THUNDER STRUCK: CANEROS WIN MEX PAC PENNANT

Los Mochis RHP Nick Struck

    A superb performance by pitchers Nick Struck and Fabian Cota and a bases-loaded double by Most Valuable Player Yasmany Tomas on Saturday keyed a 5-0 Los Mochis win at home over Guasave to give the Caneros a 4-games-to-2 Mexican Pacific League championship series win, the fourth pennant since the city's entry into winterball in 1947 and the first since 2002-03. In winning the flag, the Caneros will represent Mexico at the 2023 Caribbean Series beginning Thursday in Venezuela.

    The 33-year-old Struck began the winterball season in the Dominican Republic before joining the Caneros in December for five starts, going 1-2 but turning in a sparkling 1.64 ERA. A two-time Cubs organizational All-Star as a farmhand, the Oregon native native is now 3-1 with a 2.36 ERA in five postseason starts after limiting the Algodoneros to a first-inning single by Jesse Castillo over seven innings of work, striking out four and throwing 61 strikes in 93 pitches. Cota, who represented Oaxaca in last summer's Mexican League All-Star Game, took over in the eighth and held Guasave scoreless on one hit over the last two frames to close out the title-winning game.

    Tomas gave the Caneros all the runs they'd need with a two-out, three-run double off Cottoneers starter Jeff Kinley in the bottom of the third to send the sellout crowd of 11,770 at Estadio Emilio Ibarra Almada into a paroxysm of joy one day after chaos erupted outside the ballpark when fans stampeded the team office to buy tickets for Game Six. Los Mochis added a pair of insurance runs in the fifth when Isaac Rodriguez scored on Rudy Amador's sacrifice fly and a Fernando Villegas single plated Roberto “Tito” Valenzuela. Kinley took the loss and was charged for all five Caneros runs on eight hits before being yanked following Valenzuela's one-out single in the fifth.

    Juan Uriarte was named MVP of the championship series after batting .410 (10-for-21) with a homer, six RBIs and three runs scored for first-year manager Jose Moreno's Caneros. Thousands of Los Mochis fans celebrated the team's championship after the game and a parade through the streets of downtown was scheduled for Monday at 3:00PM local time.

    The team will travel to Caracas, Venezuela in preparation for their first Caribbean Series game against Dominican champion Licey at noon Thursday in the first-ever game at Estadio La Rinconada, a new 36,500-ballpark being inaugurated during the Serie del Caribe. The facility will be hostile to right-handed power hitters, given its dimensions of 442 feet to the center field wall and 351 feet to left, although the right-field foul line is a more approachable 338 feet away from home plate. Estadio La Rinconada has taken ten years for construction, indicative of Venezuela's unsteady economy.

    Los Mochis held off Guasave in the series opener, 9-6, on Saturday, January 21 behind Uriarte's three hits and four RBIs (including a three-run homer); then won a Game Two thriller the following night by a 3-2 count as Amador launched a two-run walkoff homer in the bottom of the ninth to give the Caneros a 2-games-to-0 lead before the two teams traveled to Guasave for three midweek games.

    The Algodoneros bounced back with a 10-0 home thrashing over Los Mochis at Estadio Francisco Carranza Limon on Tuesday, January 24. Guasave starter Matt Poberyko dominated the visitors over six innings as the LMP strikeout king allowed just one Uriarte single and one walk while striking out nine, including Justin Dean for his final out in the sixth.

Los Mochis fans celebrating LMP title

    Conversely, the Cottoneers sent Pitcher of the Year Luis Miranda to the showers with one out in the third after the Caneros opener let in five runs on seven hits and two walks. Guasave scored in each of the first four innings to enter the fifth with a 5-0 advantage and continued pulling away thereafter. Jesse Castillo had a triple and homer, scoring twice and driving in two runs for the winners while Alejandro Ortiz singled and tripled in two at-bats to score two times and drive in two more counters.

    Los Mochis bounced back with a 4-1 Game Four win Wednesday, January 24 to take a 3-games-to-1 lead in the series. The Caneros took a 2-0 lead right out the gate in the top of the first on RBI singles from Valenzuela and Uriarte, but Guasave cut the lead in half in the bottom of the fourth when Joey Terdoslavich singled in Castillo. That would be all the scoring that night for the Algodoneros, however, as an RBI one-bagger by Amador in the top of the fifth gave Los Mochis their two-run lead back and Edgar Robles' solo homer to right off Cottoneers starter Geno Encino on a full count one inning later gave the Caneros their final margin of victory.

    Starting pitcher Darel Torres took the win for the visitors by tossing five innings of one-run ball and scattering three hits. Reliever Cota, who was awarded the Game One win out of the bullpen, followed Torres and contributed 3.1 frames of two-hit scoreless pitching. Encina was saddled with the loss after being touched for four runs (three earned) over 5.2 entradas before being pulled following Robles' roundtripper in the sixth.

    Game Five on Thursday, January 26 in Guasave began as a pitcher's duel between Los Mochis' Manny Barreda and Nico Tellache of the Algodoneros. The two teams traded zeros through four innings until a two-out Amador single up the middle off Tellache plated Valenzuela with the game's first run to give the Caneros a 1-0 lead. Guasave's Castillo erased that edge with one swing in the bottom of the sixth, launching a 2-1 Barreda over the right field wall for a solo homer to tie the tilt at one run apiece. The score remained knotted at 1-1 as Tellache was replaced after six innings by reliever Rafael Cordova and Barreda was lifted for 40-year-old veteran Tomas Solis two outs into the bottom of the seventh.

    Solis got the final out and after a scoreless top of the eighth for the Caneros, Los Mochis skipper Jose Moreno brought Daniel Duarte (who made his MLB debut for the Reds last summer) in from the bullpen. Duarte got the first two outs but his 1-1 delivery to Julian Ornelas was sent sailing over the right field wall for a homer to put Guasave up 2-1. Algodoneros closer Brandon Koch, who gave up two ninth-inning homers in their Game Two loss to the Caneros, came in and held the visitors scoreless on 13 pitches to end the game, cutting Los Mochis' series lead to 3-games-to-2 and bringing Guasave within a game of tying up the finals, which moved to Los Mochis for Saturday's Game Six.


FIELD NEARLY SET FOR 65th SERIE DEL CARIBE

Caracas' new Estadio La Rinconada

    The competition has almost been set for the start of this week's Caribbean Series as eight winterball national champions will converge on the greater Caracas, Venezuela region, where four games will be played for seven days at two ballparks, followed by two semifinal contests on Thursday, February 9 and the championship game Friday, February 10. Seven of the pennant-winners had been determined by the end of the weekend, with only the title series between Caracas and La Guaira for the host Venezuelan League title still in doubt. The Leones lead by a 3-games-to-2 margin.

