VALLEYCATS ANNOUNCE FLURRY OF ROSTER MOVES
With the snow flying in New York's Capital Region, the Tri-City ValleyCats completed a flurry of roster moves in preparation for the upcoming 2023 season. On Wednesday the team announced five moves, headlined by the reacquisition of 2019 and 2021 ValleyCats 1B/OF Zach Biermann.
After being selected by the Houston Astros in the 23rd round of the 2019 MLB Draft, Biermann made his professional debut with the ValleyCats. In two seasons with the Houston Astros organization, the Coastal Carolina product reached as high as Double-A Corpus Christi, spending the majority of his affiliated career at the High-A level. Upon his release in July of 2021, Biermann embarked into the world of independent professional baseball for the first time in his career, and rejoined the ValleyCats. The Wisconsin native served in a variety of roles for the 'Cats down the stretch in 2021, before being traded to the Evansville Otters prior to the start of the 2022 Frontier League campaign. Biermann put together a resurgent season in Evansville, hitting .280 with 17 home runs and 54 runs batted in. His strong performance earned him West Division All-Star honors. The reacquisition of the All-Star 1B/OF completes a previous trade between the two clubs.
In addition to the reacquisition of Zach Biermann, the ValleyCats also bolstered their pitching rotation on Wednesday, announcing the signing of former New York Mets farmhand Garrison Bryant, a 2019 New York-Penn League All-Star for the Brooklyn Cyclones. Bryant reached as high as Double-A Binghamton over the course of six seasons in the Mets farm system. The New Hampshire native started 48 games in six seasons, logging a record of 15-14 with a 4.91 ERA. 2023 will mark his first season in independent professional baseball.
The 'Cats added two more young arms with the signings of rookie pitchers Brendan Bell and Aaron Ernst. Bell joins the 'Cats after 2 seasons in the Philadelphia Phillies organization, while Ernst is slated to make his professional debut in Tri-City after graduating from Wright State University in 2022.
In the final move of a busy day for the team, the ValleyCats announced that they have traded C Austin Bernard to the Missoula PaddleHeads of the Pioneer League in exchange for a player to be named later.
Preparations for season Twenty-FUN of ValleyCats baseball and entertainment in New York's Capital Region are underway at Joseph L. Bruno Stadium. 2023 individual game tickets go on sale at 10 AM EST on Thursday, March 30th. You can secure your seats today and be a part of the excitement by booking a 2023 season ticket plan or group outing! For more information, log on to tcvalleycats.com or call 518-629-CATS.
