Bees Sign 4 Former MLB Pitchers
April 7, 2016 - Atlantic League (AtL)
New Britain Bees News Release
(New Britain, Conn.) - New Britain team officials today announced that the club has signed former MLB pitchers Josh Outman, Eric Fornataro, Josh Zeid, and Farmington native Nick Greenwood. The Atlantic League of Professional Baseball Club has also signed Newington resident and former New Britain Rock Cat Cole Johnson for the 2016 inaugural season.
A veteran of 6 MLB seasons, Outman has tossed 274.1 innings between the Oakland Athletics, Colorado Rockies, Cleveland Indians, and, most recently, the New York Yankees. The 6-foot-1, 205 lbs. left-hander was drafted in the 10th round of the 2005 MLB Amateur Draft by the Philadelphia Phillies. A native of St. Louis, Missouri, the 31-year old Outman has appeared in exactly 350 games (140 starts) over his 10 year professional career.
Drafted in the sixth round of the 2008 MLB Amateur Draft by the St. Louis Cardinals, Fornataro joins the Bees after eight seasons in the minor leagues with the St. Louis Cardinals and Washington Nationals. Fornataro appeared in eight major league games for the Cardinals in 2014, all out of the bullpen. In 283 professional games over his eight year professional career, the native of Houston, Texas has 431 strikeouts in 655 innings pitched.
Zeid appeared in 48 games for the Houston Astros between the 2013 and 2014 seasons, all in relief. The New Haven, Connecticut native was drafted by the Philadelphia Phillies in the 10th round of the 2009 MLB Amateur Draft. The former Hamden Hall Country Day School standout was named Gatorade Connecticut High School Player of the Year in his senior season, finishing his high school career with exactly 400 strikeouts. A member of the gold-medal-winning Team USA Youth National Team in 2003, Zeid has spent seven years in professional baseball, tallying 35 wins and 528 strikeouts across all levels.
A 14th round draft pick by the San Diego Padres in the 2009 MLB Amateur Draft, the 6-foot-1, 180 lbs. Greenwood appeared in 20 games with the St. Louis Cardinals during the 2014-15 seasons. The left-handed throwing Farmington, Connecticut native has made 72 starts in 277 professional games, striking out exactly 400 batters.
The right-handed Johnson spent five seasons in the Minnesota Twins organization after being drafted by the team in the 44th round of the 2011 MLB Amateur Draft. Johnson struck out 280 batters in 262.2 innings in the minor leagues with a 2.88 earned run average. Johnson returns to New Britain after spending parts of the 2013 and 2014 season with the Rock Cats, registering 12 saves and 130 strikeouts.
"Today's signings represent a great step forward for this season's pitching staff," said Bees' Manager Stan Cliburn. "Outman, Fornataro, Zeid and Greenwood bring great MLB experience to our roster, while Johnson's experience in New Britain is a fantastic asset. These additions give us great talent on our pitching staff, and we're very excited to have them for our inaugural season."
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