LMP PLAYOFFS SET: MAZATLAN, LOS MOCHIS MISS CUT

    The eight-team field for the first round of the upcoming Mexican Pacific League playoffs was in doubt all the way until the last week of the regular season, as nine of the LMP’s ten clubs were within close proximity throughout the second half of the 2021-22 campaign. However, all doubts as to who reaches the postseason were dispelled after two games played Tuesday night.

    The defending two-time champion Culiacan Tomateros had been candidates for elimination before they shut out the Jalisco Charros, 2-0, in Guadalajara behind a strong start by starter Manny Banuelos, the Mex Pac’s most recent Pitcher of the Week. At the same time, the Mazatlan Venados were being blanked in a 6-0 road shocker by Kyle Friederichs and tailenders Los Mochis, knocking the nine-time champions out of the postseason for the first time since their 26-40 season in 2013-14.

    It has to be a shocker for the Venados and their fans, who last February witnessed the Caribbean Series at Mazatlan’s Estadio Teodoro Mariscal (which Major League Baseball declared as the most beautiful place in the world to play baseball on its TikTok account) but now will have no more games at the 16,000-seat ballpark until next October. 

    On the other hand, Culiacan manager Benji Gil and his Tomateros are breathing a collective sigh of relief over avoiding elimination. Gil in particular has faced mounting criticism in Culiacan for failing to win the Caribbean Series in fourth try at the crown jewel of Latin baseball since 2015 by fans failing to note that to get that far, you have to win your league pennant. 

    Gil then received heat on a nationwide basis for managing Mexico to an 0-4 record at the Summer Olympics in Tokyo, breaking protocol along the way by having Culiacan players who’d been chosen to the team pose wearing their Tomateros jersey in the Olympic Village.

    No such worries in Mexicali, where the Aguilas and interim manager Gil Velazquez have clinched the second half title after defeating first half champion Navojoa, 2-1, Tuesday night in Navojoa despite only collecting three hits on the night (including RBI singles by Victor Ruiz and Gilberto Vizcarra in the seventh. Even though Mexicali closer Jake Sanchez was touched for the Mayos’ lone run on two hits and a walk in the bottom of the ninth, he got the final out for his LMP record 26th save.

    After a 14-18 first half that ended in a ninth-place finish that cost then-manager Bronswell Patrick his job, Velazquez has led the Aguilas to a 21-13 ledger in the second half (two games up on 19-15 Navojoa with one game left) and a probable return to start the 2022-23 season with the Eagles, but let’s face it: the term “interim manager” is a redundancy in Mexicali.  

    Navojoa will be the top seed entering the playoffs whether they finish second or third in the second half. Skipper Matias Carrillo’s Mayos will finish with 19.0 playoff points for the season should they win Wednesday night, well ahead of Guasave’s projected 14.5 points. After a day off Friday, the quarterfinals will open on Christmas Day, The Mayos appear to be on a course to host defending champion Culiacan in the first two games, their “reward” for a first-place finish.

    Wherever playoff games will be held, veteran umpire Humberto “El Lobito” Saiz won’t be working any of them. Saiz was reportedly drunk and was physically removed from the field while working third base during the third inning of Sunday’s game in Mazatlan between the Venados and Navojoa after making obscene gestures at fans and confronting players and coaches. He was suspended indefinitely by the LMP on Monday. The son of Salon de la Fama umpire Victor “El Lobo” Saiz was also suspended by Mex Pac president Omar Canizales ten years ago for alleged drug use.

