By Matthew Tallarini
World Baseball Network
The Liga Mexicana de Beisbol held an expansion draft for the league’s two new franchises, the Dorados de Chihuahua and the Conspiradores de Queretaro, on Tuesday.
Both organizations selected 18 players during the expansion draft. All 18 LMB teams can have 35 players on the active roster.
The Dorados de Chihuahua and Conspiradores de Querétaro will be able to negotiate contracts directly with the players selected in the draft, and can sign free agent professionals before the start of the 2024 regular season.
The first game of the 2024 Liga Mexicana de Beisbol regular season will feature the Diablos Rojos del México against the Pericos de Puebla at Estadio de Béisbol Hermanos Serdán on April 11.
The rest of the 2024 Liga Mexicana de Beisbol season will open on April 12. Each team will play 93 regular season games. The Dorados de Chihuahua will play on the road on April 12 against the Algodoneros de Unión Laguna at Estadio Revolución in Torreon, Mexico. The Conspiradores de Querétaro will travel to Cancun on April 12 to take on the Tigres de Quintana Roo.
El Estadio de Béisbol Los Conspiradores will be the home of the Conspiradores de Querétaro and is located in Rancho la Mora, Querétaro, México. The Dorados de Chihuahua will play their home games at Estadio Chihuahua in Chihuahua, Mexico.
The Conspiradores organization will play in the Zona del Sur division in the 2024 regular season.
On Nov. 8, 2022, the Liga Mexicana de Beisbol announced the launch of the Conspiradores de Queretaro organization, which is owned by Querétaro businessman Francisco Orozco. Until 2022, Orozco owned 40% of the shares in the Algodoneros de Unión Laguna franchise in LMB.
The LMB currently operates the Dorados franchise, with Anwar Mauricio Elías Ortiz serving as team president and Álvaro Solís the Sports Director. The Dorados return to the LMB’s Zona del Norte for the first time since the 2010 season.
The Dorados have played in the Liga Estatal de Béisbol de Chihuahua and have won 15 championship titles.
Listed below are the 36 players selected over the 18 rounds of the expansion draft.
2024 LMB Expansion Draft (LMB organization)
QRO – Conspiradores de Querétaro
CHI – Dorados de Chihuahua
Round 1
QRO – Matt Clark – OF (Toros de Tijuana)
CHI – Ichiro Cano – IF (Diablos Rojos del México)
Round 2
QRO – José Vargas – IF (Leones de Yucatán)
CHI – Amadeo Zazueta – IF (Toros de Tijuana)
Round 3
QRO – Adrian Gusman – P (Sultanes de Monterrey)
CHI – Luis Alfonso Cruz – IF (Generales de Durango)
Round 4
QRO – Sebastian Lizárraga – C (Tigres de Quintana Roo)
CHI – Ariel Gracia – RP (Guerreros de Oaxaca)
Round 5
QRO – Miguel Peña – P (El Águila de Veracruz)
CHI – Ruddy Acosta – P (Pericos de Puebla)
Round 6
QRO – Nathanael Santiago – SP (Diablos Rojos del México)
CHI – José Juan Aguilar – OF (El Águila de Veracruz)
Round 7
QRO – Beder Gutiérrez – OF (Tecolotes de Dos Laredos)
CHI – Jose Augusto Figueroa – OF (Generales de Durango)
Round 8
QRO – Linder Castro – RP (Saraperos de Saltillo)
CHI – Oziel Flores – IF (Guerreros de Oaxaca)
Round 9
QRO – Kenneth Sigman – P (Saraperos de Saltillo)
CHI – Efrén Nieves – OF (Tigres de Quintana Roo)
Round 10
QRO – Iván Salas – P (Sultanes de Monterrey)
CHI – Kevin Zamudio – C (Rieleros de Aguascalientes)
Round 11
QRO – Yosmany Guerra – IF (Piratas de Campeche)
CHI – Rogelio Martínez – P (Piratas de Campeche)
Round 12
QRO – Bradley González – P (Leones de Yucatan)
CHI – Amílcar Gaxiola – P (Charros de Jalisco)
Round 13
QRO – Kyle Kasser – IF (Acereros de Monclova)
CHI – Ramón Ramírez – OF (Charros de Jalisco)
Round 14
QRO – Casey Coleman – P (Leones de Yucatan)
CHI – Raúl de los Reyes – P (Rieleros de Aguascalientes)
Round 15
QRO – Fabián Muñiz – P (Pericos de Puebla)
CHI – Bryan Menéndez – P (Algodoneros de Unión Laguna)
Round 16
QRO – Francisco Ferreiro – OF (Algodoneros de Unión Laguna)
CHI – Ángel Chavarín – C (Leones de Yucatan)
Round 17
QRO – Francisco Rivera – IF (Olmecas de Tabasco)
CHI – Estevan Vega – P (Acereros de Monclova)
Round 18
QRO – Issmael Salas – IF (Olmecas de Tabasco)
CHI – Luis Diego Rodríguez – IF (Tecolotes de Dos Laredos)