Engel Beltré Will Return to Toros del Este in LIDOM and Gigantes del Cibao Moves
Dominican outfielder Engel Beltrè will re-sign with the Toros del Este in LIDOM according to Pelota Cubana reporter Yusseff Diaz on Feb. 28.
Fuentes: El jardinero Engel Beltre regresará a los Toros del Este en la agencia libre de @LIDOMRD . pic.twitter.com/T8KY2HOUzm
— Yusseff305 🇨🇺🇺🇲 (@yusseff305) February 28, 2025
Beltrè, 35, is a left-handed hitting outfielder who was born in Santo Domingo. He played in LIDOM with the Toros del Este this past winter and has played four LIDOM seasons with them in total. He made his LIDOM debut in 2008-2009 with the Azucareros del Este, who became the Toros del Este the next season in 2009-2010.
Beltré has played 16 LIDOM seasons with nine of them coming with the Tigres del Licey from 2010-2019, with the exception of the 2014-2015 season, in which he didn’t play in LIDOM.
Beltré’s career LIDOM numbers are 9 home runs, 126 RBI, and 54 stolen bases in 1,273 at-bats.
Beltré was signed by the Boston Red Sox out of the Dominican Republic as an international free agent in 2006 for $600,000 thousand. He was traded to the Texas Rangers at the trade deadline in 2007. He made his MLB debut with the Rangers in 2013 and played 22 games with them. In 40 at-bats he had 10 hits (.250 batting average), two RBI, and one stolen bases. He never played another MLB game after 2013.
Moreover, Beltré has also played in Liga Mexicana de Bèisbol, Campionato Italiano di Baseball, the Atlantic League, and Liga de Beisbol Profesional Roberto Clemente.
Beltrè also has Spanish roots and played for Spain in the 2013 World Baseball Classic and the 2023 WBC qualifiers. He also played for Spain in the European Baseball Championship in 2021 in Turin, Italy from September 12-19. They lost 2-0 to Team Italy in the third-place game.
Beltrè has had a wide-ranging international career and has played baseball professionally for 18 years from 2007-2025 this upcoming season will be his 19th as a pro.
Gigantes del Cibao re-signs Luis Perdomo
Luis Perdomo, 31, reached an agreement to return to the Gigantes del Cibao per a team announcement on Feb. 28.
🐎 PERMANECE 🔒
El lanzador Luis Perdomo ha llegado a un acuerdo para permanecer con los @Gigantes_Cibao desde la lomita. #LIDOM #AgenciaLibreLIDOM pic.twitter.com/JhqawvmQGe
— LIDOM (@LIDOMRD) February 28, 2025
Perdomo is a right-handed pitcher, who has five seasons of MLB experience while pitching with the San Diego Padres from 2016-2020 and the Milwaukee Brewers in 2022.
His MLB career numbers are 468 innings, 345 strikeouts, and an ERA of 5.12.
Perdomo has also played in the NPB with the Cibba Lotte Mariners in 2023 and the Orix Buffalos in 2024. He finished his 2024 season in LMB with the Toros de Tijuana.
The Dominican pitcher has also spent two winters in LIDOM with the Gigantes del Cibao and last pitched for them in the winter of 2022-2023.
Gigantes del Cibao Also Re-signed Jorge Bonifacio and Melvin Mercedes
Jorge Bonifacio, 31, is a right-handed hitting outfielder and he re-signed with the Gigantes del Cibao on February 26 per a team announcement.
🐎 PERMANECE 🔒
Jorge Bonifacio seguirá galopando en el Julián Javier al llegar a un acuerdo con los @Gigantes_Cibao #LIDOM #AgenciaLibreLIDOM pic.twitter.com/Q8FRuXT07C
— LIDOM (@LIDOMRD) February 26, 2025
Melvin Mercedes, 33, is a right-handed infielder and he re-signed with the Gigantes del Cibao on February 25 per a team announcement.
Bonifacio signed as an international free agent out of the Dominican Republic with the Kansas City Royals in 2009. He made his MLB debut with them in 2017 and played three seasons with them. He also played in MLB with the Detroit Tigers in 2020 and the Philadelphia Phillies in 2021.
Bonifacio’s career MLB numbers are 23 home runs, 85 RBI, and a slash line of .242/.312/.393 in 737 at-bats.
He also played in LMB with the Olmecas de Tabasco and the Saraperos de Saltillo in 2024. Bonifacio has played in LIDOM for 12 winters, with 11 of those seasons coming with the Tigres del Licey. Bonifacio made his LIDOM debut in 2012-2013 and played with the Gigantes del Cibao this past winter.
His career numbers in LIDOM are 22 home runs, 117 RBI, and a slash line of .236/.311/.373 in 937 at-bats.
🐎 PERMANECE 🔒
Otro potro que se queda en el establo. Melvin Mercedes ha llegado a un acuerdo con los @Gigantes_Cibao para seguir con la organización. #LIDOM #AgenciaLibreLIDOM pic.twitter.com/zhEytmtNRK
— LIDOM (@LIDOMRD) February 25, 2025
Mercedes signed a minor league deal with the Oakland Athletics in 2012. He never made an MLB appearance and made it as high as their Triple-A affiliate, the Nashville Sounds in 2018. He played in the Atlantic League with the Lancaster Barnstormers from 2019-2023.
Mercedes has played in LIDOM for the Gigantes del Cibao for 11 winters and he made his LIDOM debut in 2014-2015. His LIDOM career numbers are 0 home runs, 56 RBI, 32 stolen bases, and a slash line of .232/.340/.283 in 1,360 at-bats.
WBN LIDOM: https://worldbaseball.com/league/dominican-republic/
Photo Credit: Texas Rangers’ Engel Beltre poses during photo day at spring training baseball practice, Tuesday Feb. 25, 2014, in Surprise, Ariz. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)
