THUNDER BAY – The Thunder Bay Border Cats are starting to take shape.
The Northwoods League on Thursday announced the signing of the first four players to the 2019 roster, adding Canadian-born infielder Thomas Grilli, outfielder Anthony Galati, pitcher Brendan Cindric and infielder Nathan Soriano.
Soriano, a hot-hitting junior who transferred to Houston Baptist University after spending two seasons at San Diego’s Palermo College, were he hit .352 and scored 35 runs in 40 games.
Cindric, entering his sophomore season at California’s Pepperdine University, is a 6-foot-4 lefthander who recorded a dazzling 1.06 earned run average in 24.2 innings in his final season at Monte Vista High School in Danville, Calif.
Cindric red-shirted in 2018.
Galatis, a native of Reno, Nev., is set to enter his second season at Sacramento City College, where he hit .279 in 43 appearances in 2018, bashing a pair of home runs and driving in 22.
The lone Canadian in the first crop of recruits is Mississauga’s Grilli, who graduated from St. Michael’s College in Toronto and was part of the Ontario Blue Jays baseball program. The six-foot shortstop is a rookie at Panola College in Carthage, Texas.
Team manager Eric Vasquez says he's reached out to as many as seven possible returnees from last year's squad, but has yet to have any confirm they'll be back in 2019.