SANTO DOMINGO.– The general manager of the national and Caribbean champions, Leones del Escogido, Carlos Peña, expressed his satisfaction with the players selected by the scarlet team in the Re-entry Draft of the Dominican Republic Professional Baseball League (LIDOM), considering that the incorporations strengthen the team in its objective of revalidating the title.
The executive also highlighted Mateo’s return to the capital team.“Weigel is a man who closes the door and is very aggressive in the zone. We love Yan’s energy, while Liz gives us stability as a power pitcher, with numbers that speak for themselves. Tapia is a tremendous hitter who makes a difference on any team”, expressed Peña.
During the regular season, Patrick Weigel was one of the most dominant relievers in the tournament, with 1.19 ERA, 0.66 WHIP, 34 strikeouts in 30.1 innings, four saves and an allowed average of .144. In his last 20 relief appearances he only allowed one earned run in 28.2 innings (0.31 ERA). For his part, the left-hander Jefry Yan recorded 3.13 effectiveness in 23.0 innings, with 28 strikeouts, 0.96 WHIP and .169 allowed average. Right-handed pitcher Radhamés Liz made six appearances, leaving 2.95 ERA in 21.1 innings, with 21 strikeouts and a batting average of .205 for the opponents. In terms of offense, Raimel Tapia led the league with 73 hits, becoming the third time a player has reached 70 or more hits in a 50-game season. His offensive line was .356/.398/.459, with two home runs, 24 RBIs, 12 doubles, and 30 runs scored. Jorge Mateo hit a home run, three doubles, drove in 10 runs, scored 15 and stole nine bases in 33 games. With the Estrellas Orientales he batted .298 in 15 games, with an .794 OPS. The receiver Michael de la Cruz, ambidextrous hitter, participated in 28 games, hit five doubles and a triple, drove in nine runs and recorded .648 OPS. Defensively, he retired seven of 17 runners in stolen base attempts (41%). In his 10 seasons in LIDOM he has caught 31% of the runners. During the draft process, the Lions’ operations table was also made up of José Miguel Bonetti, a member of the Board of Directors; Ángel “Aroboy” Santana, special assistant to the general manager; and José Gómez Frías, sports vice president. The Leones del Escogido will open the Round Robin next Saturday, December 27th, at 5:00 PM, against the Águilas Cibaeñas at the Estadio Cibao.“Mateo is a great player. When we made the change in the regular season it was a managerial decision seeking to restructure the team. Now he returns home and that talent cannot be overlooked. De la Cruz gives us depth in the receiving position and has good experience,” he added.
