First off, my apologies on not having regular updates lately. This week has been a little busy with local York County teams in various district playoffs.

Anyway, this is more of a Q&A I had before Sunday’s game with former Revs’ reliever Jason Richardson, who is back from Tommy John surgery pitching for the Lancaster Barnstormers this season.

Before we get to that, though, just wanted to recommend checking out the game story from the Revs’ 6-5 loss to Sugar Land on Tuesday, when York outfielder James Shanks made history by setting the club’s new all-time hits record.

Also, here’s the game story from York’s 7-6 loss to Sugar Land on Wednesday night. It ended up being Brett Tomko’s worst start of the year as Sugar Land improved to 27-5 and York fell to 17-16 overall and 3-10 in one-run games.

 

Former Revs’ reliever Jason Richardson spent all of last season in York rehabbing from Tommy John surgery. After a year off, Richardson is back in baseball with the Lancaster Barnstormers. In five appearances through Wednesday, Richardson has held opponents scoreless over 4.1 innings of work, striking out three with no walks.

Richardson, who played a big part in York’s championship clubs in 2010 and 2011, was holding out hope he could return to the game this season with the Revs.

“I was originally holding out to come back to York. I wanted to come back here. They took care of me last year and let me work and getting healthy,” he said. “We never could work anything out. I think they may have been a little bit timid about the elbow. (Lancaster manager) Butch (Hobson) brought me in on a tryout about a week before (spring training). I’ve been up here (in Lancaster) since. They (the Barnstormers) have so many quality arms. We had a couple guys get picked up (by major league teams) in  (Joe) Mather and (Tim) Dillard and that opened up a spot for me.”

Richardson, 32, said he was healthy enough to come back near the end of last season, but York didn’t want to take a chance on the right-hander at that point.

“I got cleared (to pitch) right around 11 months. The doctor over here cleared me (in late August),” he said. “I got cleared then and I had been throwing well. I understand why (York didn’t take a chance on me). I thought I had a shot to come back. I was thinking more along the lines of I wanted to come back and pitch. I can understand why they didn’t want to bring me back that early on. From a business standpoint they had three weeks to a month left before the playoffs start. They would’ve had to keep an eye on me. I wouldn’t have been able to go out there in a close game with a team that’s trying to make a playoff run they don’t want to trust a guy who’s just coming off surgery.”

Richardson said his only other serious injury of his now 14-year pro career came in 2001 when he had to get bone spurs taken out of his throwing elbow. In his comeback this season, Richardson first pitched for the Long Island Storm, a team comprised of current and former Atlantic League players that scrimmages teams down in Florida during Major League Baseball’s spring training. He said his fastball was topping out at 92 mph in spring training, but has been clocked at 95 mph at Lancaster’s Clipper Magazine Stadium.

“I feel like the velocity is as good, if not better, than it was before surgery,” he said. “I think that first outing (in spring training) I was 92 or 93. As far as being this early in the year for me normally my velocity doesn’t peak until June. So if I can add another couple miles an hour it could be fun.”

Richardson spent the off-season getting healthy and working as a substitute teacher for the second year in a row in his native Florida. He’s also two classes away from obtaining a bachelor’s degree in elementary education from the University of Phoenix.

“My wife teaches middle school. I like the idea that when I’m done playing having the summers off with her,” he said. “She’s been able to come up and stay with me for months during the summer. I like that idea but I want to get into coaching high school baseball and things like that.”

But Richardson, who has never played in the majors and has only played one season at the Class AAA level in 2006, said his teaching career won’t start for at least another couple years.

“We’ll play this year and next year and see what happens…as long as I feel good,” he said “I’d love to get an affiliated deal. What’s the chances at my age honestly (at getting signed my a major league team)? If I didn’t get picked up at 27 or 28 (years-old) what’s the chances I could get picked up at 32? I feel like I can be one of the better pitchers coming out of the bullpen in this league. And I know this is a good league. So if I can be a guy to come in and have a job here, why not?”

