Eric Filia of Team United States reacts as he scores in the fourth inning against Team Japan during the knockout stage of men’s baseball on day ten of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games at Yokohama Baseball Stadium on August 02, 2021 in Yokohama, Kanagawa, Japan. (Photo by Koji Watanabe/Getty Images)
By Matthew Tallarini
World Baseball Network
Outfielder Eric Filia will play for the Caneros de Los Mochis for the 2023-24 Liga ARCO Mexicana del Pacifico season.
Filia, who was an Olympic silver Medalist at the 2020 Summer Games, will be playing in his first winter league season in Mexico during his professional career when Liga ARCO Mexicana del Pacifico starts up in October.
During the 2023 Liga Mexicana de Beisbol season, Filia played for the Guerreros de Oaxaca and the Acereros de Monclova, appearing in 81 games with 363 plate appearances and batting .349 with 106 hits, 21 doubles, seven home runs, 40 RBI, 51 walks, and 30 strikeouts including a .934 OPS.
Filia was drafted by the Seattle Mariners in the 2016 Major League Baseball Amateur Draft in the 20th Round after his junior season at UCLA. He played five seasons in the Mariners organization.
In 2019, his first season with the Triple-A Tacoma Rainiers, Filia had to serve a 100-game suspension for failing a third positive test for a drug of abuse. After returning to play, he suited up in 35 games with 151 plate appearances, knocking 40 hits, 13 doubles, two home runs, 25 walks, and 13 RBI.
In the 2021 season, Filia played in 44 games in his second season at the Triple-A level, batting .262 with 183 plate appearances, 39 hits, three home runs, 15 RBI, and 30 walks before being released by the Mariners on November 1, 2021.
Filia was a big part of the United States’ team in their run to the silver medal at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, where they lost to Japan in the gold medal game at Yokohama Stadium. He batted .263, recording five hits in 19 at-bats while hitting one double and walking once.
During the 2020 World Baseball Softball Confederation Americas Olympic Qualifiers in West Palm Beach, Florida, Filia batted .313 in 16 at-bats, recording five hits, one double, one home run, walking twice, and five RBI, helping the United States beat Venezuela to qualify for the Tokyo games.
Filia has played in the Liga de Béisbol Profesional de la República Dominicana winter league the last four winter seasons.
In the 2022-23 winter league season with Gigantes del Cibao in the Dominican Republic, Filia batted .231 playing in 23 games with 72 plate appearances, 15 hits, three doubles, one home run, six RBI, and six walks.
The Liga ARCO Mexicana del Pacifico 2023-24 regular season will begin on October 13.
The Caneros de Los Mochis will open up the season at home against the Mayos de Navojoa at 10:30 p.m. EDT at Chevron Park on October 13.
All Liga ARCO Mexicana del Pacifico regular season games will be streamed on https://www.extrabase.tv/home with a paid subscription through the final out of their championship series in January, right before the 2024 Caribbean Series in Miami at loanDepot Park.