With less than 60 days to go until the start of the Liga ARCO Mexicana del Pacifico season, the pace of signings in Mexico's 10-team winter league is beginning to pick up.
The LAMP season begins Oct. 13 when the Jaguares de Nayarit travel to Zapopan to face the Charros de Jalisco at 10 p.m. EDT, with the rest of the league's teams beginning the season the next day.
The Naranjeros de Hermosillo, who will host the 2027 Caribbean Series in February at Estadio Fernando Valenzuela, have announced the return of 2025-26 LAMP Reliever of the Year Matt Foster and infielder Willie Calhoun.
Foster, 31, posted a 1.16 ERA in 31 innings of work across 28 appearances in the 2025-26 campaign, striking out 31 and walking 12 while recording 14 saves in his first winter ball season.
At the 2026 Caribbean Series, Foster made three appearances in the round robin and threw three scoreless innings, allowing one hit, walking two, and striking out three for the Charros de Jalisco. He threw one inning with a strikeout to earn a hold in the Charros’ 8-6 win against the Cangrejeros de Santurce of Puerto Rico in the semifinal and did the same in Jalisco’s dramatic 12-11 win in the championship game. The Valley, Alabama-native made 114 career appearances over four seasons with the Chicago White Sox, throwing 119 1/3 innings with a 4.30 ERA and 117 strikeouts.
Calhoun returns to Hermosillo after a spectacular season with the Naranjeros in 2025-26 where he appeared in all 68 games and batted .310/.411/.512 with 11 homers and 39 RBIs. A year earlier, he played his first season of winter ball last year, starting the season with the Cangrejeros de Santurce in Puerto Rico’s LBPRC, going 8-for-49 in 15 games before joining Hermosillo, where he had 25 hits and 15 RBIs in 40 games with the Naranjeros.
Calhoun played 369 Major League Baseball games over seven seasons with the Texas Rangers, San Francisco Giants, New York Yankees, and Los Angeles Angels, but more than half of those seasons were spent toiling in the relative obscurity of Triple-A. After playing 68 games in MLB with the Angels in 2024, he came to Mexico with the Tigres de Quintana Roo for 2025 and joined the Charros de Jalisco late in the season, driving in an astonishing 19 runs in nine regular season games, and is batting .377/.458/.667 with six homers and 17 RBIs in 19 playoff games.
Aguilas Bring Back David Reyes, Jake Sanchez; Make Several Other Signings - Elite starter David Reyes will return for his 15th season in the lAMP and ninth with the Aguilas de Mexicali this winter.
Reyes has a career ERA of 3.21 in the LAMP, having spent his first six season with the Yaquis de Obregon and the last eight with Mexicali. In 2025-26, Reyes led the league in innings pitched with 81, was second in ERA with a 2.44 mark, and was second in the league in wins with six.
California native Jake Sanchez is also returning to the Aguilas' bullpen for his 10th season in the border city. In 2025-26, Sanchez had a 2.45 ERA in 33 innings, making 32 appearances, striking out 32 and walking 14. He has thrown 269 2/3 innings in the LAMP in 279 appearances, all with Mexicali and all but one in relief, with a 2.50 ERA, 282 strikeouts, 75 walks, and 141 career saves.
Infielder Clay Dungan, who has played parts of five seasons at Triple-A in the Kansas City Royals and San Diego Padres organizations, infielder and designated hitter Yadir Drake, and outfielder Kai Murphy are the first three imports named to the Aguilas' roster for the coming season.
Dungan hit .207/.315/.252 in 32 games with Mexicali last season, his first playing winter ball. With Triple-A El Paso in 2026, Dungan hit .235/.329/.383 with nine homers and 30 RBIs in 90 games.
Drake hit .274/.352/.440 with Mexicali last season, clubbing eight homers and driving in 45 runs. He's played 494 career games in winter ball, with all but 17 of them having been played in the LAMP. The Matanzas, Cuba-native has a career .277/.354/.415 line in winter ball, with 44 homers and 273 RBIs.
Murphy will be playing his first season of winter ball after playing five seasons in the San Diego Padres organization, rising as high as Double-A. He's currently on the development list with Triple-A El Paso after appearing in 50 games at Double-A San Antonio, where he batted .206/.280/.285 with three homers and 14 RBIs.
Photo: David Reyes is returning for his ninth season with the Aguilas de Mexicali. (Photo courtesy of the Liga ARCO Mexicana del Pacifico)