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Below is a feature story on York Revolution left-fielder James Shanks and his quest to return to form after a tough 2012 season. Before we get to that, though, just wanted to point out my column in Monday’s paper about the rally plantain coming to York. Click here to read the column, which also includes a three-minute video compiled by York Dispatch photo editor Randy Flaum.

Also, here’s a blog post on newly acquired outfielder Cody Johnson, who the Revs signed on Monday.

Finally, check out the game story from York’s come-from-behind 4-3 over Lancaster on Monday night.It mainly focuses on Lancaster starter Will Savage, an Oklahoma City native who made the start just moments after finding out his wife and their 1-year-old son were safe from the tornado that took the lives of more than 50 people on Monday evening. It also includes quotes from Revs’ first baseman Brian Burgamy, who has family in Lawton, Okla., located about 90 minutes southwest of Moore, Okla., where the tornado hit.

The Revs won the four-game series over Lancaster, 3-to-1 and improved to 17-14 overall with Sugar Land coming to town for a three-game set that starts Tuesday. The Skeeters (25-5) own the league’s best record. On Tuesday, York right-hander Corey Thurman (2-4, 3.72 ERA) will face right-hander Scott Elarton (2-2, 3.75).

 

He had made similar plays several times before in his previous 14 years as a pro baseball player. The only difference this time is that it came after the toughest 12 months of his career.

So when a fly ball came rocketing his way in left at Sovereign Bank Stadium last Saturday night, James Shanks wanted to do more than just make the out. The York Revolution left-fielder needed to prove to himself that he could still play all out and make the highlight catches.

And his confidence was admittedly boosted when Shanks made a diving grab to save a run mid-way through last Saturday’s game against Lancaster.

“That lets me know what I was doing and working on, I was doing the right thing,” Shanks said Sunday night in the York clubhouse following a 3-1 loss to the Barnstormers.

The play was exemplary of how Shanks wants to play. But in order to do so, he spent the past off-season focusing on getting his body in shape.

“It was really all about me making the decision to come back and do what I can do. I wanted to be healthy enough to play,” he said. “I didn’t want to just go through the motions. I wanted to actually play the way I’m capable of playing.”

Shanks, 34, was held back from making those type of plays last season, mainly because tendonitis in his aging knees limited his playing time. It also had a negative impact on his performance at the plate. He batted just .249 in 77 games before York released him in early August. A former prospect of the Kansas City Royals and Miami Marlins, Shanks finished out the 2012 season with Southern Maryland. But he didn’t fair much better with the Blue Crabs, posting a .225 average in 25 games.

The numbers were a drop-off from those he put up with York’s Atlantic League championship clubs of 2010 and 2011. The 6-foot, right-handed hitting Shanks held a .314 average in 2011 and .325 average in 2010.

Comeback: Shanks, who signed back with York on May 11, isn’t sure how much longer he wants to keep playing. At the very least, he wants to prove he still has what it takes to succeed at the sport that has consumed much of his life.

To get back into form, Shanks spent this past off-season in his native Georgia dropping about 20 pounds.

“Basically just working on my knees and stuff. That’s what was the problem as far as having tendonitis (last season),” Shanks said. “I worked out and did a lot of work with my knees. Just regular stuff like sprints and long-distance running. I didn’t want to do any heavy weights because that’s basically what made my knees flare up.”

Record breaker?: Through Sunday, Shanks is batting just .240 but does have two multi-hit games, five RBIs and two doubles. He also hit a homer in his third game of the year at Long Island on May 15.

He won’t need to do much more to become a record holder in several York Revolution categories. He’s just one hit shy of tying Scott Grimes for the club record in hits (374), seven short of tying Grimes in extra-base hits (128), two shy of tying Grimes in triples (13) and 19 short of tying Ramon Castro for RBIs (214). He’s already the club leader in bunt hits (31).

