Flurry of activity as Tuesday LMB trade deadline passes

Yucatan catcher Sebastian Valle

Tuesday marked the final day that Mexican League teams can make trades or sign free agents to their active rosters with one month remaining in the regular season, and fans of such transactions were not disappointed.  Dozens of players were either traded, brought in or cut loose throughout the LMB, and rather than go through the entire eye-glazing list, let's take a look at some of the key transactions made before the July 11 deadline passed.

The deal that drew the hottest reaction was the trade of the rights to catcher Sebastian Valle from Tabasco to Yucatan in exchange for pitcher Juan Delgadillo, infielder Kristian Delgado and two more players prior to the 2018 season.  The 26-year-old Valle played for Mexicali in last winter's Caribbean Series, putting the Aguilas into the semis by belting a walkoff homer in a 5-1 win over Venezuela's Zulia Aguilas in a battle of Eagles before catching for Mexico in the World Baseball Classic in Guadalajara.  The former Phillies prospect was signed as a minor league free agent by Seattle in the offseason but has spent almost the entire season on the disabled list, making one July 6 plate appearance in a rehab assignment with the Mariners' Arizona Rookie League team before his release two days later.

A Los Mochis native who has never played in the Mexican League, Valle has hit .253 with 74 homers over 822 games in his minor league career.  His LMB rights have been held by the Olmecas, who've had their own problems even without paying what will likely be a good salary for a catcher of Valle's status in Mexico, so the Olmecas jumped at the chance to add a veteran pitcher like Delgadillo (a son of Villahermosa in his 13th LMB season with 77-66 career record, including a 5-1 mark this year) and the versatile Delgado, who plays three positions and has hit .239 this year for both Tabasco and Union Laguna, where he played eight games on loan.

"Foul!," cried Monterrey Sultanes part-owner Jose "Pepe" Maiz, who came out of his season-long hibernation to complain to LMB president Plinio Escalante and president-in-waiting Javier Salinas that the Sultanes had a deal worked out with Tabasco to obtain Valle's right.  The LMB responded quickly, replying that there is no record of such an arrangement in the Liga's Mexico City offices and that the Olmecas' swap with Yucatan would hold.  Not that the Sultanes ended up standing still, signing All-Star third baseman Daniel Mayora (who was released by the financially imploding Durango Generales on Monday) and inking free agent first baseman-catcher Jesus Montero, a onetime top Yankees prospect who was released by the Orioles organization in late June after three injury-plagued months at AAA Norfolk.  Mayora, of course, fell one game short of tying the Mexican League record of 36 consecutive games with a hit and is among the LMB batting leaders with a .367 average.  Montero, who hit .260 with 15 homers and 62 RBIs for Seattle in 2012, will give the Sultanes a powerful bat and suspect glove.

Monclova was also busy up to the deadline.  The Acereros signed former major leaguers Carlos Quentin and James Loney as free agents while placing second baseman Tim Torres on the reserve list.  Quentin, who briefly played in the Puebla outfield last summer, appeared in two MLB All-Star Games and hit 154 homers in 834 games over nine big league campaigns (including a .288/36/100 season for the White Sox in 2008) .  Loney has eleven years of experience as an MLB first baseman, seven with the Dodgers, after finishing sixth in National League Rookie of the Year voting in 2006.  He has a career average of .284 with 108 homers.  Torres spent nine years as minor leaguer in four organizations, playing in the 2010 Southern League All-Star Game, before making his LMB debut with Oaxaca in 2015.  A versatile Oral Roberts product who can play seven positions, Torres hit .348 in 32 games for Tabasco and Monclova before being placed on reserve.

Other player moves included the signing of free agents OF Eliseo Aldazaba (Mexico City), OF Jeremias Pineda (Veracruz), IB-3B Alex Valdez (Saltillo) and 3B Eudor Garcia (Tijuana).  The most notable of that foursome may be Valdez, who hit 30 homers and drove in 100 last year for Monterrey and added 12 more longballs for the Sultanes this summer.  He represented Carmen at the LMB All-Star Game in both 2014 and 2015 and brings five-year Liga totals of .296/112/424 to the Saraperos lineup.  Unlike the power Valdez will add to the Saltillo batting order, Pineda is all about speed.  The Gulf Coast League's MVP in 20112, the 26-year-old Dominican was an All-Star for Veracruz in 2015, where he hit .285 with a Liga-leading 60 steals.  He's since spent time in the Marlins system before his release from AA Jacksonville on July 3.  Aldazaba belted 41 homers with 138 RBIs for Campeche over the 2014 and 2015 campaigns and will give the Diablos a reliable vet in the outfield.