    Curacao will send a team for the first time while Cuba is back after a two-year ban to join holdovers Mexico, Venezuela, Puerto Rico, Panama, Colombia and the Dominican Republic. Colombia's Barranquilla Caimanes won last year's title in Santo Domingo after teams from that nation had been winless over the two previous Caribbean Series, their first after entering the competition in 2020.

    The Caimanes topped Dominican champions Cibao, 4-1, in the title game as this season's Reliever of the Year in the Mexican Pacific League for Mazatlan, Elkin Alcala, earned the victory. Surprisingly, only one Colombia, player, first baseman Reynaldo Rodriguez (who spent this winter in Mexicali), was named to the CS Dream Team along with Barranquilla manager Jose Mosquera. The lone player from Mex Pac champion Jalisco to make the team was outfielder Felix Perez, who was a teammate of Alcala's in Mazatlan in 2022-23.

    Here is a list of the eight national champions who will be battling for Serie del Caribe supremacy this year:

COLOMBIA – Monteria Vaqueros (Won second LPB title since 2019 formation; went 0-5 in 2020 Caribbean Series in San Juan, including 5-4 loss to eventual champ Este Toros)
CUBA – Bayamo Agricultores (Combined team of Las Tunas and Granma players from Cuban National Series, now a summer league, won first Elite League championship)
CURACAO – Willemstad Wildcats KJ74 (Have won last three Curacao National Championship AA League pennants and 17 overall since 1975; Dutch League affiliate)
DOMINICAN REPUBLIC – Licey Tigres (Debuted in 1907; 23 LiDom pennants and 10 Caribbean Series; alumni include Bob Gibson, Mike Piazza and Pedro Martinez)
MEXICO – Los Mochis Caneros (First pennant in 20 years, seeking initial CS title; past Caneros include Aurelio Rodriguez, Jose Valverde and Andres Mora)
PANAMA – Chiriqui Federales (Went 16-4, beat Bocas Atlanticos in playoff to win flag; won twice at 2021 Serie del Caribe in Mazatlan despite canceled regular season)
PUERTO RICO – Mayaguez Indios (19 pennants, 2 Caribbean Series crowns; Denny McLain, Lance Parrish, Luke Easter and Dave McNally played for Mayaguez)
VENEZUELA – TBD (Caracas Leones beat LaGuaira Tiburones, 7-2, Saturday to take a 3-games-to-2 lead in LVBP championship series; Game 6 set for Monday in Caracas)

MEXICO FALLS TO NUMBER 5 IN WBSC RANKINGS

    The World Baseball and Softball Confederation has revealed the end-of-the-year World Rankings for men's baseball with Japan leading' the way (a position it has held since 2014) with 4,179 points to top a list of 81 baseball programs worldwide. Mexico fell one slot from fourth to fifth place after the United States jumped two places into third in the rankings, which measure National Team performances from U-12 to the top level in WBSC-sanctioned international competitions over a four-year period. The end-of-the-year rankings reflect the expiration of all points earned in 2018.

    Japan and Taiwan (3,819 points) retained the top two positions in the rankings while the United States became the baseball program which improved the most among the top 10 thanks to its title triumphs at the WBSC's U-12, U-15 and U-18 Baseball World Cups last year to move from fifth to third position with 3,449 points.

    South Korea and Mexico both dropped a position and rank now fourth and fifth, respectively, followed by Venezuela, the Netherlands and Cuba. The latter three programs each gained one place. With their 7th place ranking, the Netherlands lead the European programs. The Dominican Republic lost three positions and is now in ninth while Australia remained stable in rounding out the Top Ten.

    Positions from 11 to 20 are split between American and European programs. Puerto Rico is now at number 13, gaining three places to became the most improved of the baseball programs in the Top 20. Canada (14th) and Nicaragua (17th) both lost two positions. Seven of the nations with winter champions competing at next month's Caribbean Series in Venezuela finished among the top 13 in the rankings. The eighth participant, Curacao (playing in their first Serie del Caribe) ranks 33rd in the world, representing a leap of eleven slots from the last rankings released.

    Nicaragua has sought to send its winterball champion to the tournament for the past few years and is ranked 16 places higher than Curacao but has never been invited by the Caribbean Professional Baseball Confederation, led since 1991 by Dominican commissioner Juan Francisco Puello. A communist government headed by Daniel Ortega has been cited as the reason for Nicaragua's exclusion by Puello, who has been more forgiving of Cuba and its own one-party communist rule since 1959 as initial Elite League champions Bayamo are expected to be in Caracas later this week.

LMB DIVISION CHAMPIONSHIPS OPEN; LISTACH FIRED

    The Mexican League's final four field was set after Mexico City eliminated Veracruz last Monday night and Guadalajara knocked out surprising Aguascalientes one night later, setting up both Division Championship Series. In the LMB North, the top-seed Mariachis are facing second-place Tijuana while the regular season champion Diablos Rojos take on third-seed Yucatan in the LMB South Championship Series.

    The following is a wrap of the first two games of both LCS, in which both underdogs took a pair of road games over the weekend, as well as the clinching games for the respective division semifinals plus the firing of the defending champion's manager:

TIJUANA LEADS GUADALAJARA, 2 GAMES TO 0

Ricky Alvarez, Tijuana Toros

    The LMB North Championship Series began last Friday, when visiting Tijuana held off Guadalajara, 4-3. The Mariachis were nursing a 2-1 leading going into the top of the sixth inning, when Tijuana pushed three runs across the plate as Xavier Carrillo's two-run single provided the go-ahead run and Leandro Castro added an RBI single. LMB batting champion Leo Heras clubbed a solo homer in the bottom of the sixth to narrow the Toros' lead to 4-3 but ex-MLBers Oliver Perez, Michael Tonkin and Fernando Rodney pitched shutout ball over the final three innings. Rodney struck out three batters in the ninth for the save as the Mariachis ended the game batting 0-for-8 with runners in scoring position. Veteran Luis Alfonso Cruz' two singles for Tijuana made him the only player on either side with more than one hit.

