The Heidenheim Heidekoepfe, which finished in second place in the European Champions Cup and in the German Baseball-Bundesliga, have filled their foreign players spots for the 2011 season. After adding shortstop Matt Gaski, they have signed a second infielder with Andrew Smith and will bring back starting pitcher Dusty Bergman.
Smith is a 27-year-old, who played briefly played affiliated ball with the Houston Astros organization in 2006 after attending the University of San Francisco (NCAA Division I). After an injury ended his career with the Astros he played two years in the independent Frontier League before coming to Europe to wear the jersey of the Templiers Senart in 2009. Last year he played in a semi-pro league in Las Vegas and worked as a youth coach.
The 32-year-old Bergman is entering his third season as a pitcher and pitching coach for Heidenheim. He battled a few minor injuries in 2010, going 5-1 with an ERA of 2.81 in ten starts. He struck out 62 batters in 64 innings, walking 17.