Two former Major Leaguers will be headed to the Caliente de Durango for the summer season in Mexico.
Starter Odrisamer Despaigne and reliever Clayton Andrews have both signed with the Caliente, bolstering the pitching staff in Durango after a 39-54 record last year and a ninth place finish in the Zona Norte. Durango hasn’t had a team make the LMB playoffs in 48 years.
“I feel great and I’m here to help the team. I have no limits on my pitching; I’ll be pitching as long as the manager wants me, as long as the team needs me, I’ll be there, six (innings), seven or eight, however many it takes. I’m here to support the team; I think we have a great group and we’re going to do great things,” Despaigne said in a team-issued press release.
Despaigne had a 2.95 ERA in 12 starts and 73 1/3 innings pitched with Obregon over the winter and earned the win in the Tomateros de Culiacan’s 2-1 win against Panama on Feb. 3 at the Caribbean Series, allowing one run on five hits over six innings, walking one and striking out four.
A native of Cuba, Despaigne played in Major League Baseball from 2014-19, jumping around between five organizations after leaving the Cuban delegation at the 2013 World Port Tournament in the Netherlands. He became a legal resident of Spain, then traveled to Mexico to play in the Liga ARCO Mexicana del Pacifico’s 2013-14 season. That year, with Aguilas De Mexicali, he started two games, recording a 3.38 ERA in eight innings, allowing six hits, walking four batters, and striking out four batters in his first season outside of Cuba.
Andrews, 29, made five relief appearances in Major League Baseball, four with the Milwaukee Brewers in 2023 and one with the New York Yankees in 2024, throwing 3 2/3 innings and allowing 11 runs, 10 of them earned, on 10 hits. Last year with the Tigres de Quintana Roo, he pitched 47 1/3 innings with a 4.18 ERA, striking out 56 and walking 19, and was selected to the 2025 LMB All-Star Game at Alfredo Harp Helú Stadium.
Murillo to Tabasco – Veteran infielder Agustin Murillo is headed to Tabasco after the Olmecas acquired his rights.
He has previously played in the LMB with the Sultanes de Monterrey, Bravos de León, Toros de Tijuana, Leones de Yucatán, Conspiradores de Querétaro, Dorados de Chihuahua and Tigres de Quintana Roo, compiling more than 1600 hits, and has 142 home runs, 817 RBIs and 945 runs scored in his career.
Photo: Cuban-born starter Odrisamer Despaigne will play in Durango this summer. (Photo courtesy of LAMP)