    Tijuana made it two wins away from home on Saturday with an 11-9 triumph at Estadio Panamericano. The game was a scoreless tie until Guadalajara scored five runs in the bottom of the third (with Heras contributing a two-run single) and the Mariachis held an 8-5 lead through six innings. The roof caved in for the home team in the top of the seventh, when the Toros scored five runs on four hits (including a two-run single from Efren Navarro) plus four walks to take a 10-8 lead. Each team scored once the rest of the way but Rodney earned his second save in as many nights by pitching the final 1.1 innings, allowing one walk. Ricky Alvarez went 2-for-5 with a two-run homer for the Toros while Heras and Anthony Garcia went deep for the Mariachis. After Sunday's travel day, Game Three is tonight in Tijuana.

    The Mariachis advanced to the division finals last Tuesday by bopping Aguascalientes, 10-3, at home to clich the series, 4 games to 2. Guadalajara scored five times in the bottom of the second (sending 11 batters to the plate in a half-inning that saw four hits, two walks, an error, a hit bastman and a wild pitch) to chase Rieleros starter Ernesto Zaragosa after Carlos Mendivil's two-run single.

YUCATAN LEADS MEXICO CITY, 2 GAME TO 0

Luis Juarez, Yucatan Leones

    Yucatan is traditionally not a high-scoring team, but they put 13 runs on the scoreboard while winning the first two games of the LMB South title seres in Mexico City. Friday's opener at Estadio Alfredo Harp Helu was a 7-6 Leones win, as the visitors scored six third-inning runs to reverse a 3-1 deficit into a 7-3 lead and then held on the rest of the way. Luis Juarez stroked a three-run double in the top of the third as Yucatan starter Yoanner Negrin overcame a shaky first in which he let in three Diablos Rojos runs to toss shutout ball until he was pulled with two out in the sixth. Diablos starter J.C. Ramirez was sent to the showers after failing to record an out in the Leones' third-inning outburst. Alex Liddi hit a solo homer for the winners while Mexico City's Emmanuel Avila wnt 2-for-4 with three RBIs.

    Saturday's Game Two saw the team from Merida pull out another win, this time by a 6-4 count. The contest was tied a 1-1 going into the top of the fifth, when Juarez punched a two-out double off Mexico City reliever Arquimedes Caminero to score Yadir Drake and give the Leones a 2-1 advantage. Walter Ibarra's two-run single in the sixth made it a 4-1 Yucatan lead and the visitors never looked back, although the Diablos did score three more runs the rest of the way. Leones starter Rhadames Liz earned the win by allowing two runs on two hits over 6.2 innings of work, striking out five Diablos. Juarez went 5-for-5 with two ribbies for the night. Avila sliced a pair of doubles for Mexico City, scoring once. Game Three is scheduled for Monday night in Merida's Parque Kukulkan.

    The Diablos punched their ticket to the division championships last Monday by taking a 5-2 win in Veracruz to close their second round series, 4 games to 1. The Aguilas led, 1-0, until Jesus Fabela's two-run single in the top of the fourth gave Mexico City a 2-1 advantage. Juan Carlos Gamboa later hit a solo homer and Luis Sardinas added a two-run homer for the winners as Red Devils starter Hector Hernandez allowed one earned run on three hits over five innings for the win.

    Meanwhile, Pat Listach has been fired as manager of the Monclova Acereros on the heels of their second round playoff loss to Tijuana in five games following a fourth-place regular season finish in the LMB North with a 35-31 record. Listach had led Monclova to the city's lone Mexican League pennant in 2019, posting a Liga-best 75-45 season record before copping the flag by winning three postseason series that all required a seventh game to decide. The Acereros made the standard-issue announcement “thanking” Listach for his “professionalism” and “wishing him the best in his future projects,” comments that accompany every fired Mexican baseball manager on his way to the unemployment line.

GENERALES SOLD TO VENEZUELAN ENTREPRENEUR

Generales owner Carlos Lazo (l)

  The sale of one Mexican League team was approved at an Assembly of Presidents meeting earlier this month while a rumor has surfaced that a pair of current LMB owners are interested in buying another club and moving it to their hometown on the Pacific coast.

    The sale of the Durango Generales by Juan Carlos Martinez to Venezuelan entrepreneur Carlos Lazo was given the owners' stamp of approval at a meeting headed by LMB president Horacio de la Vega and board of directors head Gerardo Benavides, owner of the Monclova Acereros.

    Lazo was born in Venezuela in 1971 but the 49-year-old has lived in Mexico the past 13 years and currently resides in Guadalajara. Holder of a college degree in Economics, Lazo is founder and CEO of 17 different companies, 16 in Mexico and one in Panama. This is not his first venture in sports. Four months ago, Lazo purchased 50 percent of the Queretaro Libertadores of Mexico's National Professional Basketball League (after having sponsored the Jalisco Astros of Guadalajara) and his Upick Sports company became the NHL's first Mexican team sponsor with the Vegas Golden Knights. He is purchasing 100 percent of the Generales franchise.

    Out 27 columnist David Braverman notes that this will be the third time the Generales have changed hands since Virgilio Ruiz moved the team from Carmen following the 2016 season. The Ruiz era in Durango was dogged with financial and operational problems almost from the outset and after two years, the Generales were one of four Liga franchises granted a year off in 2019 to get their house in order. However, Mexican president Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador ordered the LMB to restore the quartet to active status and the team played on. By then, a group headed by former MLB catcher and current Mexico City manager Miguel Ojeda had bought the team from Ruiz and operated it for the 2018 season before selling out to businessman Alfredo Aramburo.

Estadio Domingo Santana, Durango

    The Generales turned in a 46-72 record and drew 180,250 fans (about 3,000 per game) to Estadio Domingo Santana in 2019 while Aramburo had nothing but trouble with his fellow owners and then-LMB president Javier Salinas, who never fully ratified him as owner. Once he had a chance to own a Mexican Pacific League expansion team in Guasave, as mandated by political ally Lopez Obrador, Aramburo sold his Durango team to Martinez. Despite a first season being canceled due to the pandemic and a last-place finish with attendance dipping to 836 per opening, The El Siglio newspaper says Martinez (who will be running for governor of Durango) gave assurances that incoming owner Lazo will keep the Generales in the capital city. Braverman says that “according to reliable sources,” Martinez had not paid Aramburo the full amount of his purchase price for the team.

    Braverman adds that the Aguascalientes Rieleros may be getting ready for a sale. The Railroaders are owned by the Aguascalientes state government and operated by team president Eustacio Alvarez, a former mayoral candidate for Ciudad Aguascalientes who the columnist says is not a baseball fan but is mainly fulfilling an appointment by former governor Armado Medina. The Railroaders have been for sale several years, but Braverman says he's been told that the current owners of the Yucatan Leones (brothers Erick and Juan Jose Arellano) have presented an offer to buy the team, which they would then move to their hometown of Mazatlan and rename the Marineros.