The most intriguing pickup may be Garcia in Tijuana.  The 23-year-old El Paso native spent four years in the Mets system after being picked in the fourth round of the 2014 draft before being let go in late June.  While Garcia has been slowed by injuries, he's shown a good bat with gap power.  His signing will allow Toros manager Pedro Mere the chance to rest retiring veteran infielders Jorge Cantu and Oscar Robles by shifting Alex Liddi to first base and inserting Garcia at third.  In the postseason, that will matter.

One more notable roster move was the placement on the 60-day disabled list of catcher Iker Franco by the Quintana Roo Tigres.  A five-time All-Star for the Cancun team who was MVP of the 2011 LMB Championship Series, the 36-year-old Franco had hit just .157 in 17 games for the Tigres before he was shelved for the season Tuesday.  Franco played sparingly in 2015 and 2016 and is nearing the end of a solid, workmanlike career as a tough customer behind the plate and opportunistic batter.  His 14-year Liga totals include a .269 average with 112 homers and 531 ribbies.

LMB Division Championships result, highlights for Monday, September 5

The home team won every game of the Mexican League's North Division Championship Series until the last one.

The Tijuana Toros put together a three-run sixth inning to break a 1-all tie and went on to win, 5-2, Monday night at Monterrey to take Game Seven and the LMB North crown to advance to the Serie del Rey against Puebla.  Tijuana had finished the regular season in third place in the division, eight-and-a-half games behind the Sultanes in the standings.  However, manager Pedro Mere (who replaced ex-Yankee Luis Sojo at the helm on July 4) led the Toros to series wins over higher seeds Monclova and Monterrey to give the border city a shot at its first Mexican League pennant.

Tijuana 5-13-0, MONTERREY 2-9-1 (Tijuana wins series, 4 games to 3)
W-A. Sanabia. L-C. Carrillo. SV-Urquidez. HR-Martin (T). T-3:05. A-25,621.
TJ starting pitcher Alex Sanabia (pictured) did his part by tossing six-and-two-thirds innings of one-run baseball, scattering six hits to raise his playoff record to 3-0.  The game got off to a perilous start for the one-time Marlins hurler, however, as he gave up an RBI double to Alex Valdez in the bottom of the first to put Monterrey on the scoreboard.  Sanabia had to pitch out of a one-out, bases-loaded jam that frame to stop the bleeding, then faced the minimum number of Sultanes batters the next five innings.
Tijuana tied it up in the top of the fourth when Carlos Valencia singled in Olmo Rosario, but it was the sixth when the roof finally fell in on Sultanes starter Cesar Carrillo.  Dustin Martin led off the entrada with a first-pitch homer to right to give the visitors a 2-1 lead. That was followed by a Rosario single, an RBI double by Oscar Robles and a single by Edson Garcia that drove in Robles from second to make it a 4-1 Tijuana lead.  Then Roberto Lopez homered in the top of the seventh to give Sanabia a four-run lead. The San Diego native combined with three relievers combined to limit the Sultanes to one eighth-inning score on Alex Valdez' RBI single to ice the win and send the Toros on to the LMB championship series against Puebla.