No matter the records, Shanks is just glad to get another shot with York.

“It means a lot,“ he said. “It feels like you’re starting over again.”

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The York Revolution signed outfielder Cody Johnson on Monday. Johnson, 24, comes to York just nine days from being released from the New York Yankees’ Class AAA Scranton-Wilkes Barre affiliate.

A first-round draft pick (24th overall) of the Atlanta Braves in 2006, Johnson played at the Class AAA level for the first time in his career this season. In 18 games at Scranton-Wilkes Barre, Johnson batted just .167 with a home run, double, four RBIs and six runs scored.

He’s a career .219 hitter in 214 games at Class AA. His best came in 63 games at the rookie ball level in 2007, when he batted .305 in 243 plate appearances.

Roster: York has now reached the Atlantic League maximum of 27 active players, which now includes six outfielders.

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Every team but Southern Maryland made roster moves this past week. A total of 19 players, including four former big leaguers, were involved in transactions. Three trades were also made. Before we get to the transactions, however, here are some newsworthy items…

Players of the Month: I can’t find any press releases on this, so thanks to Bridgeport and reporter Ryan Dunleavy on pointing this out. Bluefish starting pitcher Mike Parisi took home Pitcher of the Month honors for the month of April while Somerset’s Yunesky Sanchez was named the Atlantic League Player of the Month. Sanchez led the league with a .381 batting average, 16 hits, five home runs, and 15 RBI in 10 games during the month before signing to play for Oaxaca of the Mexican League. Parisi went 1-0 with a 1.20 ERA in three starts in the month of April for Bridgeport, striking out 13 and walking five while allowing 13 hits in 15 innings of work.

College team saves child: In case you haven’t heard about this yet, members of the Millersville University baseball team helped save the life of a 1-year-old boy last week. OK, not exactly Atlantic League-related news. But if I may go seven-degrees-of-Kevin Bacon, the first player ever signed by the Lancaster Barnstormers was pitcher Matt Scheuing, who played at Penn Manor High School and Millersville, both located in Lancaster County (Scheuing, who went to school with my older brother, is now teaching social studies at Penn Manor High School). Plus, this story of the child getting saved is pretty cool. The story made national headlines as well.

Fans make the call: Again, not an Atlantic League-related news item, but here’s to hoping an Atlantic League team experiments with this in an exhibition game next year. The St. Paul Saints, of the independent American Association, allowed fans to make the call on just about everything in an exhibition game last week, from strikes to balls to outs and fair or foul calls. Here’s the full story from the New York Times.

Zambrano won’t play in Atlantic League after all: The Philadelphia Phillies officially signed pitcher Carlos Zambrano to a minor-league deal last week. The signing brought an end to speculation that Zambrano could possibly pitch in the Atlantic League for the Long Island Ducks. Days before he signed with the Phillies, cbssports.com reported Zambrano had only agreed to terms with the Ducks but had not signed a contract with them. Various reports surfaced a couple weeks ago insinuating Zambrano had indeed signed with the Ducks, who never actually made any kind of announcement on Zambrano.

Vlad Guerrero’s status: Former big league slugger Vladimir Guerrero is still listed on the Long Island Ducks’ inactive roster and has yet to see any playing time this season as he’s still dealing with what the team is still calling a “family matter” in his native Dominican Republic. A tweet from clnsradio.com reporter Chris Cotillo last week stated “Source close to the situation doesn’t expect Vlad Guerrero to report to the @LIDucks “Doesn’t seem interested in playing”. Here’s to hoping that changes so we can see Guerrero blast some homers in the Atlantic League this season.