MEXICAN PACIFIC LEAGUE Second Half standings (through December 21)
Mexicali 21-13 (4.0), Navojoa 19-15 (10.0), Hermosillo 18-16 (5.5), Obregon 18-16 (7.0), Monterrey 17-16 (5.0), Guasave 17-17 (9.0), Jalisco 16-17 (8.0), Culiacan 16-18 (6.0), Mazatlan 15-19 (4.5), Los Mochis 12-22 (3.5)  First Half playoff points in parentheses

LMP OFFENSIVE LEADERS
Batting: Victor Mendoza (OBR) .349, Tirso Ornelas (NAV) .346, Ramon Rios (MAZ) .328
Homers: Kyle Martin (NAV) 17, Victor Mendoza (OBR) 10, Felix Perez (JAL) 10
RBIs: Jesse Castillo (GUA) 44, Joey Meneses (CUL) 44, 2 players tied with 43
Stolen Bases: Dairon Blanco (CUL) 21, Alonzo Harris (OBR) 17, 2 players tied with 16

LMP PITCHING LEADERS
Wins: Elian Leyva (HMO) 7, 5 pitchers tied with 6
ERA: Elian Leyva (HMO) 1.54, Wilmer Rios (HMO) 2.39, David Holmberg (NAV) 2.43
Strikeouts: Octavio Acosta (NAV) 66, Ryan Verdugo (HMO) 60, Many Banuelos (CUL) 56
Saves: Jake Sanchez (MXI) 26, Fernando Salas (HMO) 12, 2 pitchers tied with 11


NEW LMB MANAGERS NAMED IN PUEBLA, LAGUNA

    As the Mexican Pacific League prepares to open their first round of playoffs this weekend, their summerball counterparts are making offseason moves in anticipation of their 2022 season. Two Mexican League teams announced managerial hirings with a pair of familiar faces named to take over.

    The Puebla Pericos announced that Venezuelan Willie Romero will be their new skipper next season. Romero has a long history in Mexican baseball,  making his managerial debut during the 2012 campaign with Yucatan. Later, he directed the Monclova Steelers in 2013 and coached for Quintana Roo in 2014 before returning to Yucatan, where he was named Manager of the Year in 2015 and 2016, earning the same distinction in the LMP with the Navojoa Mayos in 2017-2018.

    Currently, Romero manages the Magallanes Navegantes in the Venezuelan Winter League after serving last summer in the LMB as a hitting coach for expansion Guadalajara under Benji Gil, as the Mariachis had the number one offense in the League. He also has experience coaching in American minor league baseball with the San Francisco Giants organization. Like Gil, Romero has been a winning manager while also a volatile sort who can raise the ire of umpires and opposing players, coaches and fans while raising blood pressure among directors of clubs he’s worked for. The Pericos, who finished 33-33 under Carlos Gastelum and Gerardo Sanchez last summer, promise to be entertaining under Romero one way or another. 

    Meanwhile, as expected, the Union Laguna Algodoneros have elevated bench coach Oscar Robles to manager after the tragic suicide of former skipper Omar Malave. A former MLB infielder for the Los Angeles Dodgers and San Diego, Robles played in the Mexican League between 2009 and 2017, retiring after his birthplace Tijuana Toros won their lone LMB pennant that summer. He stayed on with the team as a coach in 2018 and was named manager midway through the season. Robles compiled a 110-66 record through the 2019 season before he was fired, as all managers in Tijuana are, because he failed to win a title either season.

    Robles has managed the past two winters in Guasave and is a major reason the Algodoneros have risen from a 26-37 expansion team in 2019-20 to a playoff contender with an overall 66-56 record in the Mexican Pacific League’s smallest market. He was named the LMP Manager of the Year last winter after leading the Cottoneers to a five-game improvement, a third-place finish in the overall standings and stretching their first round playoff series with eventual champion Culiacan to six games. 


MAESTROS OF MEXICO: Alfredo Ortiz, P (1963-87)

    Comparable to former Philadelphia Athletics star Bobby Schantz, Alfredo Ortiz overcame a slight frame (5’7” and 135 pounds) with pinpoint control and crafty pitching to become the best left-hander in Mexican League history.  

    Born January 12, 1944 in Medellin de Bravo, Veracruz, Ortiz played Class A ball in the Mexican Center League for three years prior to debuting with the Mexico City Diablos Rojos as a 19-year-old in 1963. He went on to pitch 25 years in the Liga, playing on five LMB pennant winners in Mexico City as he and righty Ramon Arano formed the best 1-2 pitching combo in Mexican annals.

