Team Mexico - MLB 2025

[jasg224]

Every year I do a solo game where I play out all the games for my team. I usually manage teams or players I like, such as the Toronto Blue Jays or the Los Angeles Angels with Trout and Ohtani. This year I've decided to do something a bit different.


I've relocated the Athletics to Ciudad de México. The team will be owned by billionaire Carlos Slim, but we'll have to see if an $85 billion net-worth makes any difference when we're limited to signing only Mexican or Mexican-American players. The team will play in Estadio Alfredo Harp Helú, a new (it was built in 2019) stadium with 20 thousand seats. I've released all players in the Athletics organization and moved all the Mexican players I could find to our club. Meet the Atléticos de México!



SP1 - L - Samy Nátera Jr. - 25, from Ciudad Juárez, Chih.
Nátera was drafted by the Angels in the 17th round of the 2022 draft. He'll be our Opening Day starter here after an amazing showing in 2024; Nátera allowed a single run in 15 innings pitching at the A+ level.



SP2 - L - Alemao Hernández - 25, from Guadalajara, Jal.
Formerly of the Dodgers and Nationals organization, Alemao pitched for the Diablos del México in 2024. Through 41 innings, he held a 5.05 ERA and 1.63 WHIP. He was also part of a champion Charros de Jalisco squad in the Liga Mexicana del Pacífico, where he had a 3.75 ERA in 11 starts.



SP3 - R - Adrián Martínez - 28, from Mexicali, B.C.
A familiar face, Martínez played his entire MLB career for the Athletics. He has a 5.51 ERA and 1.47 WHIP after 112.2 innings between 2022 and 2023. He was released after 22 innings and an 11.05 ERA in AAA in 2024.



SP4 - R - Taijuan Walker - 32, from Shreveport, USA
Walker was a member of team México during the 2023 World Baseball Classic. He allowed no runs in a 4-inning start before being pulled. I suspect that the Phillies will be happy we took the $36M remaining of his contract, while we hope his 2025 is similar to how he's pitching in real life.



SP5 - R - Valente Bellozo - 25, from Mexicali, B.C.
Bellozo made his debut for the Marlins last year, and has so far started 15 games in his young MLB career. His 3.52 ERA and 1.34 WHIP so far shows he has some promise and we'll be hoping for a similar or better performance.



STP - R - Andrés Muñoz - 26, from Los Mochis, Sin.
Muñoz is clearly the most talented pitcher on the staff and we'll be looking for him to close out games and other high leverage situations. The Sinaloan flamethrower was an All-Star last year, and hasn't allowed a run in 12 innings in this one.



STP - L - JoJo Romero - 28, from Camarillo, USA
Romero was also a member of the 2023 WBC México squad, though he allowed 3 runs in the same amount of innings. He's had a 6-year MLB career, though has only thrown 140 innings. Still, he's the 2nd best reliever behind Muñoz.



STP - R - Manuel Rodríguez - 28, from Mérida, Yuc.
In 2021, Rodríguez became the first player from Yucatán to make an MLB debut. Since then, he's pitched 78 innings. Rodríguez is hoping to build on a succesful 2024 with Tampa Bay, when he had a 2.15 ERA in 40 appearances.



MR - L - Omar Cruz - 26, from Hermosillo, Son.
Cruz made his MLB debut a couple weeks ago after a 3.96 ERA season between AA and AAA in 2024. Across all levels, Cruz has a 3.67 ERA and 1.32 WHIP, hopefully he can translate his talent to the major leagues.



MR - L - Anthony Banda - 31, from Corpus Christi, USA
Banda is a 2024 World Series winner, having the best season of his career with the Dodgers. He'll be pitching for his 10th MLB team in México, and hopefully he can get another ring!



MR - R - Humberto Castellanos - 27, from Tepatitlán, Jal.
Castellanos participated in 4 MLB seasons, and is currently pitching in the Chinese Taipei league. Castellanos had a 5.23 ERA in his final season with Arizona in 2024.



MR - L - Brennan Bernardino - 33, from Valencia, USA
Between 2019-21, Bernardino pitched for Toros de Tijuana in the Mexican League. An outstanding 20-21 winter season with Charros de Jalisco, in which they were champions, earned the lefty a 2022 MLB debut with Seattle. Bernardino had a 3.09 ERA that winter, between the LMP and Caribbean Series. Since then, he's held a 3.49 ERA in the Majors.



MR - R - Jeremiah Estrada - 26, from Rancho Mirage, USA
Estrada made his MLB debut for the Cubs in 2022, amd pitched 16 innings in two years before the Padres claimed him. He had a nice 2024 season, with a 2.95 ERA in 61 innings. A nice streak could push him to replace Romero or Rodríguez as a stopper, though questions remain about his control.



C Alejandro Kirk - R/R - 26, from Tijuana, B.C.
A Silver Slugger in 2022, while his bat has gotten worst over the years, his defence has improved. Kirk is still the best Mexican catcher and he'll be starting for us. We've taken on his $62M, 5-year deal from Toronto.