Now on to the transactions…

 

BRIDGEPORT BLUEFISH: Acquired LHP Mickey Jannis from Lake Erie (Frontier League) in exchange for a player to be named later, signed INF Sam Greenberg and INF Russ Mitchell, released INF Daniel Barbero

Jannis, 25, will make his Atlantic League debut with Bridgeport after posting a 2.53 ERA in 34 games (three starts) last season with Lake Erie. The California native is just three years removed from playing college ball at Cal State Bakersfield. He spent the first two years of his pro career in the Tampa Bay Rays’ organization, reaching Class High A Charlotte in 2011.

Mitchell, 28, is a former big leaguer who will make his Atlantic League debut with ‘Fish. The Georgia native spent his first nine years as a pro in the Los Angeles Dodgers’ organization, reaching the majors in 2010. He played in 40 combined big league games with the Dodgers in 2010 and 2011, batting .151. He split last season between the Miami Marlins’ Class AA Jacksonville affiliate and the San Francisco Giants’ Class AA Richmond affiliate. He has a career .302 average at the Class AAA level.

Greenberg, 23, is a Southern Connecticut State University product who is making his pro debut with Bridgeport.

Barbero batted .200 with a double in 11 games (25 plate appearances) for Bridgeport.

CAMDEN RIVERSHARKS: Acquired RHP Jake Hale and LHP Corey Young from New Jersey Jackals (Can-Am League) in exchange for players to be named later, released OF Stantrel Smith, INF Erik Lis and C Shea Harris

Hale, 27, comes to the Atlantic League for the first time in his fourth year as a pro. The right-hander has spent the last two seasons in the independent Can-Am League, where he posted a 2.67 ERA in 70 combined games. The Ohio State University product was drafted by the Arizona Diamondbacks in the 27th round in 2009 and later reached Class High A Visalia in 2010.

Young, 26, is a New Jersey native who played college ball at Seton Hall University before being drafted in the 12th round in 2008 by the Texas Rangers. The lefty has spent the last two seasons at Class AA Frisco, where he has a career 5.93 ERA in 73 combined relief appearances over four years. He’ll make his Atlantic League debut with Camden.

Smith held a .275 batting average with a double and an RBI in 10 games (29 plate appearances) for the ‘Sharks. Harris played in just two games for Camden, going 1-for-5 (.200) at the plate with a walk and two strikeouts. Lis carried a .176 average in 14 games (34 plate appearances) with two doubles and three RBIs.

LANCASTER BARNSTORMERS: Signed OF Stephen Holdren, traded C Charlie Neil to Trois-Rivieres (Can-Am League)

Holdren, 30, is an indy league veteran who has batted above .300 in four separate seasons. Last year with Lincoln (American Association), the left-handed batter posted a .279 average with nine homers, 19 doubles a triple and 71 RBIs.

It’s unclear what the ‘Stormers are getting into return for Neil, who batted .261 with a double and two RBIs in nine games (23 plate appearances) for Lancaster.

LONG ISLAND DUCKS: Signed 1B Murray Watts, acquired UTL P.J. Phillips from New Jersey Jackals (Can-Am League) in exchange for player to be named later, released LHP Rusty Jones

Watts, 25, makes his Atlantic League debut with the Ducks after playing in 16 games earlier this season with the Kansas City Royals Class High A Wilmington affiliate, where he posted a .172 batting average with three doubles, a triple and an RBI in 16 games. An Arkansas native, Watts is just three years removed from playing college ball at Arkansas State University, where he batted .319 in three seasons before being drafted by the Royals in the 28th round in 2010.

Phillips, 26, also makes his Atlantic League debut in Long Island less than a year removed from playing at the Class AAA Louisville (Cincinnati Reds), where he had a .143 average in just four games. Originally a Los Angeles Angels’ prospect, Phillips reached Class AA Pensacola in the Reds’ organization last season. He played in 68 games for Pensacola, batting .198.

The release of Jones is somewhat surprising considering his 2.45 ERA was third-best on the team. The left-hander two earned runs on six hits in eight relief appearances, with six strikeouts and seven walks.