    Ortiz averaged 15 wins a year between 1966 and 1975 for the Red Devils, with an outstanding 1969 campaign in which he went 23-9 with a 2.26 ERA, including five shutouts and 27 complete games. Even when he pitched for poor teams he was effective, as Ortiz turned in a 2.77 ERA despite a 2-13 record for Tabasco in 1977. His last big year was in 1979 as he went 16-10 with a 2.44 ERA for Nuevo Laredo, although he did pitch six shutouts for Tabasco in 1982 and went 10-7 with a 3.70 ERA and just 20 walks in 139 innings as a 40-year-old in 1984. Ortiz wrapped up his career in 1987 by pitching three games for Puebla.

    For his career, Ortiz went 255-210 (second in wins to Arano) with a 3.13 ERA and 51 shutouts, fifth on the all-time list in the latter category. Despite his lack of size, Ortiz was a workhorse, tossing 256 complete games among his 3,841 innings. Not a power pitcher by any means, he was a master of location who struck out 1,824 batters (eighth all-time) while walking just 830 batters over 25 seasons.  He reached double figures in wins 14 times while turning in an ERA below 3.00 ten times. Ortiz could also swing a bat well enough to appear as a first baseman at times when he wasn’t on the mound and hit .261 with 11 homers for the Diablos in 405 at-bats between 1967-69.

    Ortiz was almost as successful in 19 winter seasons in the Mexican Pacific League, although he set a still-standing LMP record with 23 strikeouts in a 13-inning game in January of 1965. The man nicknamed “Zurdo” (or “Lefty”) was 104-96 (7th in all-time wins) with a 2.98 ERA (17th) and 925 strikeouts (11th) for his winterball career.  He went 0-1 for Hermosillo in the 1971 Caribbean Series, the first time a Mexican team appeared in that competition after leading the LMP with 13 regular season wins.

    Ortiz was a player-manager for Tabasco, Cordoba and Veracruz as well as a bench manager with the Mexico City Tigres and Aguascalientes.  He also managed the Mazatlan Venados to the LMP title and the Caribbean World Series in Venezuela during the 1976-77. 

    Nicknamed El Zurdo de Oro (“The Golden Southpaw”), Alfredo Ortiz was selected to the Salon de la Fama in 1993. He still played amateur baseball in Mexico City into his 60’s, taking turns at first base and the outfield as well as on the mound. He turns 78 next month.

LAGUNA P DE LA CRUZ DIES AT 37 OF HEART ATTACK

De la Cruz in his 2019 All-Star form

    A former Major League Baseball pitcher who represented the Union Laguna Algodoneros in the 2019 Mexican League All-Star game died Sunday, March 14 of an apparent heart attach at home in his native Santo Domingo, Domincan Republic. Eulogio “Frankie” de la Cruz had turned 37 years old two days earlier.

    De la Cruz was signed as an 18-year-old by Detroit in 2002 and assigned to the Tigers' Gulf Coast League affiliate in Lakeland, Florida that summer. He was a reliever his first three years in the Detroit system (saving 17 games for West Michigan of the Midwest League in 2004) before splitting time between the starting rotation and bullpen by the time he made his MLB debut for the Tigers in 2007, making six relief appearances. According to de la Cruz, that was when he got his nickname because Detroit manager Jim Leyland couldn't pronounce “Eulogio” and started calling him “Frankie” instead.

    De la Cruz was one of six players traded to the Marlins the following offseason for Miguel Cabrera and Dontrelle Willis. He made his lone big league start for Florida against San Francisco at home on May 25, 2008, giving up two runs on two hits in three innings during a 5-4 Marlins win. He was sent down to AAA Albuquerque shortly after that and was named the Pacific Coast League's Pitcher of the Week as a starter in June.

    The 5'11” righty went on to appear with San Diego in 2009, pitched in Japan with the NPB Yakult Swallows in 2010 and was a reliever for Milwaukee in 2011. In 26 MLB games, de la Cruz had a 0-0 record and an 8.16 ERA over 32 innings.