    Braverman is well-connected in the Mexican baseball community, but this is something that was also rumored when the Arellanos owned the Laguna Vaqueros for the 2016 and 2017 seasons down to the Mazatlan Marineros name. Instead, the team was sold prior to the 2018 campaign. Aguascalientes is no more stable than Laguna was, raising the question of why the brothers would go through a similar set of frustrations a second time?

MLB, CBPC COME TO TERMS FOR WINTERBALL IN 2021-22

Estadio Quisqueya, Santo Domingo

    According to the El Fildeo website, Major League Baseball and the Caribbean Professional Baseball Confederation have agreed on the terms for the new agreement for the 2021-2022 winter league season.

    According to a report by Enrique Rojas of ESPN, MLB and the CBPC have agreed on the parameters of a new "Winter Leagues Agreement," but the agreement will not be finalized until Tony Clark, executive director of the MLB Players Association, approves it.

    The winterball agreement is a document that regulates relations between organized baseball in the United States and the various independent Caribbean circuits. The last one expired almost two years ago but was renewed by the parties to cover the 2020-21 season, as they negotiated amid the coranavirus pandemic.

    The winter seasons for leagues in Colombia, Mexico, Panama, Puerto Rico, Dominican Republic and Venezuela will be played between October and January and the champions of each circuit will face each other in the 64^th edition of the Caribbean Series between January 28 and February 5 next year, scheduled to be held at Estadio Quisqueya in Santo Domingo, capital of the Dominican Republic.

    However, leagues in both Panama and Colombia, which have participated in recent Caribbean Series as special guests, are not part of the agreement between MLB and the CBPC, although an August 27 story in Santo Domingo's El Diario Nuevo mentioned the two nations as expected entries along with regulars Mexico, Puerto Rico, Venezuela and host Dominican Republic.

 

Juan Francisco Puello, CBPC

   Panama was enlisted as emergency host of the 2019 Serie del Caribe on late notice and ended up being the surprise winner after the planned tournament in Venezuela was scrubbed weeks before it was to be held due to political and economic unrest. Colombia was invited late to the 2020 event after Cuba declined to play due to stated visa concerns traveling to San Juan, Puerto Rico that year.

    Cuba was subsequently suspended from participating in the Caribbean Series indefinitely by CBPC president Juan Francisco Puello, who cited a desire to see human rights improvements in the communist nation, which returned to the event (which they co-founded in 1949) on a conditional basis in 2014 after an absence of 53 years.

LIGA RATIFIES 66-GAME SEASON, PLAYOFFS FOR 2021

    The Mexican League recently held an Assembly of Presidents meeting during which a shortened 66-game season schedule was ratified while two new franchises were accepted as the LMB's first expansion teams in 30 years. There are now 18 teams in two divisions.

    Regular season hostilities in the Liga will commence Thursday, May 20 when the Monterrey Sultanes travel to Monclova for a game against the defending champion Acereros, who won their first pennant in 2019. A full slate of nine games is scheduled one night later. The regular season will be played through Thursday, August 5, followed by a 12-team postseason with berths determined by won-lost percentages. There will be four stages of playoffs (all best-of-seven series), with the Serie del Rey to run Monday, September 6 through Tuesday, September 14 if needed.

    There will be no All-Star Game this season. Teams will be allowed to carry seven foreigners on their respective active rosters in 2021 with another three on the Reserve List (which will be expanded from 38 to 60 per team to allow enough depth to avoid game cancellations due to the Wuhan virus. Talks are continuing with Major League Baseball regarding the transfer of player contracts. The current agreement expires in March.

    One of the expansion clubs, the Guadalajara Mariachis, will join the North Division while the Veracruz Aguilas will serve as the LMB South's ninth team. The Assembly of Presidents approved both franchises even though neither has paid their respective entry fees. Veracruz has named a player from their 2012 championship team, Leo Rodriguez III, as manager. The grandson of Salon de la Fama member Leo Rodriguez Senior, the younger Rodriguez spent 15 years (seven in Veracruz) in the LMB as a catcher before retiring after the 2017 season. This will be his first season as a dugout boss. Guadalajara reportedly settled upon their first manager as well, but has not yet released his name due to a confidentiality agreement.

Homar Rojas to manage in Monterrey

    Monterrey will also open the season with a new manager, as former Yankees outfielder Roberto Kelly (who led the Sultanes to the Fall 2018 title and was named Manager of the Year) has decided to sit 2021 out, giving concerns over the pandemic and a desire to work with one of his sons, reportedly a prospect for the upcoming June draft.

    Kelly's bench coach, Homar Rojas, will take the reins of the ten-time champions. Rojas debuted as an 18-year-old catcher for the Sultanes in 1982 to begin a 23-year playing career. The Nuevo Leon native previously managed five LMB teams over 13 years and has been Manager of the Year twice. He's also won two Mexican Pacific League pennants and led Monterrey to a 22-39 record in 2019-20, their first season of winterball in the Mex Pac.

CHARROS ACCUSE QUIRARTE OF MISHANDLING 25 MILLION PESOS

Salvador Quirarte during 2017 WBC

    The divorce between the Mexican Pacific League's Jalisco Charros and former team president Salvador Quirarte has been anything but amicable, but now things are getting ugly, with accusations flying from both sides in dueling press conferences in a dispute that seems destined to end up in a courtroom.

    Quirarte lost his position as president of the Guadalajara-based team in a front office power struggle last November. At the time, Jose Carlos Campos of El Rincon Beisbolbero (and a former LMP media relations director) said Quirarte's dismissal centered on questions of his handling of a pro basketball team he also operates, but statements from both the Charros and Quirarte are exposing a deeper rift that includes alleged financial irregularities involving 25 million pesos (or about US$1.25 million).

    Last week, a group of lawyers representing the Charros board of directors accused Quirarte of making 43 money transfers totaling six million pesos in loans between 2017 and 2020 to a company owned by relatives, Empresa Mexicana de Tabasco, adding that 3.4 million pesos have not been repaid. Another company owned by Quirarte's relatives, Controladora de Kioscos, was paid 3.2 million pesos for market analysis while another 12 million pesos' worth of Charros merchandise was reportedly given to the latter company without record of payment. Another 3.2 million pesos is said to have been transferred to the Jalisco Astros pro basketball team Quirarte managers without board approval.

