Back in April, at the start of the Mexican Baseball League season, Encinitas native Phil Evans walked into the Toros de Tijuana clubhouse and was greeted by two familiar faces. The first was Justin Turner, whom he met in 2011 after being drafted by the Mets out of La Costa Canyon High School while Turner was in his first season with the Mets’ big-league club. Next was Wilmer Flores, Evans’ teammate with the Mets in 2017 and 2018.
Three players who spent portions of their 20s in one of the baseball capitals of the world were reunited by the same itch to chase the game, though now in their 30s and 40s, far from the bright lights of the big leagues.
“I tell them every day, ‘You guys ever think 10 years ago we’d be in TJ together?’” Evans, 33, said of Turner, 41, and Flores, 35. “It’s like a running joke, but we’ve been having a lot of fun with it. And, I mean, we’re still playing ball, so we can’t complain. It’s a funny full-circle moment.”
It’s been more than that – the Toros, after a 60-win season, are in the playoffs, pushing to move on to the Northern Zone championship.
For Evans, who, like Turner, commutes from his home in San Diego to the Toros’ 17,000-seat ballpark in Tijuana’s Capistrano neighborhood on game days, the routine is anything but ordinary.
He drives from Encinitas to San Ysidro, crosses the border on foot, catches a taxi to the ballpark and then makes the journey in reverse after the game, using his SENTRI pass to expedite the return. The entire trip can take about four hours — another reminder of how far this chapter of his career is from the one he once imagined.
“I told them, ‘Dude, don’t expect anything crazy down here, luxury-wise, with the flights and living situation and how different it is from the big leagues — especially with both of them being in the big leagues last year,’” Evans, now in his third season of professional baseball in Mexico, said.
In a role reversal from his days in New York, when Turner and Flores were the established big leaguers he turned to for guidance, Evans now had advice of his own.
“I tell them it’s more of like an off-speed league here,” he said. “In the States, everyone’s throwing gas, so it’s a 180. But they’re professional hitters and they know how to adjust. I think it’s more of getting into their brain like, ‘Hey, like, 3-2, they’re probably not throwing you a fastball, right? They’re probably trying to still get you to chase a curveball.’
“So they know what’s up. They’ve been around the game a while, so it’s just kind of reminding them and the rest of the lineup to stick with a better approach and just kind of grind it out every at-bat. One through nine in our lineup can go deep. It’s just kind of a passing-the-baton, one-guy-after-another-type approach.”
The reunion has been more than nostalgic. Turner and Flores brought a combined 30 years of Major League Baseball experience to Tijuana, along with having played in four World Series between them, with Turner winning a ring with the Dodgers in 2020. The duo help anchor a lineup that also features former big leaguers Evans, Junior Lake, Hernán Pérez, Franchy Cordero and Rafael Ortega.
The Toros, managed by longtime Major League player and coach Roberto Kelly, went 60-31 in the regular season, finishing first in the Mexican League’s Northern Zone.
“We had all those signings and got to spring training and got to see everyone in person again. It kind of gave that minor-league, big-league camp feel, like, ‘Oh [expletive], we have a really good major league-experienced team. I think we’re going to do well,’ Evans said. “I think everyone realized the amount of big-name talent in the Mexican League, and with the lockout coming in MLB, the mentality was, ‘It is what it is. We’re here, and we might as well win.’”
The roster’s experience translated into production. Evans hit .314 with five home runs and 34 RBIs, Flores batted .298 with 11 homers and 37 RBIs and Turner hit .295 with six homers and 28 RBIs. Evans played third base, while Flores and Turner split time at first.
“I love playing,” Turner told the Los Angeles Times earlier this season. “I love competing. As long as I feel I’m serviceable and not just here for entertainment purposes, I’m going to keep doing it.”
Evans, a 5-foot-10 middle infielder, had a career marked by flashes of promise, but also marred by physical setbacks. Over parts of four MLB seasons with the Mets and Pirates, he appeared in 104 games, hitting .260 with seven home runs and 30 RBIs.
During his rookie season with the Mets, he suffered a fractured left tibia after a late slide by the Nationals’ Adam Eaton at second base — a play Mets manager Mickey Callaway described as aggressive and poorly timed. The injury ended Evans’ season.
Then, in 2020, while with the Pirates, Evans was involved in a collision with teammate Gregory Polanco in the outfield, resulting in a broken jaw and concussion that forced him to miss the remainder of that season, shortened due to COVID-19.
“The odds of making it to the major leagues is astronomical,” said Justin Machado, who coached Evans at La Costa Canyon and now is his father-in-law. “And for you to make it there, you need something special to happen, no matter how talented you are, because everyone’s so talented now. When you get there, you have to perform at a level that keeps you there. And Phil got a shot; luck didn’t go his way.”
After multiple seasons in the minors, he signed with Tijuana in 2024 and was loaned out to another Mexican club in 2025 before returning this season.
“I didn’t really think I was going to play too much longer,” Evans said. “But playing with Flores and Turner kind of gives me a little burst of energy to keep playing.”
The Toros advanced to the Series de Zona by beating the Algodoneros de Unión Laguna 4-1 in the opening round, then opened their best-of-seven series against the Charros de Jalisco with a 4-0 shutout Tuesday night. Tijuana hosted Game 2 Wednesday, falling 5-3 in 11 innings. With the series tied, the action shifted to Jalisco for Games 3 and 4. The Toros won 2-1 Friday; the series continues Saturday.
The winner advances to the Northern Zone championship series, a step before the Serie del Rey, Mexico’s equivalent of the World Series.
“It’s been crazy this year, and the fans have been very supportive,” Evans said. “Just picture it as a nine-inning concert with baseball going on in the background. It’s pretty loud, drinks are cheap, food’s very good. I eat a lot of the stadium food before the games.
“Mexico loves baseball, and the city of TJ loves the Padres and the Toros, so it’s been a good mix with Turner being down there, too. It’s been the best season I’ve experienced down there, fan-wise. And we’re winning on top of that, so it’s been almost everything you could ask for as a player.”
Updated 10:10 p.m. Aug. 21, 2026.
