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Mexican League’s Bravos De León Sign Jay Jackson

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The Bravos de León of the Mexican League announced last week that they’ve signed veteran reliever Jay Jackson. The Bravos also announced a deal with righty Josimar Cousin, who spent some time on the White Sox’s 40-man roster last year. Francys Romero first reported the Cousin deal.

Jackson, a Nello Gamberdino client, has pitched in parts of six big league seasons. He reached the majors in each of the past four years, including a 20-game stint with the Twins last season. Jackson struggled to a 7.52 earned run average over 26 1/3 frames for Minnesota. He had a solid strikeout and walk profile (25.4% and 7.9%, respectively) but gave up seven home runs in his relatively small sample of work.

The 37-year-old righty is only a year removed from posting much better numbers with Toronto. Jackson provided the Jays 29 2/3 innings of 2.12 ERA ball in 2023. His velocity was down slightly last year. His four-seam fastball sat at 91.9 MPH; he’d averaged a bit above 93 MPH two seasons ago. If he recaptures his previous velocity and/or misses bats in Mexico, he could pitch his way back to affiliated ball on a midseason minor league deal.

Cousin, 27, is a Cuban-born hurler who hasn’t pitched in the majors. The White Sox selected his contract in 2023 but outrighted back off the 40-man roster last April. He combined for a 2.80 ERA in 35 1/3 innings between the top two minor league levels. Cousin qualified for minor league free agency at season’s end.

Dinelson Lamet, Socrates Brito Sign With Mexican League’s Águila De Veracruz

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The Águila de Veracruz are signing Dinelson Lamet for the 2025 season, according to a Spanish-language article at MiLB.com. The Águila also announced on social media this week that they’ve added outfielders Sócrates Brito and Nomar Mazara.

Lamet appeared in the majors as recently as last season. He pitched in three games for the eventual World Series champions. Lamet inked a minor league deal with the Dodgers last February. They selected his contract not long after Opening Day. He tossed 4 1/3 innings of two-run ball before being designated for assignment and outrighted. He opted out of his deal with L.A. in June and finished the year on a minor league contract with the Royals.

The fourth-place finisher in NL Cy Young balloting in 2020, Lamet has dropped into a depth role. The 32-year-old righty started 18 of 19 games in Triple-A last season. He allowed nearly five earned runs per nine with a mediocre 19.5% strikeout rate and an alarming 13.5% walk percentage.

Brito, 32, appeared in the majors with the Diamondbacks and Blue Jays between 2015-19. The lefty-hitting outfielder spent the past three seasons in Korea with the Kia Tigers. He’s coming off a .310/.359/.516 showing in a hitter-friendly league. While there was some thought that Brito could return to affiliated ball on a minor league contract, that interest apparently didn’t materialize. Mazara is headed into his second Mexican League season after hitting .307/.390/.496 in 70 games with Monterrey last year.

Harold Ramírez Signs With Mexican League’s Tecolotes de los Dos Laredos

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First baseman/outfielder Harold Ramírez has signed with the Tecolotes de los Dos Laredos of the Mexican League, reports Daniel Álvarez-Montes of El Extrabase. There’s a $0 buyout for MLB affiliates.

Ramírez, 30, appeared in the past six major league baseball seasons with a unique profile. He would rarely walk, strikeout or hit home runs. As a player who put the ball in play almost as much as any other, his production was among the most susceptible to variations in batted ball luck.

Over the 2019 to 2021 seasons, he suited up for the Guardians and Marlins, getting 818 plate appearances in that time. His .315 batting average on balls in play was actually a bit above league average, which is usually in the .290-.300 range. But thanks to a walk rate of just 4% and only 18 home runs in that time, his .271/.308/.405 batting line led to a 92 wRC+, indicating he had been 8% below par overall.

His fortune turned with the Rays in the next two seasons. Over the 2022 and 2023 campaigns, he took 869 trips to the plate with Tampa. His 4.7% walk rate was still quite low and he hit another 18 home runs but his BABIP spiked to .354 in that time. That helped him hit .306/.348/.432 for a 122 wRC+.

Regression came in 2024. His BABIP dropped to .320 and he only walked 2% of the time, with just two homers in 246 plate appearances. That included a brief stint with the Nationals after the Rays released him. After the Nats also released him, he finished the year on a minor league deal with Atlanta, hitting .231/.278/.275 in 97 Triple-A plate appearances.

