Ducks Sign Four
Published on March 25, 2008 under Atlantic League (AtL)
Long Island Ducks News Release
(Central Islip, N.Y., Mar. 25, 2008) - Long Island Ducks team officials today announced the signings of former Major Leaguers Damian Rolls and Donaldo Mendez. Rolls began last season with the Ducks, batting .247 with 30 RBI in 64 games before being sidelined for the remainder of the year by injury. Mendez appeared in 32 games for the Newark Bears, batting .315 while helping the Bears clinch the Atlantic League's first half North Division title. The Ducks also announced the signings of former Bears infielder Pete Maestrales and pitcher Jon Asahina.
"Damian is such a great guy to have in the clubhouse, and he follows that up with his great play on the field," says Ducks manager Dave LaPoint. "Donaldo, Jon and Pete each bring a lot of experience and depth to our infield and pitching staff."
Rolls was a first round draft pick of the Los Angeles Dodgers in 1996, and made his Major League debut in 2000 with Tampa Bay. His best big league season came with the Devil Rays in 2003, when he hit .255 with 20 doubles, seven home runs, 46 RBI and 11 stolen bases. The 30-year-old is a veteran of 266 big league and 762 minor league contests. He has racked up more than 300 RBI at the minor league level. The Kansas native first played under LaPoint in 2006 with Bridgeport, where he hit .315 with 24 extra-base hits in 74 games, as the Bluefish cruised to the league's best record and a berth in the championship series.
The 29-year-old Mendez is a two-year Atlantic League veteran, playing with Newark in each of the past two seasons. He has hit .288 with 30 RBI in 83 league games. In between stints with the Bears, the Venezuela native was picked up by the Twins organization, batting .276 for Triple-A Rochester in 2006. Mendez earned call-ups to the big leagues with San Diego in 2001 and 2003, appearing in 72 games.
Maestrales joins the Ducks for his third season in the Atlantic League. The 28-year-old made his Atlantic League debut with Atlantic City in 2003. He finished that year with Newark and would go on to play another year with the club in 2004. Peter put together a career year in 2005 playing for three different teams. He recorded a .319 batting average with 15 home runs, 55 RBI and 114 runs scored. The switch-hitter made his professional debut in the San Francisco Giants organization in 2001.
Asahina makes his Atlantic League debut with the Ducks in 2008 after making 10 starts for Double-A Tulsa last season. The California native is a veteran of 158 minor league games, split between the Marlins and Rockies organizations. He owns a career 4.57 ERA with 37 victories. His best season came in 2005 with Tulsa (AA, Rockies) of the Texas League, when he won a career-high 12 games, good for fifth in the league. The righthander posted career-bests with 94 strike outs, 169.2 innings pitched and four complete games. His efforts earned him his first call up to the Triple-A level the following season.
The Long Island Ducks play their home games at Citibank Park and are entering their ninth season of play in the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball. For further information, visit www.liducks.com, or call (631) 940-3825.
Atlantic League Stories from March 25, 2008
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- Ducks Sign Four - Long Island Ducks
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