APBN Roundup: Gigantes Signs Freddy Zamora; Roel Santos joins Dantos

The Asociación Profesional de Béisbol Nicaragüense is gearing up for a regular season set to begin Dec. 3, and teams are making impact moves ahead of opening day.

Indios del Bóer sign longtime NPB pitcher- On Saturday, the Indios del Bóer announced the signing of pitcher Chihaya Sasaki. The 32-year-old will arguably be the most accomplished pitcher in Nicaragua’s winter league.

Sasaki pitched for the Chiba Lotte Marines and DeNA BayStars over nine seasons, making his NPB debut with the Marines in 2017. He appeared in 159 games at the top level of Japanese baseball, posting a 3.26 ERA over 270 2/3 innings. He pitched five innings for the BayStars this past season and did not allow a run.

Freddy Zamora to play winter ball for the first time- Brewers 2020 second-round draft pick Freddy Zamora will get his first taste of winter ball this year after signing with Gigantes de Rivas.

Zamora became a free agent after spending six seasons in the minor leagues in Milwaukee‘s organization. He reached as high as Triple-A. In 2026, he posted a .642 OPS with three home runs and 17 RBIs while providing steady defense at shortstop.

Los Dantos sign Roel Santos- In their debut season in the APBN, Los Dantos have signed six Cuban reinforcements. The most notable of those additions is Roel Santos.

The 39-year-old outfielder has played 14 seasons in Cuba’s Serie Nacional, seven seasons in the Liga Mexicana de Béisbol, one season in Japan in 2017 and seven seasons of winter ball in the Dominican Republic, Mexico and Venezuela.

Santos has represented Cuba in the past three World Baseball Classic tournaments and brings a wealth of experience to Los Dantos.

A longtime powerhouse in Nicaragua’s Germán Pomares league, Los Dantos will look to carry that success into the winter league. Santos is one of the club’s key additions as it prepares for the season.

Two-time defending champions strengthen roster with American outfielder- Leones de León have won the championship in each of the past two seasons. In their quest for a three-peat, they have strengthened their roster with the addition of American outfielder Patrick Hilson.

Originally selected by the San Francisco Giants in the sixth round of the 2018 MLB Draft, Hilson spent eight seasons in the minor leagues between the Giants’ and Pittsburgh Pirates’ organizations.

He posted a .715 OPS in 509 career minor league games, recording 55 home runs and 227 RBIs. In 2026, Hilson reached Triple-A for the first time in his career with Pittsburgh’s organization. After hitting .167/.324/.300 with one home run in 12 games, he was released in July.

Hilson subsequently signed with Lexington of the Atlantic League. In just 31 games, he hit 12 home runs, drove in 32 runs and stole 12 bases. His 1.165 OPS would have ranked second in the league had he accumulated enough at-bats to qualify.

Hilson will look to help Leones capture an unprecedented third consecutive championship.