LMB Division Semifinals results, highlights for Sunday, August 21

SOUTHERN DIVISION SEMIFINALS

Yucatan 6-10-0, CAMPECHE 5-15-2 (Yucatan leads series, 3 games to 2)
W-Negrin (2-0). L-J. Castillo (0-2). HR-E. Beltre (C), Gurerra (C). T-4:05. A-5,811.
Jose Aguilar led Leones with 2 singles, 1 run, 1 RBI; Luis Alfonso Garcia had RBI double for Yucatan


NORTHERN DIVISION SEMIFINALS

Monterrey 2-7-0, LAGUNA 0-5-0 (Monterrey wins series, 4 games to 0)
W-Carrillo (1-0). L-S. Valdez (0-1). HR-none. T-2:28. A-7,367.
Sultanes' Cesar Carrillo scattered 5 hits over 6.1 IP; Ramon Rios, Alex Valdez had RBI singles in 6th


MONDAY'S SCHEDULE
No games

TUESDAY'S SCHEDULE
Campeche at Yucatan in Merida

WEDNESDAY'S SCHEDULE
Campeche at Yucatan in Merida (if necessary)

LMB Division Semifinal result, highlights for Thursday, August 18

MONTERREY 13-12-0, Laguna 5-7-1 (Monterrey leads series, 2 games to 0)
W-Solano (1-0). L-Gutierrez (0-1). HR-Valdez (M), Almonte (M), Mendez (L). T-3:35. A-16,941.
Javier Solano pitched 5 innings of shutout ball, Alex Valdez hit 3-run homer for Sultanes

Weekend Schedule
FRIDAY, August 19: Yucatan at Campeche, Puebla at Quintana Roo, Monclova at Tijuana
SATURDAY, August 20: Yucatan at Campeche, Puebla at Quintana Roo, Monclova at Tijuana, Monterrey at Laguna
SUNDAY, August 21: Yucatan at Campeche, Puebla at Quintana Roo, Monclova at Tijuana, Monterrey at Laguna

Yucatan finishes 77-33 for LMB best record, playoffs start Tuesday

The Yucatan Leones dispatched the defending champion Quintana Roo Tigres, 5-2, Sunday in Merida to end the regular season with a Mexican League-best 77-33 record and number one seed throughout the playoffs.  The postseason gets underway Tuesday night with four games.

Veteran hurler Jonathan Castellanos (pictured) gave the Leones five innings of one-hit shutout pitching before leaving with a 5-0 lead.  Although the Tigres scored singletons in both the seventh and eighth frames, Yucatan closer Pedro Hernandez tossed a 1-2-3 ninth to finish with his 18th save of the campaign.  The 34-year-old Castellanos' record rose to 11-3 as the righty has reached double-digit win totals in four of his last five LMB summers.  Leones left fielder Jesus Valdez cracked his 18th homer, a two-run shot off Tigres starter Fernando Miranda (7-7) in the third. Quintana Roo left fielder Roman Pena doubled and plated a run in the eighth to end the game's scoring.

Puebla won, 6-1, at Oaxaca Sunday to finish four games behind Yucatan in the South Division at 74-38.  Quintana Roo dropped to 68-45 with the loss but had already wrapped up third place while Campeche cruised to the fourth and final LMB South berth with a 57-51 mark.  Tabasco, Veracruz, Oaxaca and Carmen finished out of the money in that order.

In the Liga's Northern Division, Monterrey won five of their last ten games to end the regular season with a 72-39 record, three-and-a-half games up on second-place Monclova (69-43).  The Sultanes put five runs on the scoreboard in the fifth inning and went on to beat Laguna, 10-6, Sunday before a crowd of 21,649 at Estadio Monterrey.  Second sacker Ramon Rios socked a solo homer for the Sultanes, who were trailing 6-4 heading into the bottom of the fifth.  Monterrey drew an average attendance 12,783 over 54 home games, easily leading all of Minor League Baseball.

Laguna's loss to the Sultanes meant a fourth-place finish for the Vaqueros (63-50), who came in a game-and-a-half behind 64-48 Tijuana.  Mexico City, Aguascalientes, Saltillo and Reynosa all get first dibs at the golf course.  The last-place Broncos in particular endured a forgettable 24-88 season (dropping a 4-3 game at Monclova Sunday) while drawing fewer than 2,000 fans per home game at Estadio Adolfo Lopez Mateos.

The playoffs get underway Tuesday night with four games.  In the LMB North semifinals, Laguna will be at Monterrey while Tijuana visits Monclova; in the LMB South semis, Quintana Roo travels to Puebla and Campeche heads east to Merida to face the Leones.  Seventh games (if needed) will be played on Wednesday, August 24.

Baseball Mexico will provide daily scores and highlights throughout the Mexican League playoffs.  Check back often.