    De la Cruz resumed his globetrotting ways by playing in Asia again in 2012 (going 3-1 for the Uni-President Lions of Taiwan's CPBL), made his LMB debut with Monterrey in 2014 and turned in a 4-3 record in 12 starts for the Sultanes and then went to Italy in 2016 to pitch for Nettuno (3-4, 2.65 ERA).

   De la Cruz then spent the next three summers in the Mexican League, posting an aggregate 20-18 record for Saltillo, Mexico City and Union Laguna while appearing in the 2017 and 2019 All-Star Games. In the latter year, he won the Algodoneros' pitching triple crown by leading the team with six wins, 92 strikeouts and a 4.91 ERA on a team that allowed 8.05 earned runs per game and finished 37-79.

    Although he usually spent his winters pitching in the Liga Dominicana, de la Cruz did pitch one Mexican Pacific League game for Jalisco in 2014-15 and started seven games for Mexicali (3-1, 4.65) in 2018-19. He spent the last two seasons with the LiDom's Este Toros, turning in an 0-1 record and 2.35 last winter in seven appearances (with one start). The Toros won the pennant in 2019-20 but de la Cruz did not pitch in the Caribbean Series in San Juan, Puerto Rico.

    The Algodoneros had hoped to bring de la Cruz back to Torreon this summer but there were reportedly “some immigration procedures” to hurdle before he could return to the Estadio Revolucion mound in 2021 after missing all of last year's canceled season. He would've been reunited with Union Laguna manager Omar Malave, who was de la Cruz' winterball skipper in Venezuela with Magallenes during the 2017-18 season.

THIRD LMB PRESEASON TOURNAMENT SET FOR YUCATAN

    A third Mexican League preseason tournament has been scheduled on the heels of similar four-team events in San Luis Potosi and Puebla. The Copa Maya is slated to be played between May 13 and 16 at Merida's Parque Kukulcan, home of the Yucatan Leones. The Leones will be joined by the Quintana Roo Tigres, Campeche Piratas and Tabasco Olmecas in the four-day tournament.

    The Copa Maya will be the culmination of a larger effort during which the four clubs will form what they're calling the Southeast League (or Liga Sureste). The LMB South rivals will play each other in an 11-game miniseason with single evening contests between April 29 and May 12 at each other's home ballparks.

    The Copa Maya will feature day/night doubleheaders between Thursday, May 13 and Saturday, May 15, with games scheduled for 12PM and 7PM. The event will wrap up with two games on Sunday, May 16: A 12PM contest for third place followed by a 7PM title for the championship. Seeding for the final day will be determined by team record compiled during all Liga Sureste and Copa Maya matches up until then.

    Games will include typical training camp rosters of established players, foreigners and prospects. Two of the four teams will be playing under new managers. Former pitching great Francisco “Pancho Ponches” Campos will be Campeche's dugout boss, replacing Jesus Sommers, while Tabasco has brought in veteran skipper Pedro Mere filling out the lineup cards to take Ramon Orantes' place. Adan Munoz will be back for his first full season running the Tigres (he took the place of the fired Jesus Sommers in early 2019, with Sommers sliding over to take the Campeche job later that season) and Geronimo Gil will likewise be opening his first preseason with Yucatan after replacing Luis Carlos Rivera in June 2019.

    Now that there are the San Luis Potosi Cup (Aguascalientes, Durango, Guadalajara, Leon and Monterrey), Battle of Legends (Mexico City, Oaxaca, Puebla and Veracruz) and the Copa Mayo (Campeche, Quintana Roo, Tabasco and Yucatan) on the docket, that leaves the defending champion Monclova Acereros, Saltillo Saraperos and Tijuana Toros as the only Liga teams without a preseason tournament of their own. Give them time.