    Quirarte is also accused of “abusing the trust” of his partners by assigning himself a monthly salary of 100,000 pesos while using a corporate credit for for 5.3 million pesos' worth of personal expenses between 2018 and 2020. The attorneys also claimed Quirarte acted in de facto fashion as the team's sole general administrator despite the presence of partner Armando Navarro, who became a shareholder in exchange for contributing the “Charros” name of the brand (which he owned the rights to when the franchise moved from Guasave to Guadalajara in 2014).

    Unsurprisingly, Quirarte has responded in kind during his own press conferences, saying that accusations against him are “futile” and must be proven before a judge. He accuses Navarro of not having contributed the “Jalisco Charros” trademark and thus is “not even a partner,” and that the origin of the conflict is that Navarro wants more than the 11 percent ownership he was granted in exchange for the team's name. Quirarte added that it is Navarro, not him, who is responsible for any financial mismanagement of the team: “I did not sign the checks. That responsibility was held by Armando Navarro.”

Armando Navarro in his Jalisco office

    In relation to allegations against him, Quirarte said that Navarro gave approval to all transactions on the corporate credit card, that board members' travel and food expenses to the same events Quirarte attended were similarly charged to the card and that all partners are in debt to the team for a combined 30 million pesos (but only Quirarte's debt was publicly disclosed). Quirarte stated that since the team is owned privately and not by the government, it is not a crime to do business with family members, adding that all partners have done the same (with members of Navarro's family on the team payroll). And on it goes.

    The dispute casts a long shadow over what has been one of the great success stories of Mexican baseball. Together or separately, Quirarte and Navarro helped move a moribund Guasave team to Guadalajara, where baseball had failed in prior attempts, and then built one of the strongest franchises in the country. After purchasing and renovating the stadium used for baseball and track & field during the 2011 Pan American Game, the Charros have since hosted the Caribbean Series as well as group stage games for both the World Baseball Classic and Premier12 tournaments while being among the LMP's annual attendance leaders while averaging crowds of 10,000-plus per game.

PUELLO: POLITICAL SOLUTIONS NEEDED FOR CUBA RETURN TO CS

CBPC commissioner Juan Francisco Puello

    After a six-year run as a conditional participant in the Caribbean Series following their 2014 return, Cuba has missed the past two tournaments. The leader of the Caribbean Professional Baseball Confederation is now saying that absence may extend further if the island nation fails to “solve its political affairs.”

    CBPC commissioner Juan Francisco Puello spoke with ESPN Deportes as the Serie del Caribe in Mazatlan drew to a close earlier this month and addressed conditions in Cuba, one of the original four participating nations when the CS began in 1949 before withdrawing after the 1960 event, precipitating a nine-year hiatus before it was resumed in 1970. “The thing about Cuba is a matter that has to do with politics,” Puello said. “When that country solves its political affairs, then we will see Cuba again. In the meantime the issue will stay quiet.”

    Later in the same interview, Puello opined, “The thing about Cuba is something different. It is a subject which I don't touch on anymore because it is an uncomfortable subject. Anyone who knows me knows that I don't like politics or politicians. I'm about sports.”

    Puello did not address any specific solutions that would bring Cuba back to an event it has won eight times, seven before late dictator Fidel Castro (a noted baseball fan) pulled the country out of the tournament in 1960 after winning it for the fifth consecutive year. When the Caribbean Series returned in 1970, both Cuba and Panama had been replaced by the Dominican Republic and Mexico, who joined holdovers Venezuela and Puerto Rico in the four-team field until Cuba was added back in 2014, winning the event one year later.

    Times have changed since then, when Puello visited Havana in 2015 and speculated that the tournament might return in 2020 to Havana (where it was played three times during the 1950's). Things turned sour last winter when Cuba pulled out of the Caribbean Series in San Juan, Puerto Rico on short notice, attributing visa difficulties for its players and coaching staff. A year after Panama was recruited to host on an emergency basis when problems in Venezuela prevented that nation from serving as the event's site, Colombia was brought in to fill out the six-team field. As with Cuba, both Panama (another original member of 1949) and Colombia have played in the Series on a conditional basis. In the aftermath of the 2020 Caribbean Series, Puello announced Cuba's suspension for this year.

Cuba celebrating 2015 CS title

    Reactions to Puello's statements were not long in coming. The Cuban Baseball Federation released a statement that, “We absolutely reject recent statements by Juan Francisco Puello. No political problem affects the development of Cuban baseball or attendance at the Caribbean Series.” An initial tweet from the federation reads, “It was the CBPC that unjustifiable excluded the country from that fight.” A second tweet came minutes later: “Juan Francisco Puello has exceeded his authority on political issues in Cuba. We will denounce his words and actions before the WBSC (World Baseball Softball Confederation) and the member leagues of the Caribbean Professional Baseball Confederation.”

    The president of the Cuban Olympic Committee also chimed in. The Qba Deportes website reports that Riberto Leon Richards Aguilar tweeted, “The Cuban Olympic Committee considers it intolerable that the president of the CBPC, Juan Francisco Puello, accuses Cuba of political problems that prevent its presence in the Caribbean Series of baseball.”

    Puello's positions concerning baseball and politics have been a mixed bag. Cuba's communist government headed by Raul Castro since succeeding his brother Fidel in 2011 was in place when the Dominican CBPC commissioner visited Havana in 2015 and has not changed the past six years. Nicaragua, a communist nation under Daniel Ortega whose national league has lobbied for years to take part in the Caribbean Series, was passed over again this winter despite playing a full season with playoffs while Panama was able to send an all-star team without a single game taking place. Meanwhile, Venezuela (a nation roiling in social and economic turmoil for years under Nicolas Maduro) has never had its full CS membership questioned.

MAYOS ELIMINATED, LMP PLAYOFF TEAMS DETERMINED

Hermosillo LHP Juan Pablo Oramas

    When Navojoa dropped a 3-2 decision to Obregon on Tuesday, the Mayos were mathematically eliminated from the Mexican Pacific League playoff picture for next month, ensuring that Caribbean Series host Mazatlan has secured a post season berth. With Los Mochis already long out of the picture, that left eight teams to open the LMP Quarterfinals on Saturday, January 2.

    After games on Monday, December 28, the Hermosillo Naranjeros were in line for the top overall seed with a two-half total of 19 playoff points with two games remaining in the regular season, followed by Obregon (17 points), Guasave (14) and Monterrey (also 14). Those would be the four teams with home-field advantage during the first round. The next four seeds are projected to be Mexicali (13.5 points), Jalisco (11), defending champion Culiacan (11) and Mazatlan (10).

