Newark Bears Sign Three, Including Trujillo

April 14, 2008 - Atlantic League (AtL)
Newark Bears News Release


NEWARK, NJ, Apr. 14-The defending Atlantic League Champion Newark Bears Professional Baseball Club announced today that the club has signed former Major League right-handed pitchers JJ Trujillo and Al Levine, along with outfielder Brian Burgamy, to contracts for the 2008 season.

The 32 year-old Trujillo was a member of the Bears' championship-winning team of a year ago. He appeared in 10 games, tossing scoreless ball in each contest, at the beginning of the season before having his contract purchased by the Philadelphia Phillies organization. In the Phillies chain, Trujillo combined to appear in 24 games at Double-A Reading and Single-A Clearwater, posting a 4-1 record with a 3.13 ERA. He returned to the Bears after helping Clearwater win the Florida State League championship, pitched in 2 more scoreless regular season games with Newark, and then helped the Bears capture the Atlantic League crown.

A veteran of nine professional seasons, Trujillo appeared in 4 games at the Major League level with the San Diego Padres in 2002. He has saved 110 games in his career, including 42 for Fort Wayne in the Midwest League in 2000.

Levine, who has spent all-or-part of ten seasons in the Major Leagues, has not pitched since the end of the 2005 campaign when he appeared in 9 games for the San Francisco Giants. The 39 year-old right-hander has 416 games of big league experience with the Chicago White Sox, Texas Rangers, Anaheim Angels, Tampa Bay Devil Rays, Kansas City Royals, Detroit Tigers, and the Giants. Levine has a lifetime mark of 24-33 with 10 saves and a 3.96 ERA in the Major Leagues.

Five times in his career Levine has appeared in 50 or more games in a single season, including a career-high 65 with the Tigers in 2004. Perhaps his best body of work took place in 2001 when, with the Angels, Levine posted 8 wins, 2 saves, and a 2.38 ERA in 64 appearances.

The 26 year-old Burgamy comes to the Bears after spending last year in the Phillies organization, splitting the season as a teammate of Trujillo's at both Double-A Reading and Single-A Clearwater. The switch-hitting outfielder equaled his career-high by hitting 13 home runs in 2007, and he drove in 51 runs, surpassing 50 RBI for the 3rd time in his six-year career. Originally a 9th round selection of the San Diego Padres in the 2002 draft out of Wichita State University, Burgamy led the Florida State League in runs scored with 110 and was 3rd in the league with a .397 on-base percentage while playing for Clearwater in 2006.

The Bears open up defense of their 2007 Atlantic League Championship in a ceremony prior to their 2008 home opener against the Bridgeport Bluefish on Tuesday, April 29 at 7:05 PM. All fans in attendance that night will receive a Bears Magnetic Schedule, presented by WSOU-89.5 FM, and will enjoy the antics of Rally, the popular traveling mascot, and post-game fireworks. For Bears ticket information, please call 1-866-55-4BEAR or log on to the team's official website, www.newarkbears.com.

TRANSACTIONS:

NEWARK BEARS (Atlantic League): Signed RHP JJ Trujillo, RHP Al Levine, and OF Brian Burgamy.



Atlantic League Stories from April 14, 2008


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