After producing just 3.79 runs per game last season, Caneros de Los Mochis manager Felix Fermin knew he needed to add some bats.
So when the annual Foreign Player Draft for the Liga ARCO Mexicana del Pacifico rolled around, Fermin and the Caneros got two of the most powerful foreign bats playing in Mexico: former Major Leaguers Didi Gregorius and Jonathan Schoop. Between them, they have 338 MLB homers and more than 2,000 games played in the big show north of the border, and continue to contribute in Mexico.
Gregorius has played parts of the last two summers with the Algodoneros de Union Laguna of the Liga Mexicana de Beisbol in Torreon, Coahuila, and Schoop joined him there this year. The pair combined for 22 homers and drove in 103 runs for Union Laguna this summer. They could add a lot of power to a lineup where only Yasmany Tomas hit 10 home runs last season, and no other Canero had more than four.
“We realized that we were missing something at the end of the season, and we tried to fill the gaps and strengthen ourselves. We are confident that the results will come,” Fermin said in Spanish in an item on the team’s website. “There are players coming who will reinforce the middle of the lineup, which was one of the shortcomings we had last season. We only had Tomás, but I think that with [Kyle] Martin and other moves the team made, I think we will be able to put up a good fight this season.”
Manager – Felix Fermin (Second Season, 36-32 LAMP/95-72 Winter Ball)
2023-24 Record – 36-32, T-3 in LAMP
2003-24 Playoff Results – Lost Quarterfinals 4-1 to Naranjeros de Hermosillo
First Game – Saturday, October 12 at Mayos de Navajoa, 8:30 p.m. EDT
Mexican Player Draft Selections (Position – 2024 Team or MLB Organization/League)
Number indicates round in which player was selected
1. Diego Arce (C – Toronto Blue Jays/MLB)
2. Beder Gutierrez (OF – Conspiradores de Queretaro/LMB)
3. Jesus Montiel (P – Algodoneros de Union Laguna/LMB)
4. Leonardo Vargas (IF – Free Agent)
5. Marcos Sanchez (P – Free Agent)
6. Pedro Montano (P – Acereros de Monclova/LMB)
7. Bryan Rivera (P – Free Agent)
8. Miguel Angel Leon (P – Algodoneros de Union Laguna/LMB)
Foreign Player Draft Selections (Position – 2024 Team or MLB Organization/League)
Number indicates round in which player was selected
1. Yoan Lopez (P – Algodoneros de Union Laguna/LMB)
2. Kyle Martin (IF – Guerreros de Oaxaca/LMB)
3. Didi Gregorius (IF – Algodoneros de Union Laguna/LMB)
4. Sam Travis (IF – Caliente de Durango/LMB)
5. Jonathan Schoop (IF – Algodoneros de Union Laguna/LMB)
6. Juan Mateo (P – Bravos de Leon/LMB)
7. Steven Fuentes (P – Algodoneros de Union Laguna/LMB)
8. Raudy Read (C – Pericos de Puebla/LMB)
Photo: Didi Gregoruis of the Algodoneros de Union Laguna was selected by the Caneros de Los Mochis in the LAMP Foreign Player Draft. (Photo by Manuel Guadarrama/Getty Images)