SOMERSET PATRIOTS: OF Oakland Athletics signed RHP Erik Arnesen, San Diego Padres signed Mike Wilson; Patriots signed Anderson Hernandez, traded LHP Ryan Zamorsky to Evansville (Frontier League) in exchange for a player to be named later

Arnesen, 29, spent his first seven years as a pro in the Washington Nationals’ organization before coming to Somerset. He has a career 3.76 ERA in 57 games at the Class AAA level. In five starts for the Patriots, Arnesen went 2-1 with 4.10 ERA with 27 strikeouts and one walk in 30.2 innings of work. He reported to Oakland’s Class AA Midland (Tex.) affiliate.

Wilson, 29, posted a .325 batting average, three homers, five doubles and a triple in 23 games for Somerset. The former big leaguer will play in the San Diego Padres’ organization for the first time in his 12-year pro career. A second-round draft pick of the Seattle Mariners in 2001, Wilson made his major league debut with the Mariners in 2011. He spent all of last season at Class AAA Tacoma, where he batted just .239 with 12 homers and 37 RBIs in 71 games. He’ll report to Class AAA Tucson.

Hernandez, 30, has 240 games of big league experience but won’t play yet for Somerset since he signed with a Mexican League club less than 24 hours after reaching a deal with the Patriots, according to Courier News’ Somerset beat reporter Ryan Dunleavy. The Pats’ put Hernandez on the inactive list, so there’s always a chance Hernandez could play for Somerset later this season if things don’t go as planned in the Mexican League.

Zamorsky had two scoreless relief appearances for the Pats’, striking out one and walking none.

SUGAR LAND SKEETERS: RHP Sean Gallagher signed by Colorado Rockies; Skeeters signed INF Kevin Rios

Gallagher, 27, made four starts with Sugar Land this year, going 2-0 with a 2.05 ERA (5ER/22IP) and 10 strikeouts. His 22.0 innings pitched rank second-most on the team, while he assisted in leading the Skeeters to a 21-3 record to start 2013. The former big leaguer came to Sugar Land after spending all of last season with the Reds’ Class AAA Louisville affiliate, where he went 10-9 with a 4.92 ERA in 26 starts. Gallagher has 91 games (23 starts) of big league experience with four different teams from 2007 to 2010. He reported to the Rockies’ Class AA Tulsa (Okla.) affiliate.

I missed Rios’s signing last week. The 31-year-old California native is back for his second season in the Atlantic League after playing for Southern Maryland last season. A former New York Mets’ prospect, Rios batted just .241 in 71 games for the Crabs last year.

 

YORK REVOLUTION: RHP Matt Fox signed by New York Mets; Revolution sign LHP Edward Paredes and OF Mike Coles, place INF Andy Gonzalez on suspended list, announce retirement of OF Jason Repko

Fox made four starts for York, posting a 1-0 record and 1.58 ERA in 17 total innings. The 6-foot, 3-inch right-hander struck out 18 batters and walked three. The University of Central Florida alum reached the majors in 2010 with both Boston and Minnesota, making one big league start for the Twins, the organization that drafted him in the first round of the 2004 draft out of UCF. After going to the Red Sox, he made three appearances out of their bullpen in 2010. Fox missed much of last season battling inflammation in his throwing shoulder. He had eight combined starts for three different affiliates in the Seattle Mariners’ organization. Fox becomes the third York player to get picked up by a major league organization this season, which matches the total amount of Revs that were signed by big league teams last year. He reported to the Mets’ Class AAA Las Vegas affiliate.

He made his pro debut in 2006 and has spent his entire seven-year pro career playing indy ball in Northern League, Frontier League and American Association. He’ll make his debut in the Atlantic League with York. Coles, 30, has batted above .300 in four of those seasons. A 6-foot, right-handed batter, Coles split last year between American Association clubs Gary Southshore and Winnipeg. He had a .211 average in 27 games with Winnipeg but hit .300 in 72 games at Gary Soutshore.

