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LIDOM: Tatis, Estrellas Aim For Caribbean Series; Escogido Adds Two Pitchers

Leif SkodnickSep 24, 20255 MIN READ
LIDOM: Tatis, Estrellas Aim For Caribbean Series; Escogido Adds Two Pitchers

The Estrellas Orientales have won three league titles since their founding in 1910.

That’s one every 38 1/3 years, roughly, which makes the Estrellas somewhat akin to the curse-stricken Boston Red Sox or Chicago Cubs of Major League Baseball or the Brooklyn Dodgers of the 1940s, who gave fans the rallying cry of “Wait ’til next year!”

But Estrellas manager Fernando Tatis Sr. thinks next year is this year.

“This season we’re going to the Caribbean Series,” Tatis told the Estrellas’ website on Monday as the team trained at Estadio Tetelo Vargas in San Pedro de Macoris, Dominican Republic. “We have all the tools to be champions, and today we gave a great signal: many of our best players have been training since day one.”

In 2019, the Estrellas made their only appearance at the Caribbean Series after winning their third LIDOM title. They went 3-1 in Group B but lost a tiebreaker to Panama’s Toros de Herrera, who advance to the championship game.

But winter ball’s biggest prize is always the goal in San Pedro, even if the stars don’t shine as brightly ever years. Tatis is trying to brighten their shine, getting players in town early to put in the early work that builds a foundation for championships later in the season.

He’s got a new catcher in town in Francisco Pena, the son of Major League Baseball veteran Tony Pena, a solid outfielder in Magneuris Sierra, and a power bat in Miguel Sano.

His team went 30-20 and won the regular season last year, but didn’t make the finals after going 5-10 in the 18-game round robin playoff, which ends when two teams have been eliminated.

With a shored-up pitching staff, the Estrellas mentality is focused on winning in LIDOM and then winning in Caracas. Among the additions is Esmil Rogers, who signed with the Estrellas in the offseason after joining the club as a reinforcement for the playoffs when his Toros del Este were eliminated.

“We’ll have a top-notch pitching staff, with guys who are from this league,” Rogers said to the Estrellas website on Monday. “Last year, we were affected by the fact that some of our kids were stopped (by their US organizations)… This time, we’ll have several pitchers who won’t have any restrictions to work in the Dominican League.”

The Estrellas have also added last year’s LIDOM Pitcher of the Year, Enny Romero, who posted a 1.24 ERA over 51 innings of work across 10 starts with 47 strikeouts and 19 walks.

The foundation is there. In three weeks, they’ll open the season at home against the Toros del Este, taking the first step on what they hope will be a journey that will take them to Caracas.

MLB Veteran Jorge Lopez Signs With Licey – Journeyman lefty Jorge Lopez, who has played with seven MLB clubs in 10 seasons, is returning to winter ball for the first time since the 2019-20 season, when he pitched for the Indios de Mayaguez in his native Puerto Rico. Primarily a reliever in MLB, Lopez has thrown 557 2/3 innings in 308 appearances with a 5.31 ERA, a 1.454 WHIP, and 485 strikeouts against just 217 walks, and was an American League All-Star in 2022, a season he split between the Baltimore Orioles and Minnesota Twins with a 2.54 ERA in 71 innings. He was the runner-up for the 2017 Pitcher of the Year award in LIDOM, throwing 68 2/3 innings with a 2.49 ERA and 1.15 WHIP, striking out 50 batters and walking 17 in 13 starts for the Aguilas Cibaenas.

Grant Gavin, Norge Ruiz Will Pitch For Escogido – Grant Gavin, who pitched the last two winters with the Algodoneros de Guasave in the Liga ARCO Mexicana del Pacifico, will join the Leones del Escogido this winter, alongside former Oakland Athletics pitcher Norge Ruiz.

Gavin has a 3.93 career ERA in the LAMP, throwing 66 1/3 innings over 21 appearances and 12 starts with Guasave, posting a 1.252 WHIP and 67 strikeouts against 28 walks.

Ruiz, a native of Havana, Cuba, pitched in the 2014 and 2015 Caribbean Series for Cuba, throwing 12 innings in three appearances over the two series, allowing six earned runs on 19 hits and three walks while striking out six. He’s two seasons in LIDOM, making his debut in 2016-17 with the Aguilas Cibaenas, making three starts and throwing 14 1/3 innings with a 3.77 ERA. He returned to the D.R. in 2020-21 with the Estrellas Orientales, throwing 1 1/3 innings and allowing three earned runs on five hits in two appearances. Last winter, pitching in the LAMP for the Sultanes de Monterrey, he posted a 4.79 ERA and 1.213 WHIP in 47 innings of work, striking out 24 and walking 12.

Photo: Estrellas Orientales’ Miguel Sano reacts after scoring in the third inning against Cardenales de Lara during the Choque De Gigantes baseball tournament, Friday, Nov. 8, 2024, in Miami. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)

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