AA St. Paul Saints

Saints Get Outfield Help with Cabrera Signing

Published on March 23, 2012 under American Association (AA)
St. Paul Saints News Release


ST. PAUL, MN (March 23, 2012) - Last season the St. Paul Saints had veteran leadership in their outfield and it paid off. With the start of the season less than two months away the Saints made sure there was a little more experience in their 2012 outfield with the signing of Willie Cabrera.

The 25-year-old Cabrera spent last season between the Atlanta Braves Double-A team in Mississippi and Triple-A club in Gwinnett. Between the two stops he hit .256 with five homers and 50 RBI in 102 games. In 395 at bats he scored 48 runs, had 13 doubles, five triples, a .303 on base percentage and a .352 slugging percentage. He is a hitter that puts the ball in play striking out just 38 times all season.

Cabrera played his entire career in the Braves organization and was a 14th round draft and follow in 2005. After hitting over .300 in rookie ball in 2006 he spent 2007 at Single-A and High-A. He hit a career high 16 homers between High-A Myrtle Beach and Double-A Mississippi in 2008. After spending all of 2009 at Double-A, he saw some time in Triple-A in 2010 & 2011.

The Saints also announced the retirement of two pitchers, right-hander Jake Schmidt and left-hander Donald Brandt.

The 25-year-old Schmidt is a local product out of Oakdale, MN and went to Tartan High School and Concordia University - St. Paul. After pitching in two games with the Cubs Rookie Level team in 2009 he spent the last two seasons with the Saints. He was selected to the American Association All-Star Game in 2010 and last season was 7-4 with a 5.02 ERA. Despite earning two no decisions he was tremendous in the playoffs giving up just four runs in 12.0 innings of work.

The 26-year-old Brandt was 7-4 with a 5.34 ERA in 20 games, all starts, last season. The most impressive season of his career was in 2010 when he went 15-0 with a 2.58 ERA in 18 games, 16 starts, while with the Maui Ka Koa Ikaika in the Golden League.

The Saints roster currently stands at 16, six pitchers and 10 position players. They have re-signed five players this offseason, agreed to terms with one player and signed five free agents. Along with those 11 players the Saints picked up the option on five others.

The Saints begin their 20th season on Thursday, May 17 with a 7:05 p.m. game against the Gary SouthShore Railcats. Group tickets and specialty seating areas are on sale by contacting the Saints office at 651-644-6659 or visiting saintsbaseball.com. Single game tickets will go on sale March 24.

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