Repko, 32, retires with 360 games of big league experience. A first-round draft pick out of high school by the Los Angeles Dodgers in 1999, Repko played in the majors for the Dodgers, Minnesota Twins and Rex Sox. For his career, he has a .224 average, 16 homers and 67 RBIs in the majors. Repko started out this season batting just .159 in his first 10 games with York before going 19-for-63 (.302) at the plate in his last 12 games to bump his average up to .253. To read the full story on Repko’s retirement, including quotes from Repko on why he decided to retire, click here.

York placed Gonzalez on the suspended list while he returns to his native Puerto Rico to deal with what the team is calling personal issues. Gonzalez, a former big leaguer, held a .273 batting average with no homers, seven RBIs and eight runs scored in 21 games for York.

A prospect of the Seattle Mariners his first five years as a pro, Paredes sat out all of last season before playing winter ball in the Dominican for Estrellas, where he went 3-0 with a 1.93 ERA. Paredes’s best season came in 2010 at Class AA West Tennessee (Mariners), where he posted a 3.63 ERA in 26 relief appearances. He has a career 7.34 ERA at the Class AAA level. He has a career record of 28-30 with seven saves. The left-hander comes to York after pitching for the Cleveland Indians’ Class AA Akron affiliate, where he went scoreless in his first three relief appearances before giving up a combined six runs over his last three appearances, which led to his release on April 18.

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The York Revolution signed veteran independent league outfielder Mike Coles on Saturday. An Indiana native, Coles was drafted out of high school in the 34th round by the Baltimore Orioles but instead opted to play college ball at Purdue.

He made his pro debut in 2006 and has spent his entire seven-year pro career playing indy ball in Northern League, Frontier League and American Association. He’ll make his debut in the Atlantic League with York.

Coles, 30, has batted above .300 in four of those seasons. A 6-foot, right-handed batter, Coles split last year between American Association clubs Gary Southshore and Winnipeg. He had a .211 average in 27 games with Winnipeg but hit .300 in 72 games at Gary Soutshore.

His only season with double-digit home runs came in 2008 when he clubbed 12 long-balls to go along with 75 RBIs and a .302 average in 89 games for Windy City.

Roster: With the addition of Coles, York’s active roster is now at 26 players, one below the league-maximum of 27 players, which teams can carry through the end of this month, at which point rosters have to be paired down to 25 players. The Revs now have five outfielders under contract as well.

 

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The York Revolution signed lefty reliever Edward Paredes on Friday. The Dominican Republic native comes to the Atlantic League for the first time in his six-year pro career after pitching for the Cleveland Indians’ Class AA Akron affiliate this season.

A prospect of the Seattle Mariners his first five years as a pro, the 26-year-old Paredes sat out all of last season before playing winter ball in the Dominican for Estrellas, where he went 3-0 with a 1.93 ERA.

The left-hander started off hot for Akron, holding opponents scoreless in his first three appearances on three hits and eight strikeouts. He also tosses a fastball that tops out in the low 90s, according to Beacon Journal article. He certainly appeared on his way back to the Class AAA level, where he had made 31 combined career appearances in 2010 and 2011 with the Mariners’ Tacoma club.

But then Paredes got shelled for six combined runs over his last three appearances (1.2 innings), on six hits and three walks with two strikeouts, ballooning his ERA to 8.10. He has been looking for work since being released by the Indians on April 18.

Paredes’s best season came in 2010 at Class AA West Tennessee (Mariners), where he posted a 3.63 ERA in 26 relief appearances. He has a career 7.34 ERA at the Class AAA level. He has a career record of 28-30 with seven saves.

The signing of Paredes brings York’s active roster to 25 players, including 14 pitchers. The Revs now also have four left-handed relievers in Paredes, Yunior Novoa, Joe Torres and Rommie Lewis.

