Miguel Sano will miss the Twins Winter Caravan and TwinsFest next week to participate in the Dominican Winter League championship series.

Sano's Estrellas de Oriente team leads the nine-game series over Toros del Este 1-0 after a 13-1 victory on Thursday night. Sano was 1-for-4. In six games with Estrellas, he is hitting .273 with a home run and three RBI.

Estrellas is based in Sano's hometown of San Pedro de Marcoris, and it has not won the Dominican championship since 1968.

The winner of the series moves on to the Caribbean Series, facing teams representing Puerto Rico, Mexico and Venezuela. It's not clear if Sano would play in the series if Estrellas qualifies.

"Miguel Sano's Dominican Winter League team has made the playoffs. Due to this he has an extended opportunity to get into live game action in advance of spring training," Twins Chief Baseball Officer Derek Falvey said in a statement. "We have supported his request to remain with his club as they compete for the league championship this week."

Sano was to appear at caravan stops Monday through Thursday in North Dakota and western Minnesota with Mitch Garver. Kohl Stewart will replace Sano on the caravan.

TwinsFest runs Jan. 25-27 at Target Field.