KINSTON, North Carolina (January 8, 2025) - The Down East Bird Dawgs, along with the Frontier League, an MLB Partner League, are thrilled to announce the first eleven players signed to the roster for the inaugural 2025 season!

With just over four months until the Bird Dawgs home opener on Friday, May 9, 2025, the team announced the first eleven players that have been signed to the roster since hiring Field Manager Brett Wellman in November 2024, a North Carolina native who played three seasons as a catcher in the Toronto Blue Jays organization. The Bird Dawgs are nearly halfway complete with filling the league required 24-man roster, which also limits teams to 3 veterans (players older than 29 years as of October 1), while a minimum of 10 players are required to be rookies.

"It's an exciting time for the Bird Dawgs organization. Each of the eleven players we have signed to the roster demonstrate the talent and character we want in the clubhouse," said Brett Wellman, Field Manager of the Down East Bird Dawgs. "We still have more grind ahead of us to fill our full roster for the 2025 season, nonetheless we couldn't be more excited for this first round of signings."

The first four signings occurred in November 2024, when the Bird Dawgs signed Catcher Gehrig Ebel on November 14, followed by RHP Carter Raffield on November 16, RHP Axel Andueza on November 18 and 2B Trotter Harlan on November 21, 2024.

• Ebel played 4 seasons for Virginia Tech and most recently played for the Sussex County Miners in the Frontier League for the 2024 season, with a career 190 games, hitting .256 with 71 RBI, 28 doubles, 16 homers and 13 stolen bases. In 2023 at Virginia Tech, Ebel sported a .996 fielding percentage at catcher and had 13 putouts during the second game in the Charleston series.
• Raffield, who was drafted by the Cincinnati Reds in the 14th round of the 2021 MLB June Amateur Draft from Clemson University, has a career 2-2 record, a 5.81 ERA in 35 games with 63 strikeouts in 52.2 innings pitched. Before his time at Clemson, Raffield was All-state as a senior, was awarded region pitcher-of-the-year and team MVP and lettered four times in baseball at Bleckley County High School.
• Andueza, who played for the Arizona Diamondbacks organization, has a career 2-2 record, a 7.54 ERA in 43 games with 60 strikeouts in 59.2 innings pitched, along with batting 290 games, hitting .288 with 98 RBI, and 19 stolen bases. In his first full season on the mound, Axel struck out 50 in 49 IP.
• Harlan played 234 games for the College of Charleston, hitting .295 with 177 RBI, 64 doubles, 31 homers, and 57 stolen bases. Harlon is second in school history in doubles and at bats (926) and is third in games played. Harlan was also on the 2022 & 2024 CAA All-Tournament Team.

In December, the Bird Dawgs signed another four players, including 1B Emmanuel Tapia on December 6, 3B Yeniel Laboy and OF Cameron Masterman on December 19, and LHP Zach Grace on December 24, 2024.

• Tapia, who played for the Cleveland Guardians organization, has 9 seasons across all levels, playing 670 games, hitting .237 with 352 RBI, 115 doubles, 94 homers, and 16 stolen bases. In 2017, Tapia homered in his last at-bat of the season to break the Captains' single-season home run record at 29.
• Laboy, who was drafted by the Oakland Athletics in the 7th round of the 2022 MLB June Amateur Draft from Carlos Beltran Baseball Academy, has played 152 games, hitting .202 with 49 RBI, 11 doubles and 10 stolen bases.
• Masterman, who played 3 seasons for the Oakland Athletics organization and 4 seasons with the University of Louisville, has played a career 410 games, hitting .269 with 256 RBI, 75 doubles, 54 homers and 34 stolen bases. In 2022, Masterman was the NCAA Louisville Regional Most Outstanding Player and 2022 All-ACC Baseball Academic Team.
• Grace, who recently pitched 26 games in 2024 with the Joliet Slammers, has a career 10-6 record and a 4.22 ERA in 67 games pitched with 235 strikeouts in 194 innings. In 2023, Grace was the ABCA/Rawlings All-America Fourth Team selection, ABCA/Rawlings Region 4 Pitcher of the Year, ABCA/Rawlings All-Region First Team. Additionally, Grace recorded a career-high 14 strikeouts in complete-game shutout of William Paterson, 11-0, in second round of NJAC Championship.

So far in January, the Bird Dawgs have signed three players to kickoff 2025, including SS Kameron Guidry, INF Jaylen Smith and OF Stephen DiTomaso.

• Guidry, who played his first season at the University of Georgia and his remaining collegiate career with the University of Cincinnati, has a career 178 games played, hitting .225 with 79 RBI, 20 doubles, 16 homers and 17 stolen bases. In 2024 during a three-game stretch from March 10-13, Guidry went 6-for-17 at the plate with five home runs, 12 RBI, seven runs scored, and three walks.
• Smith, who played two seasons at Kennesaw State University before playing 5 seasons across 4 leagues, most recently with the Empire Greys in the Frontier League and the Oakland Ballers in the Pioneer League, has a career 376 games played, hitting .254 with 161 RBI, 46 doubles, 28 homers, and 64 stolen bases. In the 2020 offseason, Smith signed with the Washington Nationals but was released during spring training.
• DiTomaso played 5 seasons and 215 games with George Washington University, including 27 games in 2023 with the Wilmington Sharks in the Coastal Plain League, has a career 274 games, hitting .313 with 159 RBI, 42 doubles, 18 homers and 68 stolen bases. In 2024 with George Washington University, DiTomaso appeared in all 57 games as a grad, making 56 starts, recording a line of .310/.358/.397 with a team-best 78 hits, 11 doubles, three home runs and one triple and registered a team-high 48 runs scored, while also driving in 38 RBI.

"The signing of these players should excite the baseball community here in North Carolina. Whether local to Kinston or part of the surrounding communities, the talent these players will bring to Historic Grainger Stadium for our inaugural 2025 season will be one to remember," said Kristopher Dumschat, Director of Marketing, Promotions & Fan Experience of the Down East Bird Dawgs. "We want everyone who attends a Bird Dawgs game this year to enjoy a competitive ballgame while building fun-filled memories with their family, friends and colleagues."