Infielder Addison Russell of the Kiwoom Heroes bats in the bottom of the second inning during the KBO League game between KIA Tigers and Kiwoom Heroes at the Gocheok Skydome on August 23, 2020 in Seoul, South Korea. (Photo by Han Myung-Gu/Getty Images)
Former Major League Baseball shortstop Addison Russell has signed with the Acereros de Monclova for the 2024 Liga Mexicana de Beisbol season, the team announced on Feb. 16.
Russell played two seasons with the Acereros de Monclova in 2021 and 2022, his first two seasons in Mexico.
Russell, 30, was born in Pensacola, Fla., and has played five seasons in MLB, all with the Chicago Cubs from 2015-19. Russell was an MLB All-Star in 2016 and helped the Cubs win the 2016 World Series against the Cleveland Indians in seven games, breaking their 108-year championship drought.
Last season with the Kiwoom Heroes in the Korean Baseball Organization, Russell played in 59 games, hitting .286 over 239 plate appearances with 63 hits, 11 doubles, one triple, four home runs, 42 RBI, 17 walks, 39 strikeouts, and a .739 OPS before he was released on July 13, 2023 after to suffering with a wrist injury during the middle of June.
Russell was a free agent for the remainder of the 2023 regular season.
In the 2022-23 LIDOM season, Russell was activated to play in the Dominican Republic on October 21, 2022. He played with the Toros del Este for 18 games and hit .183 in 66 plate appearances recording 11 hits, one home run, two RBI, six walks, and 12 strikeouts.
During the 2022 season, Russell played in 80 games for Monclova, hitting .348 in 334 plate appearances with 97 hits, 16 doubles, two triples, 24 home runs, 74 RBI, eight stolen bases, 47 walks, 57 strikeouts, and a 1.120 OPS.
In Russell’s first season in Monclova during 2021, he hit .319 in 66 games with 82 hits, 17 doubles, two triples, eight home runs, 47 RBI, 37 walks, 43 strikeouts and a .900 OPS.
During Russell’s four seasons playing overseas in South Korea with the Kiwoom Heroes in 2020 and 2023 and with the Acereros de Monclova in Mexico from 2021-22, along with the winter leagues, he has played in 428 games with a career average of .291 in 1,381 plate appearances, with 354 hits, 66 doubles, seven triples, 43 home runs, 216 RBI, 20 stolen bases, 145 walks, 215 strikeouts, and a .831 OPS.
In Russell’s five seasons on the North Side of Chicago, he played in 615 games with a lifetime average of .242 in 2,212 plate appearances smacking 480 hits, 100 doubles, nine triples, 60 home runs, 253 RBI, 17 stolen bases, 186 walks, 532 strikeouts, and a .704 OPS.
The first game of the 2024 LMB regular season is scheduled for April 11, with the Diablos Rojos del México traveling to Puebla, Mexico, to take on the Pericos de Puebla at Estadio Hermanos Serdán.
The Acereros de Monclova will play their first game of the 2024 season on April 12 against the Tecolotes de los Dos Laredos on the road. It has not yet been announced by the Tecos de los Dos Laredos organization if that game will be played at Uni-Trade Stadium in Laredo, Texas, or at Parque La Junta, in Nuevo Laredo, Tamaulipas, Mexico.