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lukeswritings · 29 days ago

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Players Having Standout Seasons in LIDOM

It is almost playoff time in the Dominican Winter League as the Liga de Béisbol Profesional de la República Dominicana (better known as LIDOM) is in its final week of the regular season. The period between Christmas and New Year’s is always a little dry in baseball, so it seems like a good time to look back and review some of the most impressive players of the LIDOM season. This list will include former, current, and non-big leaguers. It can also be a fun reminder of some players you may have forgotten.

Leury García, INF/OF - Gigantes del Cibao

The 33-year-old utilityman is probably best known for signing a three-year, $16.5 million contract in the 2021-22 offseason with the White Sox but only playing one lackluster season of the deal and getting released in March 2023. He's back in the winter league for a second consecutive season after spending this past year in the Braves organization, but played in 27 minor league games before landing on the restricted list in May for the rest of the season. García has cooled down from a hot start with Los Gigantes but is still hitting .288 and leading the team in hits. He's also tied for the team lead in runs batted in, which is impressive considering he's been used in the leadoff spot recently.

According to StripersReport on Twitter in July, García planned on playing one final season but got hurt and decided to call it quits, which explains his placement on the restricted list. While García has not officially confirmed anything, it makes sense that he's done after ten major league seasons totaling 4.2 WAR with the Rangers and White Sox.

Nabil Crismatt, RHP - Gigantes del Cibao

Crismatt just signed a minor league deal with the Phillies, who must have been watching his standout season with the Gigantes. Through 10 starts, he has a 2.34 ERA and 44 strikeouts, along with excellent control, which he has been known for throughout his lengthy professional career. Crismatt has always been a long reliever in the majors, but this performance may inspire the Phillies to stretch him out. Their rotation was solidified by the acquisition of Jesús Luzardo from the Marlins earlier this week, but he has dealt with injuries in recent seasons. The more realistic situation is that Crismatt will help round out the Triple-A rotation with the potential to be called upon if someone in the bullpen goes down with injury or is ineffective.

Anderson Pilar, RHP - Gigantes del Cibao

Pilar has been outstanding out of the bullpen for the Gigantes, adding to a strong season in the Miami Marlins' minor league system. The Braves recently selected him in the Rule 5 draft, meaning they must carry him on the active roster for the entire 2025 season, or he will be offered back to the Marlins. Pilar's strikeout stuff has been on display, as he's struck out 27 while walking just two batters in 21 innings.

He has had a rather interesting minor-league career in terms of his usage. He spent the first six seasons of his professional life in the Rockies organization, where he was strictly used as a reliever, which makes sense considering his electric 100 mph fastball. However, in 2023, they tried him out as a starter for a few games, and his command and strikeouts remained the same. One game in particular, where he threw seven hitless innings in a combined no-hitter where he struck out 13 batters, stands out. The Marlins, too, began to try him out as a starter towards the end of this past season, to similar solid results.

From an outsider's perspective, teams are not fully allowing his skills to bloom to their potential. The Braves have Ian Anderson listed as their fifth starter, but he hasn't thrown a major league pitch since 2022. The team struck gold this past season with Grant Holmes, who was signed as a minor league free agent the prior offseason and had been a reliever in the minors. The Braves moved him to the rotation, and he became essential when Reynaldo López was sidelined with right forearm inflammation in late July. It'll be interesting to see if the Braves found something similar with Pilar.

Fernando Abad, LHP - Toros del Este

The lefty reliever has pitched for 15 years with the Toros del Este. To visualize that, he's pitched through five separate U.S. presidential campaigns. He's 39 now and remains kicking with 27 strikeouts in 23 1/3 innings and a 1.16 ERA as the Toros closer. Abad has a rather interesting streak dating back to 2017, where he has pitched in the majors in only odd-numbered years. With 2025 approaching, it's all coming together, and he's doing his best to continue that trend. This performance ought to attract some suitors.

