MLB Players: The all-time Mexican team in honor of Cinco de Mayo
By Manny Gómez
MLB Players: The All-Mexican Team
Jorge De La Rosa, LHP (Monterrey, Mexico)
Jorge De La Rosa played 15 years in MLB on five different teams. Mostly, however, he played with the Colorado Rockies for 9-years, posting a respectable 86-61 record with a 4.35 ERA.
Though he mostly appeared as a starter throughout his career, De La Rosa spent the better part of the end of his big league career as a reliever. As a reliever, De La Rosa fared a little better as evidenced by his splits:
- Starter: 241 GS | 4.62 ERA | 7.4 S0/9 | 1.89 SO/W
- Reliever: 189 G | 4.29 ERA | 8.3 SO/9 | 1.62 SO/w
It wasn’t enough for De La Rosa to continue his career, however.
In all, De La Rosa’s 15.1 bWAR and 14.9 fWAR average out to a 15.0 aWAR, 9th most by any Mexican player.
Joakim Soria, RHP (Monclova, Mexico)
Joakim Soria has played in the big league for 12 seasons and remains one of the best relievers in the game with the Oakland Athletics. Though he’s mostly been a journeyman since 2013, he started his career with the Kansas City Royals in 2007 and spent five seasons there before returning again for another 2-year stint in 2016.
The 2x All-Star’s best season came in 2010 while with the Royals. That season Soria pitched to a 1.60 ERA in 63 appearances, finishing in the top 10 the Cy Young Voting.
For his career, he has a 3.02 ERA in 710 appearances. As a result, his average WAR works out to a 16.5 aWAR, 8th best among Mexican players.