2017 Winter Leagues Coverage | Participating Mets in La Liga Venezuela Beisbol Profesional

While, in general, MLB players have been passing on the opportunity to play in the Venezuelan Winter League due to security concerns; a large number of players who are on the fridges of most 40 man rosters, (aka AAAA guys) as well as young players who originate from the country still flock to the country to participate in the increasingly competitive league. The Mets are no exception to this as they have a number of players in the lower levels of the minor league system who originate from Venezuela.

Aguilas de Zulia

• RHP Wilfredo Boscan- After playing his 1st season with Mets as a rotation filler in AAA, Boscan will be heading back home to be the staff ace in his 7th consecutive season with the Aguilas. In 11 starts last season, Boscan posted a 1-6 record, a 4.24 ERA with a 5.1 K/9 and 1.4 BB/9 rates. With impending promotions from AA to AAA for other players, Boscan could find himself being released by the Mets which will essentially make his stint in Venezuela an opportunity to showcase himself to other teams.

Leones del Caracas

• IF Walter Rasquin- After 5 minor league seasons in the Mets organization, Rasquin is set to make his foreign league debut in 2017 with Leones. With Jesus Guzman and Wilfredo Tovar set to be the only returning IF starters from last year's team, Rasquin will look to beat out fellow multi-positional minor leaguers Javier Betancourt, Harold Castro, and Henry Alejandro Rodriguez, for playing time at 2B or 3B. The combination of his full short season's work in Brooklyn + the 63 game schedule in Venezuela will give him a solid base for his 1st expected full season assignment to Columbia or Port St. Lucie in 2018.

Navegantes del Magallanes

• RHP Darwin Ramos- After an painful but eventful 2017 where he was promoted to Brooklyn, Columbia, and then Port St. Lucie, Ramos will be looking to prove that he was deserving of the rapid advancement in his 2nd season with the Navegantes. While his 1st season with the club did not go so well (10.50 ERA in 8 appearances), Ramos will have an opportunity to cement a significant role in the bullpen with the loss of 2 of the team's top RPs Jose Flores and Amalia Diaz.

Tiburones de la Guaira

• RHP Jonathan Albaladejo- Just like Boscan, Albaladejo was signed this season by the Mets to fill the non-existent AAA rotation and will likely be released now that he has served his purpose. Albaladejo does have an extensive foreign league resume though having played for the Tiburones in Venezuela in 2007, Mayaguez in Puerto Rico in 2008, the Yomiuri Giants in Japan in 2011 and Mayaguez again from 2012-2014. After two seasons away, he will be returning to the Tiburones for the 2017 season as a potential showcase for a new team.

• LHP Kevin Canelon- Canelon enjoy a bit of a breakout with the Port St. Lucie Mets as he made a partial move to the bullpen in 2017. He will look to build on that in his 2nd season with the Tiburones. While he was a member of the team in 2016, Canelon remained on the "reserves" squad for the entirety of the season thus didn't get into a single VWL game. With closer Greg Infante and top RP Arlett Mavare not returning for the 2017 season, Canelon could have an opportunity to contribute this season. That said, he'll some competition from other arms such as Albaladejo and a contingent of 6 other returning relievers.

Tigres de Aragua

• C Jose Garcia- 6 years after the Mets signed him as an international prospect in 2012, Garcia is slated to participate in his 1st foreign league action for the Tigres this winter. Garcia at one time was a breakout candidate after FAR outproducing his platoon buddy in Brooklyn, Brandon Brosher, during the 2015 season. However, injuries, followed by the emergence of Patrick Mazeika, derailed his 2016 season in Columbia and forced him into a backup role in Port St. Lucie for 2017. The Tigres have an entirely new catching corps so Garcia will have the opportunity to re-establish himself as he competes for playing time.

• C Natanael Ramos- Unfortunately...one of those other catchers he will be competing with....is his teammate Natanael Ramos. Ramos has been with the Mets organization since 2011 but has gotten very little work over his 7 seasons with the club. He missed the entirety of the 2013 season and parts of the 2015 and 2016 seasons due to injuries and, when he was healthy, he's been in either time shares or in a back up role (including to Garcia one season). I do not see anything different happening for Ramos here in Venezuela as I expect him to be the 3rd string guy in the rotation.