Clippers work out at The Coop
April 3, 2007 - International League (IL1)
Columbus Clippers News Release
The Clippers work out at The Coop Tuesday night at 7 PM and again Wednesday afternoon at 1 PM. Both workouts are open to the press and public.
The Columbus Clippers have announced their opening day roster. The infield consists of first baseman Larry Broadway, second baseman D'Angelo Jimenez and Bernie Castro, shortstop Melvin Dorta and third baseman Tony Batista.
The outfield will be manned by Kory Casto, George Lombard, Darnell McDonald, Abraham Nunez and Mike Restovich.
The catchers are Juan Brito and Brandon Harper.
The pitching staff will consist of Winston Abreu, Mike Bacsik, Chris Booker, Felix Diaz, Emiliano Fruto, Joel Hanrahan, Chris Michalak, Tim Redding, Saul Rivera, Chris Schroder, Billy Traber and Jermaine Van Buren.
Broadway hit 15 HR with 78 RBIs and a .288 average last season with New Orleans. Batista is a three time major league All-Star. Last season he played with Minnesota. Dorta, Castro and Jimenez are also major league veterans.
Casto is one of the bright prospects for the Nationals. Last year with Double-A Harrisburg he hit .272 with 20 HR and 80 RBIs. Restovich hit .293 with 27 HR and 85 RBIs with Triple-A Iowa before being called up to the Cubs. He has five seasons of major league experience. Lombard (.302, 19 HR, 18 SB with New Orleans), McDonald (.292, 14 HR, 30 SB with Durham) and Nunez (.279, 12 HR, 5 SB) are all major league veterans.
Catchers Juan Brito and Brandon Harper have also played in the majors. Brito hit .296 with 8 HR and 43 RBIs with Triple-A Tucson. Harper hit .292 with New Orleans and .293 with Washington.
The pitching staff is full of major league vets. The starting rotation is projected as former Clipper Tim Redding (12-10, 3.40 with Charlotte last season), Joel Hanrahan (11-5 with Jacksonville and Las Vegas), Billy Traber (7-7 with New Orleans before posting a 4-2 record with Washington) and Mike Bacsik was 11-0 with Tucson last year.
In the bullpen is Abreu (9-4, 2.48 with Ottawa before being called up to Baltimore). Booker pitched for both Kansas City and Washington last season. Diaz pitched for Trey Hillman with Japanese champions Nippon last year. Fruto is the youngest Clipper at 22-years-old. He split his season last year between Tacoma and Seattle. Michalak is a southpaw veteran. He posted a 9-5 record with a 2.99 ERA with Louisville before being called up by Cincinnati. Rivera was 1-1, 1.59 with New Orleans and 3-0 with the Nationals. Schroder was 4-3 with Harrisburg, New Orleans and Washington in 2006. Van Buren was 4-0 with 16 saves and a 2.98 ERA before being called up by Boston. With the Red Sox he was 1-0.
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