Ramirez has played first base and the outfield in his career but isn’t considered a strong defender, so his offensive drop-off last year really put a dent in his value. By taking a job in Mexico, he’s surely hoping to carve out some regular playing time and show that he can still swing it. If he looks to be in good form, the no-cost buyout could lead some club to pick him up.

Michel Baez Signs With Mexican League’s Sultanes de Monterrey

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Right-hander Michel Baez has signed with the Mexican League’s Sultanes de Monterrey, according to a report from Francys Romero. It will be Baez’s second stint with the club, as he pitched for Monterrey during the 2024 season as well.

Baez, 29, signed with the Padres out of Cuba prior to the 2017 season and quickly became a consensus top-50 prospect in the sport. He made his major league debut in 2019 and posted some impressive numbers out of the gate, as he pitched to a 3.03 ERA (139 ERA+) despite a 21.4% strikeout rate and 10.7% walk rate that led to a 4.36 FIP in 29 2/3 innings of work. Despite those potential red flags in Baez’s peripherals, his move to the bullpen ahead of his big league debut appeared to be a resounding success, and the right-hander figured to be a key part of San Diego’s bullpen mix for years to come.

Unfortunately, that’s not how things turned out. Baez would appear in just five more MLB games after 2019, three of which came during the shortened 2020 season. The right-hander was then sidelined by Tommy John surgery in 2021 and didn’t return to the big leagues until the following year, when he made two brief appearances with the Padres. Baez was designated for assignment prior to Opening Day 2023 and was outrighted to the minors shortly thereafter. He spent the entire 2023 season in the Padres’ minor league system before being released that December.

While injuries such as his aforementioned Tommy John surgery surely played a role in Baez’s struggles, it’s worth noting that the right-hander did not have much success even in the upper levels of the minors during his final seasons in affiliated ball. The righty pitched to an 8.44 ERA in 24 appearances at Triple-A back in 2022, and the 2023 campaign saw him post a 7.90 ERA at Triple-A and identical 6.75 figures at both the Double-A and High-A levels. Those brutal results were paired with lackluster peripherals, as in 2023 Baez walked 13.4% of his opponents while striking out just 17.4% throughout all levels of the minors.

Baez’s struggles in affiliated ball led him to participate in the Mexican League last year, but his first stint with Monterrey did not go especially well. The right-hander made just seven appearances with six innings of work in total, but he was shelled to the tune of a 7.50 ERA with four walks and a hit batter against five strikeouts. The club, which featured former big leaguers such as Nomar Mazara and Christian Villanueva in 2024, is surely hoping for better results from Baez this season. The right-hander is still in his 20s and has some previous big league success under his belt, so it’s certainly not impossible to imagine him fashioning himself into a useful pitcher for the Sultanes and perhaps even getting another shot in affiliated ball at some point in the future.

Andrew Vasquez Signs With Mexican League’s Tecolotes De Los Dos Laredos

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The Tecolotes de los Dos Laredos of the Mexican League have signed left-hander Andrew Vasquez to a contract for the 2025 season, according to KPRC2’s Ari Alexander.  Vasquez can walk away from the deal if he receives interest from a big league club, with the Tecolotes owed nothing in buyout fees.

Vasquez has logged 63 2/3 career innings over five MLB seasons, with the large majority of that action coming when he pitched 48 1/3 frames for the Phillies and Tigers in 2023.  His bottom-line results of a 3.35 ERA were solid, though his strikeout (19.6%) and walk (10.5%) rates were both subpar, and his performance fell off drastically after he went to the Tigers on a waiver claim.  Philadelphia opted to designate Vasquez for assignment just after the trade deadline in order to clear roster space, despite Vasquez’s 2.27 ERA in 39 2/3 innings for the club.

After struggling to an 8.31 ERA in 8 2/3 innings with his new team, Vasquez returned to the Tigers last winter on a minors contract and spent the entire 2024 campaign at Triple-A Toledo.  Vasquez’s situation wasn’t helped by a lack of minor league options, but he didn’t make much of a case for promotion after posting a 5.11 ERA, 19.4% strikeout rate, and 9.6% walk rate over 68 2/3 innings with Toledo.

This stint in the Mexican League marks the first time in Vasquez’s pro career (which began as a 32nd-round pick for the Twins in 2015) that he has pitched outside of affiliated baseball.  The 31-year-old should find more of a regular role with the Tecolotes than he would in battling amongst other minor league signings withing a Major League team’s camp, and his contract’s out clause allows Vazquez some flexibility if he pitches well enough to attract attention from MLB scouts.