C José Treviño - R/R - 32, from Corpus Christi, USA
A Golden Glove in 2022 and arguably a better catcher than Kirk, it was definitely a hard choice to leave Treviño on the bench for now. However, Kirk is a better hitter and is México-born, so that gave him the edge over Treviño for now.



1B Jonathan Aranda - L/R - 26, from Tijuana, B.C.
Aranda is tearing up the MLB with a .338/.443/.646 slash after 22 games in 2025, and we can only hope for a repeat performance in OOTP. He's not a bad defender at 1B, but we'll be using him as our daily DH for now.



1B Isaac Paredes - R/R - 26, from Hermosillo, Son.
I've taken the controversial decision to move Paredes from 3B to 1B, due to him having below-average defense there. His 72 career homers going into the 2025 season make him the 6th best Mexican hitter in this category. If he replicates his 2024 season then he'll jump into 4th place, overtaking Bobby Ávila and Erubiel Durazo. All of this at just 26 means we might be seeing the best Mexican hitter in MLB history. He's someone who likes to pull the ball, and hitting in the elevation of Mexico City could help his approach.



1B Rowdy Tellez - L/L - 29, from Elk Grove, USA
I'm not a fan of Rowdy, but he was a part of the 2023 WBC squad, delivering some big hits as México made the semifinals. His lower hitting and defense ratings keep him as our 3rd string 1B/DH.



2B Alejo López - S/R - 28, from Tijuana, B.C.
Formerly of the Cincinnati Reds, López is better as a versatile defender than as an everyday hitter. His switch hitting and speed are also helpful, so we'll use him mostly as a bench option.



2B Luis Urías - R/R - 27, from Magdalena, Son.
Urías had the talent to be one of the all-time Mexican greats, though clearly he didn't live up to the hype. He reached his peak in 2021 with Milwaukee, but he's still relatively young and a decent defender. Wicho will be our starting 2B.



3B Ramón Urías - R/R - 30, from Magdalena, Son.
Though it took Ramón longer to get to the majors than his younger brother, he's already reached him in most categories. He's also the only one with an award, earning the 2022 Golden Glove at 3B. This is also the reason I've decided to move Paredes to 1B, as Urías' combination of slightly above average hitting and defense make him our starting 3B.





SS Marcelo Mayer - L/R - 22, from Chula Vista, USA
Mayer is the 60th best prospect in the league (in-game), and he's looking ready for a debut with México. He's also the only Mexican player good enough to start at SS every day, so that's what he'll be doing for us.



LF Randy Arozarena - R/R - 30, from Mantua, CUB
His 2023 WBC will never be forgotten, and he'll be our captain here. His 2024 was a bit underwhelming after his 21-23 streak, but he's still good enough to be one of our lineup's motors.



LF Tirso Ornelas - L/R - 25, from Tijuana, B.C.
The better of the Ornelas brothers, Tirso raked in AAA through 2023, 2024 and 2025 before making his MLB debut just a couple days ago. Will this talent translate into MLB? We'll find out, though we're keeping him as an option off the bench for now.



CF Jarren Durán - L/R - 28, from Buena Park, USA
Durán has been one of the best hitters on the Red Sox these past two years, finally becoming an All-Star in 2024. He's a good all-round player and in the top 3 in our squad, making him our starting CF!



RF Alex Verdugo - L/L - 28, from Tucson, USA
Finally, we've got a player who reps México whenever he plays. Verdugo just earned a call up with Atlanta, but his place in RF with us is all but guaranteed.


MiLB Players to keep an eye on
RHP Jeter Martínez (#119 prospect) - AA
LF Alejandro Osuna (#149 prospect) - AAA
RHP Humberto Cruz - A+
1B Joey Meneses - AAA
2B Jared Serna - AAA
LF Luis González - AAA
LF Alek Thomas - AAA
RHP Christian Romero - AA
RHP Manuel Rodríguez - AA
C Brandon Valenzuela - AA
2B Rosman Verdugo - AA

[jasg224]

Timely hitting gives Seattle the edge over México
March 27, 2025

Three runs in the 8th make all the difference as Seattle start off their 2025 with their right foot. A JP Crawford single gave the Mariners the lead in a 6-3 Opening Day win!

After a great start from Logan Gilbert prevented México from getting a hit in the first 3 innings, Jarren Duran lead off the 4th with a single. A stolen base allowed Randy Arozarena to drive him in, with México taking the lead 1-0. A repeat of the at-bat gave México a 2-run lead, though this time it was Ramón Urías who brought Arozarena to the plate, after the left fielder stole second. Paredes made it a 3-run game with a deep double, though Gilbert managed to stifle the offense and get consecutive outs to end the inning.

Samy Nátera had a nice outing, until he allowed a leadoff double for Luke Raley in the 6th. Marcelo Mayer couldn't find the ball, allowing Julio Rodríguez to reach first base on an error. Another double, this time from Cal Raleigh, cut the Mariner deficit to just one run. Nátera got Dylan Moore to ground out before striking out Polanco, but lefty JP Crawford proved to be too much for him, earning a single after a 7-pitch battle. Anthony Banda replaced Nátera to face Ryan Bliss, but Bliss lined one out to right field for a game-tying double!

