We're now just days away from Opening Day, and few teams are more excited for the 2025 season to start than the Boston Red Sox. With Garrett Crochet atop the rotation and Alex Bregman added to the infield, plus arguably the most talented group of prospects in the league, Boston is looking to reestablish itself atop the AL East hierarchy.
Before we get to all that, though, the team is taking a detour down to Mexico, where the Red Sox will take on Sultanes de Monterrey in a two-game series that will act as a final tune-up for the regular season. Game 1 from Monterrey came on Monday night, and Boston more than looked the part, cruising to a 10-1 win. The finale will be on Tuesday at 7:10 p.m. ET from Estadio Mobil Super in Monterrey.
Obviously these are just a couple of exhibition games, a chance for Boston's players to get acclimated to a competitive environment before the results start to count for real starting on Thursday. But Sultanes are hardly pushovers: On the contrary, there are plenty of players with big-league experience on this roster.
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Who are the Red Sox playing tonight? Boston heads to Monterrey
Sultanes are one of the most storied franchises in the Mexican League's 100-year history. Established back in 1939, the team has been known as Sultanes since 1948, in the midst of three straight league titles. Monterrey has 10 championships in all, and have appeared in the Serie del Rey 13 times since its inception back in 1970.
Sultanes appeared in last year's championship series, getting swept by Diablos Rojos (essentially the New York Yankees of the Mexican League). The team is regularly among the league leaders in average attendance per game, drawing more than 371,000 fans last season.
Sultanes de Monterrey roster: Every player with MLB experience
Player | Position | Most recent MLB team |
|---|---|---|
Tanner Anderson | RHP | Pittsburgh Pirates (2021) |
Michel Baez | RHP | San Diego Padres (2022) |
Manny Banuelos | LHP | Pittsburgh Pirates (2022) |
Luis Cessa | RHP | Cincinnati Reds (2023) |
Chris Ellis | RHP | Baltimore Orioles (2022) |
Zach Muckenhirn | LHP | New York Mets (2023) |
Richard Rodriguez | RHP | Atlanta Braves (2021) |
Norge Ruiz | RHP | Oakland A's (2022) |
Stephen Tarpley | LHP | New York Mets (2021) |
Cesar Vargas | RHP | San Diego Padres (2016) |
Pedro Severino | C | Milwaukee Brewers (2022) |
Daniel Castro | INF | Colorado Rockies (2018) |
Josh Lester | INF | Baltimore Orioles (2023) |
Ramiro Pena | INF | San Francisco Giants (2016) |
Esteban Quiroz | INF | Chicago Cubs (2022) |
Christian Villanueva | 3B | San Diego Padres (2018) |
Zoilo Almonte | OF | New York Yankees (2014) |
Raimel Tapia | OF | Tampa Bay Rays (2023) |
Sure, most of these names got only a cup of coffee at the big-league level. There are still some notable names here, though. Luis Cessa spent several years in the Majors, shuffling between the rotation and the bullpen for the Yankees, Mets and Cincinnati Reds. Manny Banuelos was once upon a time one of the better pitching prospects in baseball, part of the Yankees' "Killer B's" who ... well, didn't quite pan out the way the team was hoping.
On the position player side, Pedro Severino served as a steady backstop for several years, and Ramiro Pena was a utility infielder for several more. Zoilo Almonte enjoyed a Jeremy Lin-type run when he first broke in with the Yankees over a decade ago now, and Tapia bounced around several different teams over an eight-year MLB career.