Mayan Cup Schedule (Kukulcán Park, Merida)

Parque Kukulcan, Merida

Thursday, May 13th
Yucatan Lions vs Campeche Pirates, 12 pm
Tabasco Olmecs vs Quintana Roo Tigres, 7pm

Friday, May 14
Campeche Piratas vs Quintana Roo Tigres, 12 pm
Tabasco Olmecas vs Yucatán Leones, 7pm

Saturday, May 15
Tabasco Olmecas vs Campeche Piratas, 12 pm
Quintana Roo Tigres vs Yucatán Leones, 7pm

Sunday, May 16
4th place vs 3rd place, 12 pm
2nd place vs 1st place, 7pm

LMP MVP SEBASTIAN ELIZALDE SIGNS WITH METS

2020-21 Mex Pac MVP Sebastian Elizalde

   Culiacan Tomateros rightfielder Sebastian Elizalde has signed a minor league contract with the New York Mets for the second year in a row. The 29-year-old Guaymas native, who was named Most Valuable Player for the Mexican Pacific League this winter, has been assigned to Class AA Binghamton and expects to report to the Mets' spring training complex in Port St. Lucie, Florida next month. He'd been slated to open the 2020 season with Binghamton before the pandemic led to all affiliated minor league baseball to cancel their seasons.

    That the Mets have assigned the veteran flychaser to their AA affiliate is somewhat curious because Elizalde had previously spent all or part of two seasons at AAA Louisville during his five-year stint in the Reds organization. After being an organizational All-Star in 2014 and playing in the 2015 Florida State League All-Star Game, Elizalde hit .297 with five homers for AA Pensacola in 2016 before putting up a .277 average and swatting eight longballs for Louisville in his AAA debut season of 2017. He then hit .254 with a pair of roundtrippers in 21 games in 2018 before the Bats loaned him to Monterrey for the rest of the year.

    Elizalde was no stranger to the Sultanes, for whom he made his professional debut in 2010 at age 18. He went 1-for-3 over 11 games with Monterrey while playing mostly as a defensive substitute in left field. After playing sparingly for the Sultanes the next two summers, Elizalde's contract was sold to Cincinnati early in the 2013 season and he was assigned to the Reds' Arizona Rookie League affiliate and placed on the 60-day disabled list twice, ending the campaign for him. He began his career north of the border with Class A Dayton in 2014 and worked his way up to Louisville over the next four years.

Elizalde as a Reds farmhand

   More polished when he returned to Monterrey, Elizalde hit. 297 and .333 with a combined 12 homers and 46 RBIs in 75 games over the two shortened 2018 seasons as the Sultanes defeated Oaxaca in the Serie del Rey to cop the Fall 2018 pennant under manager Roberto Kelly after falling to Yucatan in the Spring championship series. The six-foot, 190-pounder saw limited action with Monterrey in 2019, batting .319 with one homer and eight RBIs over 39 games. His LMB rights remain with the Sultanes.

    “El Predator” has experienced more stability playing winterball, where he has played ten seasons in the Mex Pac (five for Hermosillo, five for Culiacan). He's done well since becoming a regular for the Naranjeros in 2014-15 and gone on to bat .293 with 39 homers in 404 LMP regular season games. During his recently-concluded MVP season for the Tomateros, he batted .282 and was among the league leaders in doubles (13), homers (11), stolen bases (12) and RBIs (45). He's also represented Mexico in the last two Caribbean Series and gone 9-for-37 (.243) at the plate with a homer and five RBIs over 10 games.

TOMATEROS FALL SHORT IN CARIBBEAN SERIES SEMIS

Tomateros arrive at Estadio Hiram Bithorn

After arriving in San Juan, Puerto Rico on the heels of their seven-game Mexican Pacific League championship series win over Mazatlan, the Culiacan Tomateros hoped to keep their momentum going entering the first round of the 2020 Caribbean Series.  After narrowly dropping a 2-1 decision to the Dominican champion Este Toros in their February 1 opening game, the Tomateros reeled off four consecutive wins to advance to the semifinals before losing a 1-0 knucklebiter to Venezuela's Lara Cardenales on February 6 despite outhitting the Cardenales by a 9-2 margin.

The following is a recap of each Tomateros CS game at Estadio Hiram Bithorn: 

February 1: Este (DR) 2, Culiacan 1

The Toros got on the scoreboard when Abraham Almonte doubled off Culiacan's Manny Banuelos to bring Peter O'Brien and Diego Goris home, giving Este starter Yunesky Maya and two relievers all the support they'd need. The Tomateros averted the shutout in the ninth when Joey Meneses doubled and scored from second on a Juan Carlos Gamboa single before Este's Wirfin Obispo closed the door for the save.  Maya tossed five innings of two-hit ball for the win while Banuelos took the loss after allowing two runs on four hits and four walks over 3.2 frames. 