    Things are close enough in the second-half standings that seeding placements could change after the regular season closes Wednesday, but both Navojoa (8.5) and Los Mochis (7.0) will be done no matter what happens, although players like infielders Esteban “El Pony” Quiroz and Isaac Rodriguez are almost certain to be added as reinforcements for teams moving on to the postseason

    Hermosillo (17-11) has benefited from the strong pitching of veteran Juan Pablo Oramas all season and last Sunday was no exception. Oramas won his eighth game of the year by taking a 5-3 triumph over Guasave. Oramas tossed six innings and allowed three runs (all in the top of the first) while scattering nine hits and striking out four before leaving the contest with a two-run lead. Reliever Raul Barron hurled scoreless ball over the final three frames to save the win for the Naranjeros. Oramas is now tied the Mex Pac lead in wins with Guasave's Fernando Miranda. Both have identical 8-2 records, although Oramas' 2.80 ERA is a full run lower than Miranda's 3.86.

    The Orangemen got some bad news when they learned that first baseman Roberto Ramos won't be joining them for the playoffs after all. The team had been anxiously awaiting the hometown slugger to report after his strong 2020 debut in the Korea Baseball Organization, but Ramos celebrated his 27^th birthday Monday after re-signing with the LG Twins for $800,000 plus incentives that could bring his income up to $1 million in 2021. Ramos received a reported $500,000 this year after swatting 38 homers for the Twins and received interest from other KBO teams before agreeing to return to Busan for a second year.

    Mexicali (16-11) was a half-game behind Hermosillo in second place and Guasave continued their strong second LMP season one game out of the lead at 16-12. It's been quite a busy week for the Algodoneros, who said goodbye to shortstop Erisbel Arruebarrena on what a team press release (which repeatedly misspelled his last name as Arruebarruena) was “common agreement between both parties.” The Cottoneers cited both a shin injury suffered in a recent game with Mexicali and Arruebarrena's ongoing bout with diabetes for his declining on-field performance (.333 average with 10 homers in 29 games), although they did thank the Cuban for his “dedication and professionalism, blah blah blah.”

C.J. Retherford is now with Guasave

    Guasave also placed starting pitcher Thomas Dorminy (3-4, 3.44) on the disabled list with back pain. In turn, the Algodoneros picked up Cuban pitcher Yoenni Yeri and veteran third baseman C.J. “Rabbit” Retherford to join Cuban oufielder Yadier Drake as the team's three foreigners allowed on the active roster. Sports manager Alejandro Ahumada said, “We need to strengthen the middle part of the batting order and we believe Retherford is the man for that task.” Retherford broke into pro ball in 2007 in the White Sox system and has gone on to play several years in both the LMP and Mexican League, representing Mexicali in the 2017 Caribbean Series.

    First half champion Obregon (15-13) has rebounded from a slow second-half start to pull into a fourth-place tie with Monterrey (15-13). Jalisco (14-14) and Mazatlan (13-15) are sixth and seventh, respectively, while Culiacan and Navojoa are knotted in a tie for eighth at 12-16 each. While the champion Tomateros have had a hangover season following their LMP title last winter, a couple of their pitchers recently overcame their team's lukewarm 2020-21 performance. Edgar Arredondo has signed a contract with the Arizona Diamondbacks for the 2021 season. The 23-year-old spent seven season in the Texas system, reaching AA Frisco in 2019 and winning seven games, but the Rangers let him go earlier this year and he didn't pitch last summer. Arredondo, who was 15 when he debuted with the Quintana Roo Tigres by tossing two scoreless innings in a 2013 game, is 4-1 with a 2.74 ERA in seven starts for the Tomateros this winter.

    Another Culiacan hurler, J.C. Ramirez, has reached an agreement to pitch next year in Taiwan's Chinese Professional Baseball League. The 32-year-old Nicaraguan, who pitched in eight MLB seasons (most recently with the Angels in 2019), will join Mexican Manny Banuelos on the Fubon Guardians staff in 2021. He has a 4-2 record for the Tomateros with a 1.74 ERA in six starts this season. It's unknown whether he'll stay with Culiacan for the playoffs.

CAPACITY SET AT 45 PERCENT FOR CARIBBEAN SERIES

The Caribbean Professional Baseball Confederation, the Mexican Pacific League and the host Mazatlán Venados have confirmed details of the 2021 Caribbean Series to be played from January 31 to February 6, 2021 at Estadio Teodoro Mariscal in the port city.

    CBPC commissioner Juan Francisco Puello Herrera, Mazatlán mayor Guillermo Benítez, LMP president Omar Canizales Soto and Serie del Caribe Organizing Committee president Ismael Barros all confirmed plans for the 63rd edition of the Crown Jewel of Latin Baseball.

    "We are supervising with the Mexican Pacific League so that the conditions of the Caribbean Series in terms of players are the best in terms of health," said Herrera, who also presented the trophies for the upcoming CS champion plus Dream Team members.

    “Mazatlán is a safe destination in terms of the virus,” commented mayor Benitez, inviting everyone to attend the Caribbean Series. “We are in the third consecutive day in which there is no active case. That gives us great confidence that we have all the tools to control the pandemic. That is why Mazatlán is the first tourist destination in the country to get out of the pandemic and we will continue to strictly comply with the protocols.

    “We are a bio-safe city.”

Estadio Teodoro Mariscal in Mazatlan

    In addition, in the virtual conference that brought together media of different nationalities, it was confirmed that between the governments of the state of Sinaloa and the municipality of Mazatlán, the host ballpark will have all the security measures and protocols to hold up to 45 percent of Estadio Teodoro Mariscal's 16,000-seat capacity (or 7,200 spectators). According to an LMP press release, “this will allow baseball to continue as a recreational tool for Mazatlan fans, as it has done in the 2020-2021 Season of the ARCO Mexican Pacific League, with an excellent management supported by the modernity of the stadium.”

    The Caribbean Series is scheduled to bring together the winterball champions of Mexico, Venezuela, the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico as full CBPC members of the Confederation, as well as Colombia and Panama and as guest countries for the second and third times, respectively. Cuba will not be represented in Mazatlan after pulling out of last winter's Serie del Caribe in San Juan Puerto Rico on short notice, citing visa concerns.

    Herrera also gave thanks for all the support the CBPC, the Organizing Committee, the LMP and state government authorities have received from Sinaloa governor Quirino Ordaz.

