TRI-CITY BUILDS ROSTER NEARLY TWO MONTHS AWAY FROM SEASON
TROY, NY - The Tri-City ValleyCats announced on Friday a series of roster moves in their latest Building the Roster Update presented by Curtis Lumber.
Tri-City acquired RHP Luke Trueman and a PTBNL from the Billings Mustangs of the Pioneer Baseball League (PBL) for INF Robbie Merced. Additionally, INF Cooper Weiss and OF Bobby Peirce were sent to the ValleyCats from the Cleburne Railroaders of the American Association for RHP Zeke Wood. The 'Cats added four more players in free agency: RHP Hollis Fanning, LHP Liu Fuenmayor, RHP Mikell Manzano, and RHP Brenton Thiels.
Trueman worked mostly as a starter with the Mustangs. He pitched in 24 games (19 starts) across 111.2 innings, picking up six wins. The McCandless, Pa. native spent five seasons at Slippery Rock University. The 6-foot-1 righty is top-10 in program history in innings pitched, strikeouts, starts, and wins.
In the first three years of Weiss' collegiate career, he was at Coastal Carolina University. Afterward, he spent a year at Miami University, and then played at Auburn University as a Graduate Student. The Providence, RI product filled up the statsheet, putting together 26 homers, 52 stolen bases, and 119 walks across 196 collegiate games.
Peirce spent two years at South Mountain Community College before joining Auburn in 2021, and was teammates last year with Weiss. The 24-year-old more than held his own against Southeastern Conference pitching, mashing 20 homers and swiping 45 bags, while batting .290 in 137 games played.
Fanning played his first three years of college ball in his hometown state at the University of Tennessee. He transferred to NC State for his senior campaign, and delivered 10 scoreless outings across his 15 appearances. The 6-foot-8 right-hander is one of several pitchers on the 'Cats roster born in 2002.
Fuenmayor signed with the Arizona Diamondbacks out of Venezuela as an 18-year old, and made his professional debut in 2017. He reached as high as Double-A Amarillo in 2022. Through 110 Minor League games, he compiled a 17-11 record with eight saves and a 3.47 ERA over 181.2 innings. In 2023, he pitched for the Missoula Paddleheads (PBL) alongside RHP Austin Dill.
Manzano signed as a free agent with the San Francisco Giants out of Venezuela at the age of 16. The right-hander first saw action in the Dominican Summer League in 2021, and went as far as High-A Eugene in 2024. Over four years in the Minors, Manzano had a 12-10 record along with a 4.24 ERA in 193.1 innings with a whopping 223 strikeouts.
Thiels is listed at seven feet tall, and was mostly utilized as a reliever in college. He started out at Barton Community College before playing at West Alabama University followed by Louisiana State University-Eunice. Last year, he debuted in the MLB Draft League with the West Virginia Black Bears, earning three wins across six starts to the tune of 4.41 ERA.
Frontier League teams are able to carry 34 players during the offseason with the active roster then trimmed down to 25 players for Opening Day on May 9th. The ValleyCats roster will continue to take shape during the hot stove season with additional transactions updated at www.tcvalleycats.com and through the team's social media channels.
