BAN OVER, SIX MiLB VETS PICKED IN LMB DRAFT

Trying to be as good as their word, Mexican League teams last week held a draft of returning minor league veterans who'd signed directly with Major League Baseball organizations as prospects without first agreeing to terms with domestic teams.  Ordinarily, Mexican League teams own the rights to talented youngsters who would then routinely give 70 percent of signing bonuses to the LMB team that held their rights.  Prior to this winter, an informal gentleman's agreement effectively blacklisted players who didn't submit to the system from playing in the Liga in the future.

Here are the six returning minor league veterans picked by Mexican League teams, with their former big league organizations in parentheses:

TABASCO - P Edgar Osuna (Atlanta, Kansas City)
MONCLOVA - IF Amadeo Zazueta (Houston, Atlanta, San Diego, Toronto)
CAMPECHE - 1B/OF Francisco Rivera (St. Louis)
SALTILLO - P Marco Camarena (NY Mets, St. Louis)
QUINTANA ROO - C Santiago Chavez (Oakland)
MONTERREY - P Melchor Urquidez (Seattle)

Three other players were allowed to sign with Liga teams they'd already been negotiating with in anticipation of the ban being lifted:

LAGUNA - OF Rogelio Noris (Pittsburgh)
TABASCO - C Sebastian Valle (Philadelphia) pictured above
MONTERREY - Oscar Alejandro Astorga (no info available)

Nine teams chose to sit out the chance to sign returnees, most notably the Mexico City Diablos Rojos.  Team president Robert Mansur has said the Red Devils would continue to build their roster with prospects from within their own system rather than employ returning minor leaguers.