FANS CAN CHOOSE MEX PAC AWARD WINNERS

Monterrey manager Gerardo Alvarez

    The Mexican Pacific League has announced on its Twitter account how fans can choose the loop's Most Valuable Players in separate offensive, defensive and pitching categories for the 2020-2021 campaign. This is the first time in which the LMP has involved fans in such selections while “not leaving this to a certain sector of the press,” a league office press release states.

    On its Twitter account, the Mex Pac invites fans to sign up and, with two simple steps, vote for their favorite players in the different departments. Fans must register with personal data before the can begin voting on candidates in five separate categories:

Obregon pitcher Dallas Martinez

ROOKIE OF THE YEAR
Baldomero “Melo” Almada Trophy
Jonathan Aranda, Obregon
Faustino Carrera, Obregon
Luis Miranda, Guasave
Missael Rivera, Jalisco
Oscar Rojas, Guasave

MANAGER OF THE YEAR
Benjamin “Cananea” Reyes Trophy
Gerardo Alvarez, Monterrey
Sergio Gastelum, Obregon
Juan Navarrete, Hermosillo
Bronswell Patrick, Mexicali
Oscar Robles, Guasave
Roberto Vizacarra, Jalisco

Mazatlan infielder Isaac Paredes

PITCHER OF THE YEAR
Vicente “Huevo" Romo Trophy
Dallas Martinez, Obregon
Luis Miranda, Guasave
Luis Ivan Rodriguez, Jalisco
Juan Pablo Oramas, Hermosillo
Miguel Pena, Mexicali
Javier Solano, Mexicali

RELIEVER OF THE YEAR*
Alberto Baldonado, Culiacan
Roberto Espinosa, Mazatlan
Jesus Pirela, Mazatlan
Fernando Salas, Hermosillo

MOST VALUABLE PLAYER*
Dariel Alvarez, Jalisco
Japhet Amador, Jalisco
Sebastian Elizalde, Culiacan
Isaac Paredes, Mazatlan

*Partial list of candidates available at post time.

2021 CARIBBEAN SERIES SCHEDULE RELEASED

    The schedule for the 2021 Caribbean Series in Mazatlan was released last Tuesday. Six nations will be represented at the event, in which 18 games will be played in a seven-day period beginning Sunday, January 31 and concluding with the championship game on Saturday, February 6. 

    All games will be played at Estadio Teodoro Mariscal, home of the Venados. The first stage will be a round-robin series of tripleheaders for the first five days (Sunday through Thursday), followed by a semifinal doubleheader on Friday, February 4 and the title contest one day later. Tripleheaders are slated to begin with 12:00PM games and followed by contests at 4:00PM and 8:00PM, the semifinal twinbill will commence at 4:00PM and the championship game is set for 8:00PM (local time).

    Joining the Mexican Pacific League champions will be pennant-winners from traditional Serie del Caribe countries Venezuela, Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic along with relative newcomers Panama and Colombia, which replaced Cuba in the lineup last winter after the Cuban National Series champion Matanzas Cocodrilos pulled out weeks before the tournament, citing visa problems prevented them from entering Serie del Caribe site San Juan, Puerto Rico. 

    Colombia had never been represented in the Caribbean Series before, but even though the fill-in Monteria Vaqueros lost all five of their games in San Juan, they played credibly as a first-time LCBP entrant and when Caribbean Professional Baseball Confederation president Jose Francisco Puello announced earlier this year that Cuba would not play in the 2021 CS, the Colombians were invited to send their champions a second time. 

    This will mark the third consecutive season Panama has played in the event after a 48-year absence. The country was pressed into host duties in 2019 after turmoil in Venezuela (the planned site) forced the tournament to be moved from Barquisimeto to Panama City shortly before it was to convene. The Panamanian League champion Herrera Toros were awarded a sixth berth and shocked observers by going 3-1 in group play and beating Cuban champion Las Tunas, 3-1, to take the title.

    Ironically, the only winter league in the Western Hemispere that's been playing is the one whose champion will have to stay home. The Cuban National Series got their schedule underway on September 12, have had no Wuhan virus interruptions to date and will pass the 50-game mark this week.

    Things haven't run so smoothly for the other six circuits. As mentioned, the Mex Pac is in the midst of an 11-day shutdown due to the virus after opening on October 15 as planned. The LMP has reduced the regular season from 68 to 59 games prior to commencing their eight-team playoffs in January. All other CS leagues have delayed their season openers: The Dominican Winter League was scheduled to open their season yesterday (November 15), the Colombian League begins play November 28 and both the Venezuelan League and Puerto Rico's Roberto Clemente League start December 1. No word on if/when the Panamanian League will play. 

    It may be worth keeping an eye on the Nicaraguan National League, which was scheduled to open its season last Friday. Nicaragua is currently 15th in the WBSC baseball rankings (Panama is 12th and Colombia is 14th), and LPBN organizers have wanted to take part in a Caribbean Series for a few years. In case of emergency in this virus-altered season, they may have their chance in January.

WHAT SHUTDOWN? LMP TEAMS TRAINING AND TRADING

Charros coach Fernando Elizondo tosses BP

    Although the Mexican Pacific League is ostensibly wrapping up a self-imposed, 11-day shutdown that took effect Friday, November 7 after the Wuhan virus forced the cancellation of a number of games (including two entire series), things have been anything but inactive on the playing fields or in the front offices among the loop's franchises.

    By early last week, all ten teams were holding workouts in their respective home ballparks in preparation for resumption of play even though more than half had players and coaches who'd tested positive for the virus. One of those, Jalisco infield coach Fernando Elizondo (who'd tested positive on October 23), was back tossing batting practice pitches at Estadio Charros last Tuesday. On that same day, members of the Culiacan Tomateros took part in a seven-inning intrasquad game while Los Mochis manager Victor Bojorquez was overseeing workouts. Bojorquez was quoted in El Jonronero as saying, "We're going to continue working with the boys and by the weekend, we'll have intrasquad games."

    In a podcast for Puro Beisbol, longtime former catcher Adan Amezcua criticized the Mex Pac for not enforcing the shutdown. "Continuing to train will not help them much," Amezcua told Puro Beisbol's Ricardo Gonzalez.  "They will not have collective immunity because this (the virus) continues to spread and will continue to spread. The league has to reach out and impose very strong sanctions for those who break the rules."

