El Llano finished in seventh place in the Spanish championship last year. They strengthen their roster for the upcoming season with two acquisitions. Outfielder Pedro MENDEZ makes the trip from San Inazio Bilbao to Gijon. Fidel Ernesto TORRES was a pitcher for Barcelona in 2007.
MENDEZ is from Cuba, but has also a Spanish passport and will play for the National Team next month in Taiwan. He hit .280 (SLG .341) with 21 runs scored and eleven RBI for Bilbao. The center fielder is one of the fast guys in Spain. He stole eleven bases in 24 games.
The 33-year-old TORRES is from the Dominican Republic. The reliever appeared in 15 games (two starts) for the runner up of the Spanish League. He had a 5-1 record with one save and an ERA of 2.54. He struck out 49 (17 BB) in 63.2 innings pitched. He had also a solid season at the plate, hitting .316 (SLG .368) with nine runs scored and nine RBI in 38 at-bats.