Two more Cubans, Maikel Serrano ( Saraperos de Saltillo) and Yolbert Sánchez (Leones de Yucatán) will join Liga Mexicana de Béisbol teams and up the numbers of their countrymen playing this summer in the Aztec circuit. With Spring Training around corner Cubans are popping up on LMB rosters all over the place.
This will be the first experience in the LMB for Sánchez, the only other Latin American League he played in was in Serie Nacional for three seasons with the Piratas de La Isla de la Juventud and Industriales; in addition to also playing in the minor leagues for five years with the White Sox and the Braves.
In 2019 he joined the Chicago White Sox, after leaving Cuba, the same year he debuted in the Dominican Summer League, where he hit .297, in 29 games he had 33 hits in and 111 at-bats. In 2022 he was ranked as the 16th prospect in the Chicago farm system by Baseball America. He went through all the levels of the teams minor league system, arriving at Charlotte Knights (Triple A) in 2023 where he hit .271 with 110 hits, 14 doubles and a home run in 406 at-bats.
Last October Serrano was traded from the Jalisco to Saltillo. This will be the fifth season for the slugger in Mexico, after a three-year stay with the Olmecas de Tabasco and one with the Charros. During his four seasons in the LMB, Serrano saw action has in a total of 248 games. In 846 at-bats he has hit 262 hits (53 doubles, eight triples and 22 home runs) for and hits .310 over that span. He has also knocked in a total of 131 runs, scored 126 and slashed .383/.508/.891.
Cubans signings in the Liga Mexicana de Béisbol for 2025:
Adeiny Hechavarría IF (Tabasco)
Ariel Miranda LHP (Tabasco)
Osday Silva OF (Tabasco)
Félix Pérez OF (Tabasco)
Roel Santos OF ( Tabasco)
Yoennis Yera LHP (Tabasco)
Luis Avilés Jr OF (Tabasco)
Yoelkis Guibert OF (Saltillo)
Maikel Serrano IF-OF (Saltillo)
José Ramón Rodríguez RHP (Veracruz)
Odrisamer Despaigne RHP (Yucatán)
Elían Leyva RHP (Yucatán)
Yadir Drake OF-1B (Yucatán)
Yolbert Sánchez IF (Yucatán)
Lázaro Alonso 1B (Durango)
Ronald Bolaños RHP (Oaxaca)
Frank Abel Álvarez RHP (Oaxaca)
Yunesky Maya RHP (Campeche)
Richard Guasch RHP (Aguascalientes)
Peter O’Brien OF (Puebla)*
*Cuban-American