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My apologies on getting around to this a couple days later than normal. These past few days have been absolutely nuts with Revolution news and high school sporting events, especially since we’re in playoff season for high school.

Since this is coming out a few days late, I’ll preface this by saying the roster numbers may have changed since May 12. Since I’m short on time this week, I’m just going to skip over any news-related items and get right to the transactions. A total of five teams and 16 players were involved in transaction from May 6 to May 12, including three former big leaguers.

BRIDGEPORT BLUEFISH: Signed RHP Winston Abreu and INF Iggy Suarez, released RHP Edward Rodriguez and RHP Josh Schmidt

Last season, Suarez spent time with the Sugar Land Skeeters, appearing in 107 games and batted .212 with 20 doubles and six home runs, while scoring 39 runs. The 31-year-old began his career with the Boston Red Sox organization after being selected in the 24^th round of the 2003 MLB Amateur June Draft. He spent seven years with the Red Sox affiliates, and reached as high as Triple-A in 2009. The infielder recorded his best professional season in 2007 between Single-A Lancaster and Double-A Portland, where he batted .273 with 25 doubles three triples and four home runs while scoring 68 runs in 123 games. The infielder has had stops in Somerset, Southern Maryland, Lancaster and Sugar Land in his previous three years in the Atlantic League.

Abreu, 36, is a former big leaguer who comes to the Atlantic League for the first time in his 17th pro season. A Dominican Republic native, Abreu has 38 games of big league experience with four different clubs from 2006 to 2009, compiling a 7.36 ERA. He had an 8-5 record and 3.66 ERA in 53 relief appearances at Class AAA Las Vegas (Blue Jays) in 2011. Last year, the righthander was a member of Mexico City of the Mexican League. In 45 appearances, Abreu posted a 3.83 ERA and a 4-1 record in 44.2 IP. He also saved 15 games and struck out 38 batters. Abreu also pitched in the Mexican League earlier this season with Ciudad del Carmen and Veracruz, posting a combined 1.80 ERA in 11 games.

Rodriguez had a 12.15 ERA in five relief appearances for the ‘Fish. Schmidt had a 14.40 ERA in four games with Bridgeport.

The ‘Fish now have 28 players under contract (reliever Jeff Fulchino, starter Wardell Starling, outfielder Brian Anderson and infielder Brandon Chaves are inactive), including 12 former big leaguers.

CAMDEN RIVERSHARKS: Philadelphia Phillies signed 3B Tommy Mendonca; Camden signed RHP Jeff Farnsworth, released RHP Eric Gonzalez

Mendonca is a 25-year-old third baseman who came to the Atlantic League for the first time this season after spending the first four years of his pro career in the Texas Rangers’ organization. He has a career .278 batting average at Class AA, but batted .208 in 63 games at Class AAA Round Rock last season. The Fresno (Cal.) State product hit .292 with two RBIs, four walks, five strikeouts and no extra-base hits in eight games (24 plate appearances) for Camden. He has been assigned to the Phils’ Class AA Reading Fightin’ Phils affiliate. He is the sixth Atlantic League player to be signed by a major league organization this season.

Farnsworth, 37, comes back to Camden for the second straight season and the Atlantic League for the sixth time in the last nine years. He owns a career 11-18 record and 5.75 ERA in 116 Atlantic League games (26 starts). His only season in the majors came in 2002, when he posted a 5.79 ERA in 44 relief appearances for the Detroit Tigers. He had a 5.81 ERA in 40 combined games last season with the Sugar Land Skeeters and Riversharks.

Harris, 28, has spent nearly his entire pro career in the Atlantic League, returning to the league for the seventh straight year and to Camden for the fourth straight season. He has a career .155 batting average in 200 games which includes 21 games in the American Association 2007. Last season, the Texas native had a .159 batting average in 26 games with Camden.

Gonzalez had a 9.72 ERA in five relief appearances for Camden.

