LAKELAND, Fla. -- Juan Soto is among the Yankees stars expected to travel for the upcoming split-squad trip to Mexico City, with exhibitions scheduled for March 24 and 25 against the Diablos Rojos del México at Alfredo Harp Helú Stadium.

DJ LeMahieu, Giancarlo Stanton, Jose Trevino and Alex Verdugo are among the position players tentatively scheduled to make the trip, manager Aaron Boone said on Thursday.

“I know it’s pretty high up from an elevation standpoint, so we’ll see how the ball flies,” Boone said.

Left-hander Victor González, who hails from Tuxpan, Mexico, is among the pitchers who will travel. So will Jonathan Loáisiga, who expressed interest in the trip. None of the club’s big league starting pitchers will attend, according to Boone, who said they will remain behind to pitch in Grapefruit League games against the Pirates and Mets.

“It’s very important to me to have the opportunity to go there to Mexico and pitch there,” González said through an interpreter. “I have a lot of family members that haven’t had the opportunity to see me pitch. To wear the Yankees pinstripes and be at home to pitch in front of my family, I think it’s going to be incredible for me.”

The trip will allow Soto to reconnect with former Major Leaguer Robinson Canó. Soto identified the eight-time All-Star and two-time Gold Glover as his favorite player while growing up in the Dominican Republic.

Cano, 41, recently signed with the Diablos Rojos. He last played in the Majors with the Mets, Padres and Braves in 2022 and, according to Soto, reached out to congratulate Soto after the Yankees acquired him in December.

“That’s a guy who I followed since I was a little kid, and a guy I wanted to be like,” Soto said. “He congratulated me and told me how good it is over here.”

Lo and behold
Jonathan Loáisiga made his first Grapefruit League appearance of the spring on Thursday, allowing a run on three hits over 1 2/3 innings in the Yankees’ 7-0 loss to the Tigers at Joker Marchant Stadium. The Yankees have brought Loáisiga along slowly in part because of the right elbow inflammation that ended his season in September.

“I felt really good out there,” Loáisiga said through an interpreter. “This is the first time I saw opposing hitters from a different team, going back to September. I feel healthy. I felt pretty good, working on my pitches out there and throwing strikes.”

Loáisiga was 0-2 with a 3.06 ERA in 17 appearances last season, and is two years removed from a strong 2021 campaign in which he posted a 2.17 ERA across 70 2/3 innings. The organization plans to use Loáisiga as a multi-inning reliever during the first half of the season, with two days of rest between outings.

“It’s a good strategy to try to make sure that I stay healthy,” Loáisiga said. “It’s a benefit to me, and a benefit for the team as a whole. I think it’s going to work out.”