February 2: Culiacan 4, Santurce (PR) 2

Another Tomateros pitcher named Manny (Barreda) had a strong start and Sebastian Elizalde cranked a homer as Culiacan bounced back from their opening day defeat to top host Santuce, 4-2.  Barreda served up a Jan Hernandez homer in the second for the only run he allowed over five four-hit innings while Elizalde's three-run bomb off Cangrejeros starter Giovanni Soto in the fifth broke open a 1-1 contest.  From that point, five relievers held Santurce to one run the rest of the way for the win, with Alberto Baldonado earning the save for manager Benji Gil's team.

Culiacan second baseman Ramiro Pena

February 3: Culiacan 6, Chiriqui (PAN) 1

The LMP's Pitcher of the Year for 2019-20, Yoanys Quiala, showed how he earned the hardware by giving up just one run to the Panamanian titlists over seven innings in Culiacan's 6-1 win over the Astronautas. Joey Meneses led off the bottom of the second with a double, followed by Dariel Alvarez' RBI single up the middle.  Two outs later, Jose Guadalupe Chavez tripled in both Alvarez and Ramon Rios (who'd singled) for all the scoring the MexPac champs would need. Meneses, who also singled Ramiro Pena home in the fifth, finished with three hits while Chavez had three ribbies.  

February 4: Culiacan 7, Lara (VZ) 6

Joey Meneses drove in four runs in Culiacan's third consecutive win as the Tomateros built a 7-0 lead, then hung on for a one-run win over Lara to clinch a berth in the Caribbean Series semifinals.  Meneses went 2-for-4 with a homer while Rico "Nitroman" Noel contributed a pair of hits, including a two-run double. Anthony Vasquez got the win despite dishing up a three-run homer to the Cardenales' Carlos Rivero. Alberto Baldonado came in from the bullpen with a runner on second in the ninth and struck out the last Lara batter to save the victory.

February 5: Culiacan 4, Monteria (COL) 0

The Tomateros closed out the first round with their fourth straight triumph in a 4-0 win over Colombian CS debutant Monteria. Culiacan starter Edgar Torres put in 7.2 shutout innings on the mound, with a Brallan Perez single in the first being the Vaqueros' lone hit off the lefty. Torres didn't have a win or save as a middleman in 55 appearances for Durango in the Mexican League last summer.  Ramiro Pena, who didn't play in the Tomateros' first game after missing his flight to San Juan, swatted a two-run homer for the winners while Rico Noel and Juan Carlos Gamboa each had two hits. 

February 6:  Lara (VZ) 1, Culiacan 0 (semifinal)

The Cardenales earned revenge while punching their ticket to the title game by squeaking out a 1-0 win to knock Culiacan out.  The only run of the contest came in the bottom of the third when Lara's Welington Dotel, who has peviously played in both the LMP and LMB, stroked a double off lefthander Zack Dodson to drive in Gorkys Hernandez with what eventually proved to be the game-winner.  Dodson otherwise had a great six-inning performance but the Tomateros left 16 baserunners stranded while being whitewashed. Lara went on to lose to Este, 9-3, in the final game.

Celebrating a win over Panama

Despite falling short of winning the team's third Serie del Caribe championship (Culiacan won in 1996 and 2002, both times under late manager Francisco "Paquin" Estrada), the Tomateros placed five players on this year's Dream Team: Starting pitcher Edgar Torres, catcher Ali Solis, first baseman Joey Meneses, second baseman Ramiro Pena and centerfielder Rico Noel.  Rounding out the Dream team were third baseman Emmanuel Rivera (Santurce), shortstop Ali Castillo (Lara), leftfielder Ruben Sosa (Este), rightfielder Henry Sosa (Santurce), designated hitter Jordany Valdespin (Este), relief pitcher Ramon Ramirez (Este) and manager Lino Rivera (Este).  Culiacan has the most players named to the Dream Team but both Chiriqui and Monteria were shut out.