The ‘Sharks have 28 players under contract, including first baseman/catcher Raul Padron, who played Saturday but is currently no on Camden’s roster for some reason (I’m assuming he’s inactive since the team nor the league has released any info on his status). With Farnsworth on board, the ‘Sharks now have five former big leaguers.

LANCASTER BARNSTORMERS: Signed RHP Jason Richardson and C Gustavo Molina

Molina, 31, is a former major leaguer who makes his Atlantic League debut with the Barnstormers in his 14th pro season. He is less than two years removed catching in the big leagues with the New York Yankees. He has briefly seen time in the majors over four different seasons since 2007, compiling 26 games of major league experience with five big league ball clubs. Last season, he played in 35 total games split time between the Yankees’ Class AA Trenton and Class AAA Scranton-Wilkes Barre affiliates. He has a career .214 batting average at the Class AAA level.

Richardson, 32, was putting up arguably his numbers of his career in 2011, going 4-0 with a 3.33 ERA in 19 relief appearances with the York Revolution, before the season was cut short due to injury problems, which later led to Tommy John surgery. The right-hander spent nearly all of last season in York rehabbing from surgery, with a locker next to pitcher Chris Waters – the two were high school teammates and later teammates again in the Atlanta Braves’ organization. Richardson has been looking for work since pitching earlier this year for the Long Island Sound, a team comprised of current and former Atlantic League players that scrimmages teams down in Florida during Major League Baseball’s spring training. Now in his sixth season in the Atlantic League, Richardson has also previously pitched for the Somerset Patriots and Southern Maryland Blue Crabs.

The Barnstormers have 28 players under contract (catcher Francisco Hernandez is inactive), including nine with major league experience.

SOUTHERN MARYLAND BLUE CRABS: Signed RHP Beau Vaughan and RHP Joe Gannon, released RHP Peter Sikaras

Vaughan, 31, returns for his second season in the Atlantic League and first in Southern Maryland after compiling a 5-0 record and 3.37 ERA in 50 relief appearances for Lancaster last season. A third-round draft pick of the Boston Red Sox in 2003, Vaughan has 41 games of experience at the Class AAA level, where he has a 4.66 ERA, last pitching there in 2010.

Gannon, 38, returns for his fifth straight season in Southern Maryland and eighth overall in the Atlantic League.  The New York native pitched in just six games last year split between Lancaster and Southern Maryalnd. His best season in the Atlantic League came in 2008, when he had a 12-6 record and 3.17 ERA in 23 games (22 starts) for the Crabs.

Sikaras had a 7.26 ERA in nine relief appearances.

YORK REVOLUTION: 1B/OF Johan Limonta signed by San Diego Padres; York signed UTL Ruddy Yan and OF James Shanks; LHP Dustin Pease retired

Limonta batted .295 with two homers, four doubles, 12 RBIs and eight runs scored in 16 games. He reported to Class AA San Diego.

Yan and Shanks were brought on to provide some depth to York’s outfield. Yan, 31, has been playing independent ball since 2008. His only other season in the Atlantic League came in 2011 with the Camden Riversharks, when he batted .281 with 26 steals in 99 games.

The Revs had released Shanks mid-way through last season after he batted just .249 in 77 games. It was a drop-off from the .325 average he carried in 2010 and .314 average he had in 2011.

Pease, 27, decided to retire after posting a 7.50 ERA in six games for the Revs this season. According to Revs’ play-by-play man Darrell Henry, Pease wants to spend more of his time to a baseball academy Pease runs in Maryland. The Maryland native played college ball nearby at Mount Saint Mary College through 2007. Pease was in the San Diego Padres’ organization the last two years, compiling a combined 3.52 ERA in 55 games at Class High Lake Elsinore in 2011 and 52 games at Class AA San Antonio in 2012. (Former Revs’ reliever Josh Judy is currently playing at San Antonio).

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