Angels Sign CD Pelham To Minor League Deal

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The Angels have signed left-hander CD Pelham to a minor league deal, as announced by the Mexican League’s Leones de Yucatan on Friday. Pelham is represented by Pro Edge Sports Management.

The 29-year-old joined the Rangers organization after being selected in the 33rd round of the 2015 draft and eventually worked his way through the club’s minor league system to make his big league debut back in 2018. That brief cup of coffee in the majors didn’t go well, as Pelham struggled to a 7.04 ERA in 7 2/3 innings of work across ten appearances with seven strikeouts and four walks. Pelham remained with the Rangers on the 40-man roster throughout the 2019 season but was ultimately designated for assignment that offseason.

The lefty was eventually claimed off waivers by the Cubs before being assigned outright to the minors later in the 2019-20 offseason. Injuries and the cancelled minor league season in 2020 kept him from making his debut in a Cubs uniform until May of 2022, and the lefty pitched to a decent 4.35 ERA in 41 1/3 innings of work between the Double- and Triple-A levels that year. Pelham hit minor league free agency after the 2022 season and signed with the Padres on a minor league deal, though he ended up pitching just 14 1/3 total innings of the club last year.

Pelham has spent the 2024 season to this point pitching for the Leones in the Mexican League, and he’s achieved impressive results in that time. In 17 1/3 innings of work so far this year, Pelham has struck out 26.1% of batters faced while posting an excellent 1.04 ERA in 17 relief appearances. If he can translate that production into affiliated ball with the Angels, it’s feasible the southpaw could return to the big leagues with the club at some point this year. The relief corps in Anaheim has posted an AL-worst 4.89 ERA to this point in the season, better than only the Rockies among all MLB clubs. Jose Suarez, Matt Moore, and Kenny Rosenberg are the club’s relief options from the left side already on the 40-man roster.

Yasiel Puig Signs With Mexican League’s Aguila De Veracruz

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Veteran outfielder Yasiel Puig is signing with the Aguila de Veracruz of the Mexican League, as reported by Francys Romero. Puig himself appeared to confirm the news on his personal X account. Puig previously played for the club in 2021.

The 33-year-old is a veteran of seven MLB seasons, six of which came as a member of the Dodgers, and last played in the majors in 2019 while splitting time between Cincinnati and Cleveland. The longtime outfielder slashed .277/.348/.475 in 861 career games in the majors, including a .305/.386/.502 line across the first two seasons of his career. That excellent early-career performance earned Puig, who was a consensus top-100 prospect prior to his big league debut, a second place finish in NL Rookie of the Year voting in 2013, an All Star nod in 2014, and down-ballot votes for the NL MVP award in both seasons.

After that phenomenal start to his career, Puig’s numbers took a turn for the worse, though he remained a quality regular throughout the rest of his time in the majors with a roughly league average .264/.330/.462 slash line over his final five seasons in the big leagues. Most of that production came with the Dodgers, though Puig was traded to the Reds alongside Alex Wood, Matt Kemp, and Kyle Farmer in a seven-player deal with the Reds just before the 2019 season that netted L.A. prospects Josiah Gray and Jeter Downs. After hitting free agency the following winter, Puig appeared to be nearing a deal to join the Braves for the 2020 campaign before a positive test for COVID-19 scuttled that deal and led to him sitting out the shortened season.

Since his last appearance in the majors, Puig has played international ball with stints in the Korea Baseball Organization as well as the Dominican and Venezuelan Winter Leagues in addition to the Mexican League. He’s performed well in those opportunities, slashing .291/.377/.558 in 1,032 combined plate appearances with 44 homers. That includes an impressive 51-game stretch in winter league play this offseason, where he slashed an incredible .330/.426/.607 in 202 trips to the plate.

Despite that strong performance, Puig hasn’t signed with an affiliated club since he first hit MLB free agency following the 2019 season. That apparent lack of interest may be thanks in part to off-the-field issues, which most recently have included allegations of lying to federal investigators during an investigation into an illegal gambling organization. Puig initially pled guilty to the charge in November 2022 before changing his plea to not guilty later that month. While Puig allegedly placed bets on football, basketball, and tennis back in 2019, there have been no indications in the case that he bet on baseball at any point.

Abraham Almonte To Sign With Mexican League’s Olmecas De Tabasco

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Veteran outfielder Abraham Almonte is in agreement with the Olmecas de Tabasco of the Mexican League, reports Kiley McDaniel of ESPN (X link). Former MLB infielder José Peraza is also headed to Mexico, per McDaniel. He agreed to a deal with the Leones de Yucatán.