The 2021 Caribbean Series will be held in Mazatlan and the refurbished Estadio Teodoro Mariscal, which now seats 16,000 spectators.  National champions from both Colombia and Panama will return to the competition on a provisional basis but, according to the Hitazo website, Caribbean Professional Baseball Confederation president Juan Francisco Puello has issued a statement that Cuba is not being invited to Mazatlan next year.  The first-time Cuban National Series champion Matanzas Cocodrilos had been scheduled to participate in San Juan last week before backing out of the event in early January, citing "pressure" from the U.S. government and an inability to obtain visas for the trip to Puerto Rico.

MENESES SIGNS WITH BOSOX, ELIZALDE INKS PACT WITH METS

Although the Caribbean Series is still considered the Crown Jewel of Latin Baseball, its focus among players has shifted from being an opportunity for some Major League Baseball stars to play winterball representing their home nations into a showcase for younger players hoping to exhibit their talent to prospective MLB employers.  The tournament has lost some of its luster among baseball fans no longer likely to see legends like David Ortiz, Roberto Alomar, Miguel Cabrera or Juan Marichal, but a number of current players filling the void will catch the eye of big league scouts every February and sometimes that's enough to create a chance to move up in the baseball world.

New Boston Red Sox signee Joey Meneses

In that vein, no fewer than three members of the Culiacan Tomateros signed free agent contracts with MLB organizations last week while the Serie del Caribe was ongoing. Perhaps the most prominent among them was first baseman Joey Meneses, who signed a minor league contract with the Boston Red Sox.  The 27-year-old Meneses spent seven years in the Atlanta system before signing a minor league deal with Phladelphia prior to the 2018 season.  The 6'3" Culiacan native was assigned to the Phillies' AAA Lehigh Valley affiliate and proceeded to tear up International League pitchers to the tune of a ..311 batting average with 23 homers and 82 RBIs over 130 games, being named the IL's Rookie of the Year and Most Valuable Player for his effort.  That led to a contract with Japan's Orix Buffaloes, for whom Meneses struggled mightily in a 2019 that ended with a .206 average and four homers in just 29 NPB games.  The Red Sox are expected to assign Meneses to their AAA Pawtucket.  His Mexican rights are currently held by the Monclova Acereros.

Sebastian Elizalde goes to the New York Mets

Another Tomateros player who made the most of his time in the Mexican Pacific League and Caribbean Series this winter is outfielder Sebastian Elizalde, who parlayed a strong regular season for the Tomateros (.308 with 10 homers and 21 stolen bases in 60 games) and appearance at the Caribbean Series into a minor league contract with the New York Mets. The Guaymas-born Elizalde spent four years as a Monterey Sultanes prospect prior to being sold to the Cincinnati Reds in 2012 as a 21-year-old.  He went on to spend five years in the Reds organization, earning a berth in the 2015 Florida State League All-Star Game, before being returned to the Sultanes in 2018.  Elizalde batted .319 in limited action for Monterrey last summer and may be ticketed for the Mets' AAA Syracuse team in the International League, although his rights in Mexico still belong to Monterrey.

Manny Banuelos signs pact with Seattle Mariners

Despite an often-rocky regular season and losing the first game of the Caribbean Series to eventual champion Este, pitcher Manny Banuelos did well enough to earn a minor league contract with the Seattle Mariners for 2020 and will report to the team's Arizona training camp ths week.  Unlike either Meneses or Elizalde, the 5'10" lefty from Gomez Palacios has appeared in the majors for Atlanta in 2015 and the Chicago White Sox in 2019.  Banuelos went 3-4 with a 6.93 ERA for the Chisox, including an April 22, 2019 start at Baltimore during which he held the Orioles scoreless with four strikeouts over four innings of a 12-2 win.  A free agent signee with the Yankees at age 17 in 2008, Banuelos was a 2018 postseason All-Star in the AAA Pacific Coast League after pitching for the Dodgers' Oklahoma City affiliate that year, and is perhaps bound for the Mariners' AAA Tacoma farm team.  He was 1-1 with a 5.40 ERA in four starts for Culiacan during the regular season.  He has never pitched in the Mexican League over 12 professional seasons, including a 2013 campaign he took off after having Tommy John surgery.


