Just a couple of weeks before the 2012 season in the Italian Baseball League starts, defending champion T&A San Marino has to do some shuffling. Wuilliuans Vasquez, who already had an agreement to return to the Titans, is leaving for a new independent league in Japan. The 28-year-old Venezuelan sees this as a last opportunity to get back into professional baseball.
It didn’t take long for general manager Mauro Mazzotti to find a replacement. Marco Yepez, also from Venezuela, is taking over Vasquez’ foreign player spot. He played for Cariparma Parma in the last two seasons, batting .303/.386/.322 in 2011. He is also some kind of insurance in case Giovanni Pantaleoni’s knee injury is indeed serious.
Yepez is going to be the fifth new player on the roster besides Chris Cooper, Daniel Bittar, Yulman Ribeiro and Joe Mazzuca. One last piece is missing for the reigning European Champions Cup winner, as a strong foreign starting pitcher is anticipated.