After winning just one game in the past two seasons in the Spanish Division de Honor, the Astros Valencia try to strengthen their roster for 2010. Manager Joan Garcia, who also is the Spanish scout for the Seattle Mariners, brings in outfielder Pedro Mendez and first baseman Sandel Cuevas to improve an offense, which just scored 95 runs in 36 games.
Mendez had left El Llano last winter to join the Italian Baseball League club De Angelis Godo. He made only ten starts in 2009, batting .108 (OBP .233/SLG .108) with two runs scored and three RBI.
The Dominican with a Spanish passport, Cuevas, played for Spain in the 2003 European Championships in the Netherlands. He is a strong, left-handed batter, who spent the last couple of years in the United States.