LAGUNA TABS LONGTIME JAYS MiLB SKIPPER MALAVE AS MANAGER

Omar Malave to manage in Union Laguna

During the 2020 season, the Union Laguna Algodoneros will celebrate the 80th anniversary of the region's debut in the Mexican League. The original Union Laguna team needed just two years to cop their first LMB pennant under Hall of Famer Martin Dihigo in 1942.  A second Liga flag was won in 1950 with Memo Garibay at the helm and, seventy years later, it's the last pennant to have been raised at Estadio Revolucion, the team's 87-year-old home ballpark.  Laguna has been in and out of the LMB since that initial 1940 season, with the current incarnation of the Cottoneers (established in 1985) representing the fifth LMB go-round for Torreon, Coahuila and Gomez Palacio, Nuevo Leon, the two cities at the center of the agriculuture-based Laguna region of 1.3 million residents.

Into this scenario steps new Algodoneros manager Omar Malave, who spent nearly 40 consecutive years in the Toronto Blue Jays organization as a player, manager, coach and administrator before making his first foray into Mexican baseball.  The 57-year-old Malave will replace former Union Laguna manager Jonathan Aceves, who piloted the team to an LMB-worst 37-79 record in 2019 for his managerial debut after spending 22 seasons as a catcher on both sides of the border.

A native of Cumana, Venezuela, Malave made his professional baseball debut as a utility infielder for the Blue Jays' Gulf Coast League team in 1981 along with his older brother Benito, a pitcher (younger brother Jose spent time as an outfielder for Boston in 1996-97 and also had a stint in Japan with Yokohama).   Omar went on to spend the rest of the Eighties playing in the Toronto system, mostly at the Class A level, although he did play eight games with AAA Syracuse in 1989, his last season as an active player.  By 1991 he was back in the GCL, this time as manager the Jays' rookie league team.

Malave coached with Toronto in 2010

Malave worked his way up the minor league managerial ladder until he reached Syracuse in 2000, beginning a four-year run with the Chiefs.  Malave's teams posted winning records in each of his first ten years as a manager and while his on-field fortunes waxed and waned for most of the next 15 years, he had an overall record of 1,455-1,352 over 22 years as an MiLB skipper after spending the 2015 season as helmsman with Dunedin of the Class A Florida State League.  He was named to the FSL Hall of Fame that year.  In addition to his long career as a minor league manager, Malave coached in Toronto with the MLB club under Clarence "Cito" Gaston in 2010 and served as the franchise's minor league coordinator in 2013. 

Malave will have a handful of decent everyday players at his disposal with the Algodoneros.  Outfielder Michael Choice .(398 with 13 homers and 54 RBIs in just 51 games) may be the best of them, along with ex-MLB and Dutch National Team outfielder Roger Bernardina (.336 in 34 games) and another outfielder, Francisco Ferreira (.307), who appeared in the 2019 LMB All-Star Game.  Pitching is another story, however, as Union Laguna had only two regular hurlers with an ERA under 5.00 last year: Middleman Roman Pena (3-2/4.03 in 70 trips from the bullpen) and starter Frankie De La Cruz (6-6, 4.91), who started strongly and was picked for the All-Star Game before fading at the end of the long season.  With a Liga-worst 8.05 team ERA, it's little wonder how the Cottoneers finished more than 40 games below .500 in a 120-game season.

Estadio Revolucion has hosted games since 1932

While the Algodoneros will play in the Mexican League's oldest ballpark (and one of the most ancient in all of the minors), Estadio Revolucion is getting a makeover prior to the 2020 season. The 9,935-seat venue was first opened in 1932 and underwent a renovation in 2002.  Noted for its art deco facade and the widest foul territory in Mexican baseball, thanks to a since-removed running track, Estadio Revolucion has hosted LMB All-Star games in 1995 and 2004.