Barrie Baycats release catcher Leliis Beltran, sign pitcher Ramon Henriquez

In a swap of Dominican players, the Barrie Baycats released catcher Leliis Beltran, and signed right-handed pitcher Ramon Henriquez Thursday in a corresponding move.

Beltran, 31, was brought in with hopes of getting a better connection between the catcher position and the Dominican-led starting rotation.

He proved himself as a defensive catcher, but struggled offensively in his first nine IBL games, going two-for-27 with two home runs and three RBI. He also struck out eight times and drew one walk.

In each of his last four appearances, he'd been substituted for a pinch hitter. Beltran's substitutions reached base twice and scored as many runs in seven plate appearances as he did in 28 plate appearances.

Beltran was told about his release Thursday night after Barrie's 8-6 win over the Brantford Red Sox. He took batting practice with the team but did not appear in the game.

LELIIS BELTRAN STATISTICS

Filling the Baycats' fifth import spot on the roster will be 25-year-old right-handed pitcher Ramon Henriquez.

Henriquez is a former New York Mets prospect, and made 18 appearances at the minor league level in 2023, pitching to an earned run average of 3.58 in 37.2 innings.

The Mets released him in October of 2023, before he was signed by the Hamilton Cardinals in January after catching the attention of team management at a tryout at the Cano Baseball Academy in San Pedro de Macorís, Dominican Republic.

He possesses a lively fastball that can reach 96 miles per hour, as well as a slider. However, he had control issues in his time with the Cardinals.

His first two of four appearances ended in losses, and he walked more batters than he struck out. His third outing showed promise, striking out three and walking none in two scoreless innings against Chatham-Kent.

The last outing as a Cardinal for Henriquez was a start against Welland in which he gave up one earned run in one inning before being released the next day in favour of new signing Carlos Dominguez.

Henriquez projects to be a strong right-handed option in the Baycats bullpen alongside Carlos Sano, who picked up his first save of the season Thursday.

Barrie's relievers are pitching to a 3.43 ERA collectively through 39.1 innings in 11 total team games.

RAMON HENRIQUEZ STATISTICS

UP NEXT

Barrie's (5-6) next game is Saturday at home against Welland (11-1). Frank Garcés will start for the Baycats, while the starter for the Jackfish is still TBD.

Henriquez will be active for Saturday's game, having already pitched 3.1 innings against Welland this season.