The 2025 Serie del Rey gets underway Wednesday evening in Mexico City, with the defending Zaachila Cup champion Diablos Rojos del Mexico hosting the Charros de Jalisco in the opener of the championship series of the Liga Mexicana de Beisbol.
South of the border, the LMB, which plays in the summer, is one of two major leagues in Mexico, along with the Liga ARCO Mexicana del Pacifico, the country’s winter league. The 20-team LMB is celebrating its 100th season in 2025, and with the contraction of the Major League Baseball-affiliated minor leagues in 2020 and the LMB allowing up to 20 players from outside Mexico on each team, more players with MLB and Triple-A experience are choosing to play in the LMB to extend their careers or try and prove they still have what it takes to make it back to MLB.
If you’re new to the LMB, here are 10 players to watch during this year’s Serie del Rey.
Robinson Cano, 2B/DH, Diablos Rojos del Mexico – At 42, Cano, a veteran of 18 MLB seasons, is no longer playing for the money, because even the handsome sum a player of his caliber commands in the LMB is nothing compared to what he made as a Major Leaguer. But the former New York Yankees second baseman comes to the ballpark every day, year-round, with a smile on his face, determined to win a second championship in Mexico’s capital. He won the LMB batting title and was league MVP last year as a 41-year-old with a spectacular .431 average, and batted .372 in the regular season this year as the Diablos cruised through the regular season. He’d love to lift the Zaachila Cup and win his second championship in eight months before heading home to the Dominican Republic and his hometown Estrellas Orientales in the LIDOM for the winter.
Willie Calhoun, DH, Charros de Jalisco – Calhoun played 369 MLB games over seven seasons with the Texas Rangers, San Francisco Giants, New York Yankees, and Los Angeles Angels, but more than half of those seasons toiling in the relative obscurity of Triple-A. After playing 68 games in MLB with the Angels last year, he came to Mexico with the Tigres de Quintana Roo and joined the Charros late in the season, driving in an astonishing 19 runs in nine regular season games, and is batting .377/.458/.667 with six homers and 17 RBIs in 19 playoff games.
Jose Marmolejos, 1B, Diablos Rojos del Mexico – The former Seattle Mariner won the Caribbean Series with the Leones del Escogido of LIDOM in February, and joins Cano in the opportunity to win his second title this year. With 11 RBIs and a .410 on-base percentage, Marmolejos creates opportunities for the Diablos every night.
Trevor Clifton, P, Charros de Jalisco – Clifton played for the Charros during the LAMP season over the winter, saving 10 games in 26 regular season appearances and earning three saves at the Caribbean Series. A solid reliever, Clifton rose to Triple-A in the Chicago Cubs’ organization before coming to Mexico for the first time in 2021 with the Acereros de Monclova. He started the year with the Diablos Rojos before coming over to the Charros, where he ran into some difficulty in nine regular season appearances, posting a 14.00 ERA in nine innings in Guadalajara. He’s been solid in the playoffs, though, earning seven saves in 11 appearances.
Tomohiro Anraku, P, Diablos Rojos del Mexico – Now in his second season with the Diablos, Anraku has shut down the opposition in the playoffs. Over 11 appearances and 12 1/3 innings, Anraku has 0.73 ERA with 12 strikeouts and no walks. At just 28 years of age, Anraku still has plenty left in his arm, and his sensation performance in the playoffs might earn him another chance in NPB in his native Japan, where he played nine seasons for the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles.
Mateo Gil, SS, Charros de Jalisco – Charros manager Benji Gil’s son continues to run hot and cold, as he did during his minor league career in the Cardinals, Rockies, and Mets organizations. After a stellar winter with the Charros in the LAMP where he batted .312 over 128 at-bats, Gil cooled off a bit, batting .292 against the weaker pitching in the LMB, but had nine homers and 62 RBIs. At just 24, Gil has age on his side, and we may not have seen the last of him in affiliated baseball.
Brooks Hall, P, Diablos Rojos del Mexico – There aren’t many guys as well-traveled as Brooks Hall, who has played in three of the four CBPC winter leagues — he hasn’t played in the LAMP, at least not yet — as well as three MLB organizations and the Chinese Professional Baseball League. He’s made five playoff starts with a 5.31 ERA over 23 1/3 innings, and a solid start or two from Hall would go a long way for the Reds in the Serie del Rey.
Zac Grotz, P, Charros de Jalisco – If you had to compare Grotz to any other player in the LMB, the best comparison, at least statistically, might be Brooks Hall. The San Mateo, California-native battled his way to earning 19 MLB appearances with Seattle in 2019 and 2020, playing in three MLB organizations and four different independent league teams before catching on with the Mariners. Like Clifton, he started the season with the Diablos Rojos, and will face his former team with a chance to win a title at their expense, which undoubtedly adds fuel to his competitive fire.
Carlos Sepulveda, 2B, Diablos Rojos del Mexico – With a .467 on-base percentage through the playoffs and 16 runs scored, Sepulveda is a big part of the Diablos’ offense. He has 14 walks and 14 hits in the postseason, and four stolen bases in five attempts.
Josh Fuentes, OF, Charros de Jalisco – The former Colorado Rockies outfielder is batting over 100 percentage points higher in the postseason than he did during the regular season, and has had several clutch hits for the Charros. He’s driven in 17 runs in the postseason, and if he continues to hit when it matters most, he could be the reason the Charros win the Zaachila Cup.
Where to Watch – All LMB games can be streamed live on MLB.tv for a fee.
2025 Serie del Rey Schedule
All times Eastern Daylight Time
* – If necessary
September 10
9 p.m. – Charros de Jalisco at Diablos Rojos del Mexico – Game 1
September 11
9 p.m. – Charros de Jalisco at Diablos Rojos del Mexico – Game 2
September 13
8 p.m. – Diablos Rojos del Mexico at Charros de Jalisco – Game 3
September 14
7 p.m. – Diablos Rojos del Mexico at Charros de Jalisco – Game 4
September 15
9:30 p.m. – Diablos Rojos del Mexico at Charros de Jalisco – Game 5*
September 17
9 p.m. – Charros de Jalisco at Diablos Rojos del Mexico – Game 6*
September 18
9 p.m. – Charros de Jalisco at Diablos Rojos del Mexico – Game 7*
Photo: Robinson Cano continues to play a key role for the Diablos Rojos del Mexico at age 42. (Photo courtesy of the Diablos Rojos del Mexico)
