It appears the Padres and Dodgers could play a regular-season series next year in Mexico City.

The games “are anticipated being played but have not been formalized,” Tony Clark, executive director of the Major League Baseball Players Assn., told the Los Angeles Times before Sunday’s All-Star Futures Game in Miami.

Asked by the Union-Tribune about the report, Padres Executive Chairman Ron Fowler declined to comment, citing a request from Major League Baseball “not to comment on Mexico City right now.”

The Times reported the games are tentatively scheduled for April, in the new ballpark that is the home of the Mexico City Red Devils. It is not known whether the Dodgers or Padres would be the home team, but the owner of the Red Devils, Alfredo Harp Helu, is part of the Padres’ ownership group.


The Padres made history in 1996 when they played a regular-season series in Monterrey against the New York Mets. The Dodgers have played exhibition games in Mexico but have not visited during the regular season.

The Padres do not have any Mexico-born players on their current major league roster, but one of their top prospects, Double-A infielder Luis Urias, is from the state of Sonora.

Dodgers first baseman Adrian Gonzalez, a former Padre, was born in San Diego but spent part of his childhood in Tijuana and has represented Mexico in the World Baseball Classic. The Dodgers also have an outfield prospect, Alex Verdugo, who played for Mexico in the WBC.

Clark said logistical hurdles must be resolved before the series can be finalized, the Times reported. He said the players support the increased international play envisioned under the new collective bargaining agreement.


“We understand wholeheartedly the desire to grow our game,” Clark said.

The MLB commissioner’s office declined to comment, the Times said. The discussions first were reported Sunday by the Mexican website Puro Beisbol.


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dennis.lin@sduniontribune.com