Final 2016 Mexican League Standings

NORTH DIVISION: Monterrey 72-39, Monclova 69-43, Tijuana 64-48, Laguna 63-50, Mexico City 57-54, Aguascalientes 53-58, Saltillo 50-61, Reynosa 24-88.

SOUTH DIVISION: Yucatan 77-33, Puebla 74-38, Quintana Roo 68-43, Campeche 57-51, Tabasco 44-67, Veracruz 43-67, Oaxaca 42-70, Carmen 31-78.


Mexican League 2016 Playoffs 
Division Semifinals schedule

#1  TUE, 8/16:  Campeche at Yucatan, Quintana Roo at Puebla, Laguna at Monterrey, Tijuana at Monclova
#2  WED, 8/17:  Campeche at Yucatan, Quintana Roo at Puebla, Laguna at Monterrey, Tijuana at Monclova

#3  FRI, 8/18:  Yucatan at Campeche, Puebla at Quintana Roo, Monterrey at Laguna, Monclova at Tijuana
#4  SAT, 8/19:  Yucatan at Campeche, Puebla at Quintana Roo, Monterrey at Laguna, Monclova at Tijuana

#5 SUN, 8/19:  Yucatan at Campeche, Puebla at Quintana Roo, Monterrey at Laguna, Monclova at Tijuana

#6 TUE, 8/16:  Campeche at Yucatan, Quintana Roo at Puebla, Laguna at Monterrey, Tijuana at Monclova
#7 WED, 8/19:  Campeche at Yucatan, Quintana Roo at Puebla, Laguna at Monterrey, Tijuana at Monclova

Games in italics scheduled if necessary


Negrin finishes 18-1, Tapia wins batting title

Following his 2-1 win over Puebla on August 7, Yucatan pitcher Yoanner Negrin had one start remaining with an opportunity to bring his season wins total to 19 last Friday at home against Quintana Roo.  However, Leones skipper Willie Romero shuffled his rotation to give Jonathan Castellanos the final regular season start and rest Negrin for the playoffs.  As a result, Negrin finished 18-1 for 2016 to lead the Mexican League in wins.  The 33-year-old Cuban lost only one of 22 starts, a 5-2 decision to Puebla in Merida on May 1, over three months ago.  Negrin went 15-0 the rest of the way and complied a 2.29 ERA with three shutouts to lead the loop in that category (nobody else had more than one whitewash).

Former Monclova ace Josh Lowey built insurmountable leads in ERA (1.65) and strikeouts (131) before signing a $200,000 contract with Korea's KT Wiz in mid-July to win both Triple Crown titles.  Lowey has found the going tougher across the Pacific, lasting just one-and-one-third innings in his most recent start last Thursday against the SK Wyverns and coughing up three earned runs to see his record fall to 2-3 while his ERA in the KBO rose to 10.26 in five starts.  Lowey's former Acereros moundmate, Arcenio Leon, picked up five saves in the final week to end the regular season with 36 in 42 opportunities.

Puebla catcher Cesar Tapia became the first backstop to win the LMB batting title since 1987 by going 7-for-15 over his last four games to finish at .383.  Orlando Sanchez of the old Puebla Black Angels turned in a .415 mark 39 years ago, one year after former big leaguer Willie Mays Aikens hit a modern Liga record .454 for Puebla in 1986.  Monterrey third baseman Alex Valdez led the circuit with 30 homers, Aguascalientes shortstop Diory Hernandez held on to win the RBI crown with 97 (his previous high was 68 ribbies in a career that began in 2003) while Saltillo outfielders Justin Greene and Christian Zazueta shared stolen base honors with 39 swipes apiece.


