Jose Rondon of the Toros de Tijuana looks on during the second inning of first playoff game between Toros de Tijuana and Saraperos de Saltillo as part of Liga Mexicana de Beisbol 2023 at Chevron Stadium on August 9, 2023 in Tijuana, Mexico. (Photo by Gonzalo Gonzalez/Jam Media/Getty Images)
The Diablos Rojos del Mexico organization signed Venezuelan infielder Jose Rondon, the franchise announced on Wednesday.
“La locura” 💥 José Rondón está en la casa 💣🇻🇪😮💨 ¡BIENVENIDO! pic.twitter.com/8iJygBVckT
— DiablosRojosMX (@DiablosRojosMX) March 13, 2024
Rondon will play in his second season in Mexico after playing the 2023 season with the Toros de Tijuana.
Rondon, 30, was born in Villa de Cura, Venezuela, and played four seasons in Major League Baseball with the San Diego Padres in 2016, the Chicago White Sox from 2018-2019, the Baltimore Orioles in 2019, and the St. Louis Cardinals in 2021.
Rondon signed a minor league contract with the New York Mets on January 18, which included an invite to MLB camp. He was released by the Mets on March 11.
Rondon could not report to Mets camp due to visa problems, Daniel Alvarez-Montes of El Extrabase stated on March 12.
Lamentablemente fue negada la visa a José Rondón y por eso los #Mets lo dejaron en libertad.
Eso queda a discreción de la embajada estadounidense en donde la haya tramitado.
Es lamentable. Deberá seguir trabajando y buscando una nueva oportunidad. La merece.
— Daniel Álvarez-Montes (@DanielAlvarezEE) March 12, 2024
Last winter league season, Rondon played with the Leones del Caracas in Liga Venezolana de Beisbol Profesional and hit .338 in 36 games and 247 plate appearances, with 72 hits, 17 doubles, one triple, 14 home runs, 42 RBI, 28 walks, and 39 strikeouts.
Rondon played in 72 games during his first season in Mexico with Tijuana, hitting .286 over 315 plate appearances with 77 hits, 15 doubles, 11 home runs, 41 RBI, six stolen bases, 36 walks, 55 strikeouts, and an .832 OPS.
Rondon landed on the 15-day injured list last season on June 3, 2023, and was later activated on June 20, 2023, according to his MLB profile.
Rondon played in the 2023 Caribbean Series in Caracas, Venezuela, with the 2022-23 LVBP champion Leones del Caracas. He played in nine games and batted .345, scoring six runs, smacking 10 hits, one double, two home runs, 15 RBI, six walks, and 10 strikeouts.
During the 2022-23 winter league season with the Leones del Caracas, Rondon played in 54 games, hitting .330 over 234 plate appearances with 66 hits, 12 doubles, two triples, 11 home runs, 43 RBI, 31 walks, 48 strikeouts, and a .994 OPS.
He played in 28 games with the Leones del Caracas in the 2021-22 regular season and batted .290 with 31 hits, four doubles, one triple, three home runs, 21 RBI, 12 walks, and 30 strikeouts.
Rondon last played in the Majors during the 2021 season with St. Louis, spending a portion of the year at Triple-A Memphis. With Memphis, Rondon played in 21 games batting .235 with 20 hits, three doubles, six home runs, 19 RBI, eight walks, and 22 strikeouts. With the Cardinals, Rondon hit .263, playing in 63 games with 21 hits, three doubles, three home runs, nine RBI, eight walks, 17 strikeouts, and a .735 OPS.
In his four seasons in MLB, Rondon has a career average of .216in 169 games with 75 hits, 12 doubles, 12 home runs, 33 RBI, 27 walks, 89 strikeouts, and a 1.037 OPS.
Rondon has played in 374 games in eight seasons in Venezuela’s LVBP with the Navegantes del Magallanes in 2014-15 and 2016-17, the Tigres de Aragua from 2016-18, and the Leones del Caracas in 2018-19 and from 2020-24, posting a career average of .294 with 379 hits, 74 doubles, nine triples, 52 home runs, 230 RBI, 15 stolen bases, 151 walks, 254 strikeouts, and a .856 OPS.
The first game of the 2024 LMB regular season is scheduled for April 11 when the Diablos Rojos del México travel to Puebla, Mexico, to take on the Pericos de Puebla at Estadio Hermanos Serdán. The game start times have not yet been announced. The other 18 LMB franchises will begin their season on April 12.