his ability to hold his own at the big-league level day in and day out.
What It Means for the Sharks
The Liga Venezolana de Béisbol Profesional (LVBP) is gearing up for its 2026-27 season, and the Tiburones need to fill out their infield. What Arias brings that few Venezuelan infielders can match right now is fresh, everyday experience in a big-league environment — the pitching, the defensive positioning, the reaction speeds. That’s not nothing in a short, intense 65-game season where the margin between winning a title and going home early is razor thin.
La Guaira has a long track record of targeting players coming straight off MLB rosters to make a run at the Venezuelan championship. Arias fits that profile perfectly.
A Route Dozens of Venezuelans Travel Every Year
This isn’t a unique story — it’s the annual circuit for Venezuelan role players in MLB. The regular season ends in the States, and they fly home to stay sharp, get consistent at-bats, and reconnect with fans who’ve been following them since they were teenagers. The LVBP’s short calendar makes it an ideal tune-up before reporting to spring training in February.
For Arias, a strong winter ball showing with La Guaira could be exactly what he needs to walk into Cubs camp in 2027 with momentum. The exact date of his arrival with the Sharks depends on when Chicago’s season officially concludes — something that will become clear in the coming weeks.