Jonathan Guzmán, INF - Leones del Escogido

Guzmán is a completely different man from his 2024 season in the Marlins system. He hit .182 across Double-A and Triple-A and was released in August. That must have been his evil twin, and now we're watching the True Jonathan because he's hitting .367 in 33 games for Escogido. This stat should be taken with a huge grain of salt because he only has 63 plate appearances, but 22 hits in that span is still quite impressive. He's a 25-year-old middle infielder, and some team should take a flyer on him in the hope that Evil Jonathan doesn't wake up.

Trevor Kelley, RHP - Leones del Escogido

A sidearming righty, Kelley spent 2024 in the Mariners organization but never got a call-up despite an excellent season at Triple-A. He's continued that into his first season in winter ball, and through 11 games out of the bullpen, he's struck out 15 and walked only two.

Kelley was a 36th-round pick in 2015 by the Red Sox and is one of just two players drafted in that round who have played in the majors, pitcher James Marvel being the other. The 36th round of the draft no longer exists, which makes Kelley's performance even more impressive. Another team will likely come calling, offering a minor league deal, and Trevor will continue the uphill climb that he has become so accustomed to.

Aderlin Rodríguez, 1B/DH - Aguilas Cibaenas

Like the previous entry, Rodríguez is a career minor leaguer who has been on the doorstep of the majors plenty of times but never was let in. He's 33 now, but the light-tower power remains for the hulking slugger. He's hitting .348 in 29 games with 8 home runs, which leads the league by a decent margin. Rodríguez has spent the past few seasons traversing the Asian and North American continents in various leagues. There's a chance another major league organization comes knocking, and if he finds the right situation, he could finally crack the big leagues — something he's tried for years but never could attain.

Luis Gonzalez, LHP - Aguilas Cibaenas

No, not that Luis Gonzalez, silly! He's never hit a walk-off against Mariano Rivera in Game 7 of the World Series. No, not that Luis Gonzalez, either. This guy isn't a slap-hitting outfielder, although they were once in the same organization a few years ago. And, no again! Not that Luis Gonzalez, as well. This guy isn't a middle infielder who played for the Rockies in the mid-2000s. We could be here for a while differentiating who this guy is, considering there have been 35 people named Luis Gonzalez who have played professional baseball. But cutting to the chase, this Luis Gonzalez is a 32-year-old left-handed reliever who has been in pro ball for 16 years without a major league appearance to his name.

Just two years ago, he was pitching for Bologna of the Italian Serie A, playing in a stadium that seats a maximum capacity of 3,000 people. On an aside, there was another guy named Luis Gonzalez on Bologna. That team went an incredible 40-4 while scoring 331 runs and allowing 71. The other Luis Gonzalez led the team in home runs. Back to the Luis Gonzalez, we're talking about, his circuitous path has led him to the Baltimore Orioles, where, for the first time in his career, he was added to the 40-man roster in November. For the Aguilas, he has a sparkling 0.77 ERA in 14 games and an 18-to-2 strikeout-to-walk ratio.

The guy who in 2022, looked destined to be just another Luis Gonzalez, is now set to finally reach the majors in 2025.

Enny Romero, LHP - Aguilas Cibaenas

Romero was recently featured in an article about his signing with the San Francisco Giants, so there isn't much different information to report. He has a very impressive 1.10 ERA in 41 innings for a team fighting for a playoff spot in the second round of the LIDOM tournament. Romero is shooting for the league's triple crown, where a pitcher leads the league in wins, ERA, and strikeouts. He's missing the strikeouts portion, with 38 to the previously mentioned Nabil Crismatt's 44. He's also chasing the league's ERA record held by Cesar Valdez in 2021-22 and looks poised to set that with his 1.24 ERA.

Jair Camargo, Tigres del Licey

The teapot-shaped catcher is showing why the Minnesota Twins like him so much for his hitting abilities with a team-leading .323 average and three jonrones over 26 games for Licey. He hasn't had much chance to play in the majors because the tandem of Ryan Jeffers and Christian Vazquez is holding down the catcher's spot for the time being. Neither player will be a free agent for at least two more seasons, so it'll be interesting to see what happens to Camargo if he can keep up this winter ball performance into the major league season.