Almonte, 34, has reached the majors in each of the last 11 seasons. That’s a rather remarkable stretch for a player who has never been a regular. Almonte has only once topped 70 big league games in a year, but he has gotten depth opportunities for eight MLB clubs overall. His most recent major league action came in Queens. The switch-hitter played in eight games with the Mets last summer.

In a little less than 1400 MLB plate appearances, Almonte owns a .233/.300/.371 batting line. He’s coming off a .220/.361/.464 showing in 50 contests over three minor league levels in the Mets’ farm system. If Almonte is to extend his streak of reaching the big leagues to 12 years, he’ll first need to earn another minor league opportunity during the season.

Peraza reached the majors in seven consecutive campaigns between 2015-21. He was a reasonably highly-regarded prospect during his time in the Dodgers and Reds organizations early in his career. Peraza has hit .266/.306/.372 as a big leaguer. As with Almonte, he last saw the majors as a member of the Mets, although that came three years ago. He spent last year in the New York farm system, hitting .261/.315/.366 in 41 Triple-A games.

Greg Bird Signs With Mexican League’s Charros De Jalisco

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First baseman Greg Bird has reportedly signed with the Mexican League’s Charros de Jalisco, according to MiLB.com. The slugger had previously been playing in the Australian Baseball League, which announced Bird’s departure on Instagram earlier today.

Bird, 31, was a fifth-round pick by the Yankees in the 2011 draft and made his big league debut with the club back in 2015, stepping is as the club’s everyday first baseman after Mark Teixeira’s season was cut short by a fractured shin. In 46 games with the club during his rookie season, Bird impressed with a .261/.343/.529 slash line and 11 home runs in just 178 trips to the plate. Unfortunately, Bird suffered a torn labrum that offseason and underwent surgery that rendered him unavailable for the entirety of the 2016 season.

After losing what could have been the first full season of his career to injury, Bird returned to the big leagues as the Yankees’ Opening Day first baseman, though he struggled to a brutal .100/.250/.200 slash line in 19 games before returning to the injured list with a foot injury that would eventually require surgery. He returned to the field near the end of August and posted excellent numbers down the stretch, slashing .253/.316/.575 with eight homers in just 98 trips to the plate.

Unfortunately, Bird’s injury woes would continue throughout his next two seasons with the Yankees as he slashed just .197/.287/.371 while being limited to 92 games by ankle surgery and a plantar fascia tear, leading the club to designate him for assignment shortly after the 2019 season came to a close. Bird spent the next several years in the minor leagues, signing with the Rangers, Phillies, Rockies, Blue Jays, and even briefly returning to the Bronx between 2020 and 2022. With that being said, he did not make an official appearance for the Texas, Philadelphia, or Toronto during his time in those organizations. That’s in spite of the fact that he was actually called back up to the majors with the Rangers, as he suffered an injury before he could take the field with the club.

While Bird sports a solid .262/.385/.485 slash line for his career at the Triple-A level, he slashed just .218/.325/.354 in 59 games at the level with the Yankees in 2022, and hasn’t found a role in affiliated ball since. In addition to his time overseas in Australia, bird briefly played for the Frontier League’s Capitales de Quebec. Now playing in the Mexican League, the 31-year-old bird should have the opportunity to prove himself healthy and perhaps earn another shot in affiliated ball at some point in the future.

Harold Castro Signs With Mexican League’s Toros De Tijuana

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The Toros de Tijuana of the Mexican League announced the signing of Harold Castro for the 2024 season. The left-handed hitter had been one of the more experienced infielders still on the open market.

Castro, a Venezuela native, has appeared in 450 major league games over the last six years. He spent the first five seasons with the Tigers. Castro hit for high averages, but a lack of walks and power production left him as a slightly below-average offensive player overall. He ran a .284/.309/.377 slash line in more than 1200 plate appearances with Detroit before being non-tendered.

The Rockies added Castro on a minor league pact last offseason. He made the team out of Spring Training and spent the entire year in Colorado. Despite playing his home games at Coors Field, Castro didn’t maintain the offense he had for the Tigers. He hit .252/.275/.314 with one homer in 99 games. Colorado cut him loose at the end of the season.

Castro has played every position aside from catcher in his major league career. While there’s some value in that willingness to bounce around, he hasn’t been a great fit at any position. Public metrics have graded him as a below-average defender at every spot, with particularly poor grades for his work on the left side of the infield.

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