BENJI GIL STUNNED AFTER RELEASE BY CULIACAN

Ex-MLB infielder Benji Gil has been released by Culiacan before ever playing a game this season for the Tomateros, shocking the Tijuana native who turns 38 in October.

“I’m hurt,” Gil told Puro Beisbol. “The present situation with the Tomateros hurts me because this indicates I’m not important to the club.” Until he was let go in late September, Gil was under the impression he’d be playing in Culiacan after batting 224 in 25 games for Guasave in 2009-10. He called rumors that he refused to play third base this year “a total lie. I would play any position…Una diferente cada juego si era necesario…a different one every game if necessary.”

Gil was Texas’ first round draft choice in 1991 and went on to play in eight MLB seasons and batted .237 in 604 games, hitting .285 for the Anaheim Angels World Series champions in 2002. Gil hit .287 with nine homers in 93 Mexican League games for Chihuahua in 2010.