Mexican League Individual Statistical Leaders

BATTING
Games:  112  Emmanuel Avila, Mexico City
Hits:  145  Justin Greene, Saltillo
Doubles:  31  Ricky Alvarez, LAG; Cyle Hankerd, MXC; Chris Roberson, MONT
Triples:  10  Ruben Sosa, Laguna
Homers:  30  Alex Valdez, Monterrey
Runs:  80  Chris Roberson, Monterrey
Runs Batted In:  97  Diory Hernandez, Aguascalientes
Batting Average:  .383  Cesar Tapia, Puebla
On-Base Percentage:  .459  Ruben Sosa, Laguna
Slugging Percentage:  .662  Cesar Tapia, Puebla
On-Base Plus Slugging Percentage:  1.093  Cesar Tapia, Puebla
Stolen Bases:  39  Justin Greene, Saltillo; Christian Zazueta, Saltillo

PITCHING
Games:  65  Fabian Williamson, Monclova
Innings Pitched:  141.1  Yoanner Negrin, Yucatan
Complete Games:  4  Yoanner Negrin, Yucatan
Shutouts:  3  Yoanner Negrin, Yucatan
Wins:  18  Yoanner, Negrin, Yucatan
Saves:  36  Arcenio Leon, Monclova
Holds:  24  Mario Meza, Yucatan; Fabian Williamson, Monclova
Hits Allowed:  162  Demetrio Gutierrez, Aguascalientes
Strikeouts:  131  Josh Lowey, Monclova
Bases on Balls:  57  Michael Nix, Aguascalientes
Earned Run Average:  1.65  Josh Lowey, Monclova
Walks+Hits per Innings Pitched:  0.93  Josh Lowey, Monclova

Three LMB South teams clinch playoff berths

With three weeks remaining in the Mexican League's regular season schedule, three of the loop's 16 teams have clinched playoff berths.

Puebla (65-29), Yucatan (65-30) and defending champion Quintana Roo (59-37) all reside in the LMB South Division, where the three clubs each have winning percentages of better than .600.  Conversely, the South's bottom four teams (Tabasco, Oaxaca, Veracruz and Carmen) are all below .400 for the season, with Campeche holding fourth place at 47-46, well ahead of 37-59 Tabasco.  The Pericos and Leones are still just a half-game apart as their season-long duel for South supremacy enters the stretch drive of the campaign, but the Tigres and Piratas appear fairly locked in for third and fourth place, respectively.

Although nobody has clinched in the North, teams appear to be positioning themselves for the second season.  Monterrey (60-34) is 3.5 games up on Monclova (57-38) for the lead, but third-place Tijuana 55-40) has won eight of their last ten games under new manager Pedro Mere to close to within two games of Monclova.  Laguna (54-42) has lost their last four contests but still hold fourth place, five games ahead of Mexico City (48-46) and seven games in front of Aguascalientes (46-48).  The Vaqueros host the Diablos Rojos in a three-game series beginning Tuesday that will go a long way towards settling things while the Rieleros visit Monterrey in an attempt to remain in contention.

Puebla catcher Cesar Tapia has cooled at the plate somewhat (4-of-16 over his past four games), but his single in Sunday's 9-7 loss at Mexico City extended his hitting streak to eleven games and Tapia's .381 average still leads the Liga, ahead of Veracruz' Carlos Lopez at .363.  Monterrey third baseman Alex Valdez clubbed a pair of homers in Campeche over the weekend to extend his season total to 26, four more than Quintana Roo's Alex Liddi (pictured above).  The early Triple Crown talk regarding Aguascalientes shortstop Diory Hernandez died weeks ago, but the 32-year-old Dominican swatted a pair of three-run homers last week to push his LMB-leading RBI total to 87.  Liddi drove in four runs on a double and homer against Laguna in Cancun Sunday to close to within four ribbies of Hernandez.  A pair of Saltillo outfielders, Justin Greene and Christian Zazueta, are tied for the circuit lead in stolen bases with 30 swipes apiece, two more than Dustin Martin of Tijuana.

With former Monclova ace Josh Lowey now in South Korea (pitching five innings of one-run ball for the KT Wiz in their win over the Samsung Lions Sunday), former Cubs farmhand Yoanner Negrin has won his last five starts for Yucatan to go to 15-1 for the season, overtaking Lowey's 13 victories for the LMB lead.  Lowey's 131 strikeouts are still well ahead of his former Acereros moundmate Jose Oyervides' 103 and his 1.65 ERA continues to lead the Liga (Tijuana's Miguel Pena is second at 2.04).  Puebla closer Chad Gaudin has gone 7-for-7 in saves situations this month to bring his total to 30, slipping past Monclova's Arcenio Leon for tops in the Mexican League.