After hanging a 0 in the 7th, Manuel Rodríguez was replaced by JoJo Romero with the game still 3-3 in the 8th. Romero walked Raleigh, but struck out Moore for the first out. Polanco's infield hit allowed Raleigh to take second, and the 8th was already looking shaky for Romero. Andrés Muñoz was ordered to warmup in the Atléticos bullpen, but he couldn't get ready in time. Consecutive singles from Crawford, Bliss and Williamson ended up giving the Mariners a three-run lead. Gregory Santos looked as shaky as Romero, filling the bases with 2 outs in the 9th. However, Santos struck out Mayer on three pitches to seal an Opening Day win for the Seattle Mariners!
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The OOTP gods gave us another shot at an Opening Day win, but it clearly wasn't to be despite Nátera pitching wonderfully on his MLB debut. The top of our lineup is clearly nothing to scoff at. When Sandoval, Assad and Urquidy return from the IL, we'll be looking more like a .500 team. I've also increased the likelihood of Mexican players appearing in the draft, IAFA and international FA, just so we keep a steady flow of players (good or bad) coming through our ranks.

[jksander]

Ugh that sucks Interesting idea ...

[jasg224]

Originally Posted by jksander

Ugh that sucks Interesting idea ...

Thankfully, I had saved just after completing the restructuring of the organization I only had to replay the first two games of the season, even if the results weren't much different.

[jasg224]

México finally win!
April 8, 2025

Marcelo Mayer's double in the 4th gave México a lead that they didn't give up. The Atléticos are now 1-11 in 2025. The 5-11 loss against the Padres in the series opener made them the 6th team in MLB history to begin the season 0-11.

Fernando Tatis Jr. gave the Padres an early 1-run lead in the 1st, and it seemed like it would be an 0-11 start for México. With runners on 2nd and 3rd, Isaac Paredes tied the game up with a single in the bottom of the 1st.

Despite several hits from both sides, the game remained 1-1 until the bottom of the 4th. There, with the bases loaded, Marcelo Mayer drove a double to center-right that allowed Aranda and Luis Urías to score, giving México a 3-1 lead. Tirso Ornelas would bring another run home with a single and a ground ball from Jarren Durán allowed Marcelo Mayer himself to score. It was 5-1 México going into the 5th!

Despite allowing 8 hits and a walk, Alemao Hernández allowed just the run in the 1st before being pulled after 5 and a third. JoJo Romero had a clean outing, his 4th consecutive scoreless appearance, before the bats took over again in the 6th inning. Tirso Ornelas hit another RBI single, Jarren Duran had an RBI double, Ramón Urías hit a sac-fly and Isaac Paredes tacked another one on top to make it 9-1.

Manuel Rodríguez, Jeremiah Estrada and Anthony Banda closed out the game without allowing another Padre to cross the plate. It was a team effort, but México have finally pulled off their first win!
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I genuinely thought we were never going to win a game, but we've finally done it! Now it's just a matter of doing this again. Like I've said, our bats will see us through, though they've had somewhat of a quiet start. Our rotation is also clearly not good enough and I'm aching for Javier Assad to be healthy. The defense is good enough for our pitchers to pitch to contact, and that's what I've been doing recently, though with mixed results. We've had some tough results, a pair of 4-5 losses against Colorado and a 2-3 loss to the Cubs signals that close games just aren't going our way. If we can turn a few of those to wins I'll be happy even when we finish in last place.

[jasg224]

México get first series win!
April 9, 2025

Randy Arozarena's 5th inning double makes all the difference as México edge past San Diego for their second straight win. Adrián Martínez gets his first win and Andrés Muñoz gets hist first save in 2025. México move to 2-11 on the season.

México came out swinging, with Marcelo Mayer leading off the game with a triple before Luis Urías' 2-run homer gave México an early lead. The next inning, Mayer himself got an RBI on a double that gave México a 3-run lead.

Jackson Merrill and JD Martinez brought San Diego back, with the top of the 3rd ending 2-3 in favor of México.

Luis Urías used his speed in the 5th, scoring all the way from 1st base on a Randy Arozarena double. This run was the difference maker, giving México a win despite Xander Bogaerts hitting a homer in the 6th.

Adrián Martínez was pulled after 7 innings, giving up 9 hits and 3 earned runs. He also struck out 3 opponents. Manuel Rodríguez got a hold and Andrés Muñoz got his first save of the season, striking out one. The Atléticos move to 2-11, while the Padres are 4-9.
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Clutch hitting, decent defense and having some good bullpen arms give us our first series win! Fun Fact: In 1951, the New York Giants started the season 2-11 and then went on to play in the World Series! I'm under no illusion, we're not a good team, but it's fun to be on a (2-game) winning streak. Some of our bats have woken up: Isaac Paredes was hitting .182 but has 7 hits in the last 4 games; Marcelo Mayer is having a great start with a .333/.362/.511 slash. If we could get on base more (our .302 team OBP is 8th best), we should be able to win some more games.