The Barrie Baycats are bolstering their bullpen with another import, adding Mexican left-hander Saul Vasquez to the mix on Thursday.
The 25-year-old briefly appeared in the Chicago Cubs farm system in 2018 before sticking in the Mexican League with Yucatan from 2023 to 2025. Eventually, he was assigned to Durango his last five appearances of the year.
Throughout his career, Vasquez has primarily been a reliever, and accumulated a 4-3 record with a 5.18 ERA and 99 strikeouts through his 49 career appearances (five starts) in the Mexican League.
Most recently, he made 20 appearances last season in the Mexican Pacific League, finishing with a 4-3 record, 5.03 ERA, and 37 strikeouts.
The signing means the Baycats have hit their eight-player limit of imported talent on their roster.
Six of the Baycats' eight rostered imports are pitchers, a strategy that general manager Josh Matlow has stood by since he's been at the helm to get the most out of those slots.
The team will most likely begin the season with a rotation of Frank Garcés, Juan Benítez, and fellow newcomer Juan Mejia. Another signee, Breidy Encarnacion, could be used as a starter on a trial basis before being moved to the bullpen, as has been floated by Matlow.
Barrie's only imports not listed as pitchers are catcher Wandy Ciprian and outfielder Edgar Figueroa. Star closer Carlos Sano and newly-added righty Oscar Moreta round out the list of non-Canadians.
Vasquez stands to be a valuable addition to the team as just the second left-handed reliever. In 2025, Barrie used its only lefty Braeden Pakkala out of the bullpen for 22.2 innings in what was a strong individual campaign.
Just over a month ahead of the team's first pro season in the newly-named Canadian Baseball League, the team has filled 25 of the 28 roster spots available while working with a monthly salary cap of $30,000.