Eguy Rosario, INF - Estrellas Orientales

Rosario hasn't gotten much chance to play every day at the major league level because the Padres have so much depth in the infield, but it's gone swimmingly when he has. The diminutive Rosario has a lot of power, which is surprising when initially seeing the 5-7 150-pound infielder. He hit 21 home runs at Triple-A El Paso in 2024 and three more in the 30 games when he could play with the big league club. With Estrellas, he has sacrificed some power for batting average as he's hitting .336 in 32 games to go along with four homers. An underrated skill of his is his eye and ability to avoid strikeouts. He's refined it significantly as he's gotten older and walked 51 times to 88 strikeouts in 95 minor league games this past season.

For the first time in his career, Rosario has a chance to be a regular in the San Diego lineup. The likely departure of Ha-Seong Kim in free agency opens up shortstop and shuffles Xander Bogaerts over from second to short, Jake Cronenworth from first to second base, and Luis Arráez from designated hitter to first base. That leaves DH open for Rosario, where he's currently penciled in. If given the opportunity, it sure looks like Rosario is ready to fill that spot admirably.

Geronimo Franzua, LHP - Estrellas Orientales

Franzua (pronounced the same as François) has a fascinating career arc. The lefty was initially signed by the Astros in 2010 but flunked out and was released after three disappointing seasons where he couldn't make it out of the Dominican Summer League. Going into 2014, he made the uncommon move of signing with the Hiroshima Toyo Carp of the NPB as a 20-year-old. He spent four seasons in their minor league system before reappearing in 2018 wearing the number 143. A decent five-season stretch intrigued the Pirates, and he returned to affiliated ball in 2023.

In the Dominican Winter League, though, his name pops off the page for his performance this year for the Estrellas. In 16 games (15 1/3 innings), he's struck out 13 hitters and walked just one while maintaining a 0.59 ERA. After electing minor league free agency after the season, Franzua should be a name many teams flock to.

He's coming off two unspectacular seasons in the Pirates organization, but this performance in LIDOM could indicate some untapped potential. At age 31, he could be a nice low-risk/high-reward signing for any team.

Robinson Pina, Estrellas Orientales

Earlier, we discussed Anderson Pilar, who may transition to a starting role. Pina has already done so, and the fruits of the exercise are deliciously sweet. A 26-year-old 6-5 right-hander from the Dominican Republic, Pina came up through the Angels' system but didn't make much noise as your run-of-the-mill reliever. In 2024, the Phillies signed him to a minor league deal, and he was outstanding at Double-A and Triple-A across 25 starts. He had far-and-away the most wins of any pitcher in the team's minor leagues with 13 but didn't receive much recognition because of his status as a non-prospect and minor league free agent.

Pina has continued his stellar minor league season into the winter league as through seven games (six starts), he has a 1.65 ERA and exhibited fabulous command, which can be seen by a 27-to-3 strikeout-to-walk ratio.

Upon electing minor league free agency in November, he was promptly scooped up by the Miami Marlins on a minor league deal, and they might have a diamond in the rough on their hands. Pina had dealt with some difficulties with locating the strike zone through his earlier minor league years. But that problem is a thing of the past as he has been able to better locate his pitches in 2024, both in the minors and winter ball.

Miami is expecting to be the black sheep of the NL East in 2025 — acting as the little brother and punching bag to four much better teams — this should give Pina ample opportunity to crack the majors. And with his past as a reliever, he has the ability to shift to the bullpen and be comfortable, if needed.

#LIDOM #MLB #Baseball #Leury Garcia #Nabil Crismatt #Anderson Pilar #Fernando Abad #Jonathan Guzman #Trevor Kelley #Aderlin Rodriguez #Luis Gonzalez #Enny Romero #Jair Camargo #Eguy Rosario #Geronimo Franzua #Robinson Pina

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