The Algodoneros de Union Laguna of the Liga Mexicana de Beisbol have shored up the left side of their infield, signing veteran infielder Emmanuel Rivera for the 2026 season.
Rivera, a third baseman, has spent parts of the last five season in Major League Baseball, appearing in 382 career games with the Kansas City Royals, Arizona Diamondbacks, Miami Marlins, and Baltimore Orioles, posting a .245/.305/.360 slash line with a .664 OPS in 1,169 plate appearances. He split the 2025 season between the Orioles and Triple-A Norfolk, appearing in 43 games for Baltimore with a .250 average and batting .297 in 58 games in Norfolk.
For the Algodoneros, Rivera brings MLB more experience to an infield that packed with former MLB players, with Didi Gregorius, Jonathan Villar, and Brian O’Grady among the returners. Jonathan Schoop, a 10-year MLB veteran who has played first base for the Algodoneros each of the last two seasons, has signed with Chihuahua for the coming season.
Silvino Bracho Flies to Puebla – Closer Silvino Bracho is returning to the Liga Mexicana de Beisbol for the third consecutive season, joining the Pericos de Puebla for 2026 after spending parts of the last two summer seasons with the Toros de Tijuana.
Bracho made 44 appearances with Tijuana in 2024, throwing 41 2/3 innings across 44 relief appearances with a 1.73 ERA, but struggled in 2025, making six appearances and throwing five innings with a 5.40 ERA. He rebounded nicely over the winter in his native Venezuela, where he led the country’s winter league in saves with 11, throwing 26 innings for the Aguilas del Zulia with a 2.08 ERA, 17 strikeouts, and four walks.
In 100 career MLB games from 2015-23 with Arizona, Atlanta, and Cincinnati, Bracho has thrown 101 1/3 innings with a 4.80 ERA, 104 strikeouts, and 40 walks.
Photo: Emmanuel Rivera (26) celebrates after hitting a single during the sixth inning of a baseball game against the Pittsburgh Pirates, Thursday, Sept. 11, 2025, in Baltimore. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)