    LMP general managers were getting workouts on the phone as well, with several deals taking place during the game stoppage. The Monterrey Sultanes were involved in two transactions, including receiving former MLB outfielder Paulo Orlando on loan from Obregon to complete an earlier arrangement in which they similarly loaned holdout outfielder Felix Perez to the Yaquis. Orlando played with Kansas City between 2015 and 2018, batting .263 with 14 homers over 278 games for the Royals. the 35-year-old Brazilian was a latecomer to baseball at age 12 when a physician his mother worked for recommended he give the game a try. Orlando played soccer and was on Brazil's Junior National track team before focusing baseball. He was a member of Kansas City's 2015 World Series title team. He's due to play in the Mexican League for Dos Laredos next year.

Paulo Orlando is heading to Monterrey

    The Sultanes also shipped veteran reliever Jesus Pirela to Mazatlan. The 31-year-old Venezuelan, who replaces outfielder Chris Roberson on the Venados roster, is considered one of the top setup men in Mexican baseball, leading the Mexican League in holds in 2019 while also being selected to the All-Star Game. Pirela also has experience as a closer in both leagues south of the border, going 20-for-20 in save opportunities for Veracruz of the LMB in 2014 and saving 18 games for Navojoa in 2018-19. He may replace current Mazatlan closer Ryan Newell who is third in the Mex Pac with three saves but has a 10.13 ERA, which won't cut it with a team as historically reliant on pitching as the Deer. The former Phillies and Rangers farmhand was unscored upon in four appearances for Monterrey this season.

    Another struggling hurler was let go by the Jalisco Charros two years after becoming only the fifth Pitching Triple Crown winner in league history. Cuban righty Elian Leyva, who was 6-2 with a 2.02 ERA and 67 strikeouts for Jalisco in 2018-19 and was named the LMP Pitcher of the Year. Leyva, who'd been a middleman in seven Cuban National Series seasons and in 2018 as a Brave minor leaguer, struggled a bit last season and went 2-1 with a 4.33 ERA in seven starts for the Charros. He pitched a pair of games in Italy last summer before returning to Guadalajara this season but the magic failed to reappear, as Leyva was 0-3 and 13.06 at the time of his release. He's being replaced on the Jalisco roster by reliever Brennan Bernardino, an Indians minor leaguer who pitched for the Charros last winter.

    Finally, Hermosillo GM Juan Aguirre confirmed to Puro Beisbol that first baseman Roberto Ramos will join the Naranjeros the first week of December. Ramos, a native son of the Sonora state capital, has returned from South Korea after an eye-opening debut season in Asia after several years in the Colorado Rockies system. Ramos, who turns 26 on December 28, hit .278 for the LG Twins of the Korea Baseball Organization and finishing second in the KBO with 38 homers over 117 games as the Busan team finished second in the regular season with a 79-59 record. Aguirre said that Ramos, who hit two more roundtrippers during the playoffs, will likely be invited to return to Korea in 2021 after playing under a one-year contract for the Twins that paid up to $500,000.

CANTU SWINGS HOT BAT IN COPA JUNTOS; URIAS, OSUNA TO PLAY?

Jorge Cantu is playing in Copa Juntos

   The Copa Juntos por Mexico  ("Together for Mexico Cup"), a month-long tournament featuring young players from both the Mexico City Diablos Rojos and Oaxaca Guerreros of the Mexican League, got underway last Thursday at Mexico City's Estadio Alfredo Harp Helu. The teams will play through December 12. While the tourney is primarily a showcase for some of the top prospects from a baseball academy in Oaxaca (some of whom have already signed with Major League Baseball organizations), it's also been a chance for the up-and-comers to play with or against former MLB third baseman Jorge Cantu. Baltimore infielder Rmaon Urias and free agent pitcher Roberto Osuna have also said they'll make appearance at the Copa Juntos.

    The 38-year-old Cantu showed little rust after 19 months since his last Mexican League game. Playing for the Diablos Rojos' Jose Luis Sandoval team, he stroked an RBI double in the top of the first inning of last Tuesday's opening game to plate the first run of the tournament in a 6-2 loss to Team Daniel Fernandez. After his sacrifice fly in the top of the first drove in another veteran, Sergio Gastelum, for the first run of Friday's 9-3 loss to Team Nelson Barrera, Cantu socked a solo homer over the centerfield wall to cap a 3-for-5 game with two ribbies in Team Sandoval's 10-8 triumph over Team Barrera. Gastelum played last weekend during a break from his managerial duties with league-leading Obregon during the Mexican Pacific League's shutdown.

    Born in McAllen, Texas, Cantu grew up across the border in Reynosa before signing with Tampa Bay in 1999 at age 17. He broke in with the Rays during the 2004 season and went on to hit .271 with 104 homers in 873 MLB games for five teams. He hit 28 homers with 117 RBIs for Tampa Bay in 2005 and over a two-year stretch with the Marlins between 2008-09, he belted 45 longballs and drove in 195 runs. Since arriving in the LMB, Cantu has hit .291 with 99 homers in 535 games while playing for two pennant winners with the Tigres and one with Tijuana. The 38-year-old "El Bronco" signed with Mexico City in 2019 and batted .283 and 12 homers in 74 games that year.

Ramon Urias coming back to Mexico City

    Playing in Mexico City represents a homecoming of sorts for Urias, who spent five seasons at shortstop and second base for the Diablos and batting .323 with 35 homers in 352 games before signing a minor league contract with St. Louis following the 2017 seasons. After spending two years in the Cardinals system, mostly in Class AAA Memphis, the 26-year-old Sonoran was claimed on waivers by the Orioles in February and went on to bounce back and forth between Baltimore and the team's alternate training site during the truncated 2020 season. Urias did hit .360 in his first ten MLB games and cracked his first big league homer off Toronto's Shun Yamaguchi on September 25 in Buffalo. He'll reportedly play 11 or 12 games in the nation's capital.

    On November 4, Osuna said on Twitter that he'd pitch for a short time in Mexico City before reporting back to the Mexican Pacific League's Jalisco Charros on November 20. A Guadalajara native whose younger brothers are also in the Charros organization (outfielder Alex tested positive for the Wuhan virus earlier this month), Osuna had been working out with the team after declaring himself a free agent when it became apparent that Houston was not going to pick up the team option on his contract. The 25-year-old righthander saved 154 games and appeared in an All-Star Game and a World Series for Toronto and the Astros between 2015 and 2019, but went down with an elbow injury four games into the 2020 season and was done for the year. Tommy John surgery was feared but eventually ruled out. Osuna hopes his stint with Jalisco leads to contract offers from MLB teams.