Tucson is in the unique position of being the first and only city in the U.S. that will have a team in the Mexican Pacific League (Liga ARCO Mexicana del Pacífico) starting this winter, and a group from the city is responsible for attracting the Mayos de Novojoa (Sonora) to move their operation to Kino Veterans Memorial Stadium.
After reports surfaced of a probable move to Tucson a few months ago, the Mayos de Navojoa made it official in a press conference at Novojoa on Tuesday.
Tucsonans can thank quite a few locals in addition to team owners Victor and Victor Cuevas Jr. for the organization’s move to Tucson.
The list includes:
Pima County administrator Jan Lesher and deputy administrator Carmine DeBonis Jr., Kino Sports Complex director Sarah Horvath and her team, Mexican Baseball Fiesta founder Francisco Gamez and CEO Frank Gamez III, and Southern Arizona Sports, Tourism, and Film Authority (SASTFA) executive director Blake Eager and board member Edgar Soto.
“We have an incredible opportunity to prove once again that professional baseball belongs in Tucson,” stated Eager, who was instrumental, along with this distinguished group, in working with Major League Baseball to bring the World Baseball Classic qualifier to Kino Stadium in March.
According to Novojoa officials, the team will have a new nickname and people in Tucson will be invited to offer their input.
“We left Navojoa due to very complicated issues in recent years. It wasn’t a one-year decision; we had been battling with fans, sponsorships, and infrastructure issues,” Victor Cuevas, the president of the franchise, said in the press conference.
“We never recovered from the pandemic, and something had to be done. We made the drastic decision, and it pains me. These are challenges, changes, and needs.”
#CONFIRMADO | ¡Mayos dicen adiós a Navojoa!
El equipo de los Mayos de Navojoa se mudará este invierno del estado de #Sonora rumbo a #Arizona, en #EEUU, y posiblemente sea #Tucson su nuevo hogar.
Así lo confirmó Salvador Escobar, presidente de la @Liga_Arco.
De esta forma… pic.twitter.com/wJeDlNQsVX
— Luis Alberto Medina (@elalbertomedina) May 20, 2025
Salvador Escobar, the president of the Mexican Pacific League, mentioned in the press conference that the addition of Tucson follows his plan to make the league more international.
“As a league, it’s not easy,” Escobar acknowledge about the Mayos leaving Navojoa after 66 years. “But with the conditions we have, the challenge is to internationalize. This is spectacular for the area and the region.”
Tucson has an affiliation with the Mexican Pacific League, hosting the highly popular Mexican Baseball Fiesta in early October at Kino Stadium since 2011. Overflow crowds attend the games, partly because of the party atmosphere with a live concert while games are played.
Arizona’s baseball team is among four teams annually involved in the event with the other three being Mexican Pacific League teams using the experience to scrimmage before the regular season starts.
The MPL regular season generally runs from mid-October to the end of December.
The Mayos had four players in major-league organizations last winter — pitchers Zach Matson (Kansas City Royals) and Denny Roman (Pittsburgh Pirates), catcher Gilbert Vizcarra (San Diego Padres) and infielder Ramón Mendoza Nevárez (St. Louis Cardinals).
The Mayos have played in Navajoa since 1959 and have two Mexican Pacific League championships.
The first championship was in the 1978–79 season, with the late Rickey Henderson on the roster. The next time was for the 1999–2000 season. An American was a manager of each team — Chuck Goggin in 1978-79 and Lorenzo Bundy in 1999-2000.
Mayos de Navojoa 2024-25 Roster
PITCHERS
| Name | DATE OF BIRTH | CLUB |
|---|---|---|
| TJ Zeuch | 8/1/1995 | Olmecs of Tabasco |
| Haruhiro Hamaguchi | 3/16/1995 | Yokohama Bay Stars |
| Luis Villavicencio | 6/2/2004 | Charros of Jalisco |
| Daniel Zazueta | 10/13/2000 | Pirates of Campeche |
| Alex Valverde | 9/26/1996 | York |
| Zach Matson | 10/24/1995 | Kansas City Royals |
| Denny Roman | 9/10/1998 | Pittsburgh Pirates |
| Jorge Luis Sauceda | 1/17/2002 | Mariachis from Guadalajara |
| Erick Preciado | 6/26/1996 | Parakeets of Puebla |
| José Carlos Medina | 8/25/1996 | |
| Edwyn Valle | 6/30/1988 | Generals of Durango |
| Jonathan Partida | 6/22/1996 | Red Devils of Mexico |
| Esteban Haro | 11/11/1985 | Parakeets of Puebla |
CATCHER
| Name | DATE OF BIRTH | CLUB |
|---|---|---|
| Francisco Pérez Estrada | 10/21/2006 | Charros of Jalisco |
| Marco Chicuate | 7/14/1992 | |
| Gilberto Vizcarra | 3/1/1999 | San Diego Padres |
OUTFIELD
| Name | DATE OF BIRTH | CLUB |
|---|---|---|
| Miguel Guzmán | 8/23/1995 | Parakeets of Puebla |
| Sergio Pérez | 10/27/1989 | |
| Asael Sánchez | 3/4/1994 | Sultans of Monterrey |
| Agustín Ruiz | 9/23/1999 | Olmecs of Tabasco |
INFIELD
| Name | DATE OF BIRTH | CLUB |
|---|---|---|
| Ramón Mendoza Nevárez | 8/31/2000 | St. Louis Cardinals |
| Missael Rivera | 3/3/1996 | |
| Ciro Norzagaray | 8/17/1994 | |
| Luis Alfonso Cruz | 10/2/1984 | Generals of Durango |
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