Mexican League considering contraction of teams

The 2016 season has been a tough one financially for a large number of Mexican League teams and one result may be the offseason contraction of some of the loop's 16 teams.

Although the Monterrey Sultanes continue to lead all of Minor League Baseball in average attendance with 12,659 fans clicking the turnstiles per opening while Tijuana (8,944), Yucatan (8,767) and Monclova (6,421) have been doing well at the gate, the overall picture for the LMB is a grim one.  Eight clubs are averaging fewer than 3,000 fanaticos per home game, with Oaxaca bringing up the rear at 1,739.  In all, 3,386,938 people attended 727 LMB contests through last weekend for an average of 4,659, a figure surpassed by 15 of 16 Pacific Coast League franchises and 12 of 14 International League teams among other AAA leagues.

Declining attendance south of the border might be partially explained by the rapidly-declining Mexican peso, which was trading at $18.76 per USA dollar as of July 25, but Mexican Pacific League teams dealing with similar peso exchange rates drew nearly 10,000 fans last winter, higher than any professional baseball league outside MLB on the continent.  Civil unrest in Oaxaca has certainly not helped the Guerreros, who lost their first eleven games to quickly fall out of contention, and the ongoing conflict among drug cartels and the government in the north has continued to affect things in places like Reynosa, but the overall picture is bleak.

Various baseball columnists in Mexico are starting to file pieces speculating that LMB president Plinio Escalante and team owners will be considering the contraction of four teams after the current season is over. A Saturday column by Puro Beisbol editor Fernando Ballasteros says the most likely candidates for contraction appear to be Aguascalientes and Reynosa in the North and Carmen and Tabasco in the South.  Ballasteros adds that while teams in Veracruz and Cancun have been struggling along with most LMB franchises, the Rojos Aguilas and Tigres likely have too much historic significance to be dropped from the rostrum.

According to Ballasteros, Mexico City Diablos Rojos team president Roberto Mansur floated the idea of contraction to 12 teams a number of years ago, a notion that is now apparently gaining traction (reportedly with support coming from franchises in Laguna, Puebla, Tijuana and Yucatan).  The LMB will likely visit the issue at their 2016 Convention at Oaxaca in late September, and any changes in the Liga lineup would probably be announced at December's Baseball Winter Meetings in Maryland.


2015 LMB Rookie of the Year signs with Cubs

Last season's Mexican League Rookie of the Year, Yucatan pitcher Manuel Rodriguez, has signed a contract with the Chicago Cubs.  The Cubs negotiated last October for negotiating rights to the six-foot right-hander, who turns 20 on August 6, but it wasn't until last Thursday that all parties agreed to a deal that will send Rodriguez north of the border for the next phase of his baseball career.

Rodriguez made his Leones debut as a 17-year-old on May 21, 2014 at Merida's Parque Kukulkan with two scoreless innings against Carmen.  He followed up with two rough outings that week before it was determined "not ready" for AAA ball.  Last year was another story, as Rodriguez turned in a 4-0 record with a 1.84 ERA in 50 appearances out of the bullpen as a middleman for Yucatan, good enough for selection to the All-Star Game plus ROY honors while gaining the attention of the Cubbies in the process, resulting in the rights deal swung between Yucatan and Chicago last fall.

2016 has not gone nearly so well for the youngster nicknamed "Bolon."  Although he still hasn't lost a game since 2014, Rodriguez only won one game with no saves and had an ERA of 5.06 in 19 outings before being placed on the Reserve List for the second time this year on June 27.  Even so, the Cubs were willing to go ahead and sign the Yucatan-born hurler last week.

At a press conference in Merida, Chicago scout Sergio Hernandez said Rodriguez will start out with the Cubs' Arizona Rookie League team in Mesa before their Class A Carolina League affiliate in Myrtle Beach, SC or even their AA Southern League team in Knoxville, TN.  Hernandez added that "Hopefully, he'll become the first Yucatecan to reach the majors and be an inspiration for many young people."  For his part, Rodriguez told the assembled officials and reporters, "I feel very happy...it all started as a dream and now God has blessed me by giving me this opportunity."