Liga vets Quintero, Silva dealt to new teams

Two longtime veterans of the Mexican baseball wars have been sent to new teams this week.  On Monday, the Monterrey Sultanes loaned Edgar Quintero (pictured) to LMB North rivals Saltillo.  One day later, Tijuana dealt venerable pitcher Walter Silva to the Laguna Vaqueros for catcher Gilberto Galaviz.

Now 38, the lefty-batting Quintero hit .315 for Monterrey in 68 games.  He broke in with the Sultanes in 1997 and, except for one year in Puebla, has spent his entire career with Monterrey.  Quintero has yet to play this season, in which he entered 11 hits shy of 1,500 for his LMB career and needs 20 homers to reach 250 lifetime in the Liga.

The 39-year-old Silva is another former fixture in Monterrey, spending all or part of twelve seasons in Sultanes togs before being dealt to Tijuana in 2014.  The right-hander has gone 12-18 over the past two summers for the Toros and owns a lifetime 74-66 LMB record, reaching double-figure win totals in three seasons. Silva pitched six games for the San Diego Padres in 2009, losing twice.

Two other LMB vets landed with new teams earlier in the week.  Outfielder Willy Taveras signed as a free agent with the Puebla Pericos while catcher Adan Munoz was loaned to Reynosa by the Tjuana Toros.  Taveras led the National League in stolen bases with 67 swipes for the Rockies in 2008.  He hit .316 with 11 homers for Puebla in 2014 and spent most of last year with Sugar Land in the independent Atlantic League.

Munoz, who turned 38 last month, made his Liga debut in 1998 with Monclova, batting .348 in 22 games.  While he's only topped the .300 threshhold three times since then, the 6'2" 215-pound Sonora native has built a reputation as a timely hitter with some power and a tough catcher who is not one to be messed with.  It may be interesting to see how well he works with Kyle Farnsworth in Reynosa.