New Gateway Grizzlie Andres Regnault is a power-hitting, catching prospect who played four seasons in the New York Mets developmental program. (Photo courtesy MiLB.com)
by Cedric Williams
Senior Editor
With spring training set to officially begin in 10 days, the Gateway Grizzlies made a couple more roster moves on Thursday, they hope will help get their club ready for the 2021 Frontier League season.
The Grizzlies traded for a player and signed another player the team believes could both be in the starting lineup when the season begins on May 27 against the Province of Quebec at GCS Credit Union Ballpark in Sauget.
The first move of the day Gateway made was to sign Andres Regnault, a 22-year old power-hitting prospect from Venezuela. A 6-foot, 250-pounder, Regnault primarily played catcher but also held down designated hitter duties in his four seasons in the New York Mets organization.
He signed with the Mets in 2016 and played three seasons for the Mets’ Dominican Summer League team, then played one year for the Kingsport Mets in Appalachian Rookie League.
That was 2019, when Regnault hit .292, with eight home runs and a career-best 49 RBIs in 44 games. He didn’t play anywhere official in 2020, as most minor league players didn’t because of the covid outbreak.
Regnault’s best overall season was the year before, in 2018, when he hit .333, had a .420 on-base percentage, with a .573 slugging percentage, and blasted a career-high nine home runs with 45 RBIs in 53 games for the Dominican League Mets. That season is what got Regnault promoted to the Mets’ highly-touted Rookie League team in Kingsport.
Regnault is expected to compete with fellow rookie Justin Lamazeras and former Kansas City Royals first round pick and veteran Chase Vallot for the Grizzlies’ starting catcher spot.
Gateway’s other move on Thursday was to trade away relief pitcher Andrew Bash and infielder Sam Troyer to the Missoula Paddleheads of the Pioneer League for shortstop prospect Jose Reyes.
Reyes is a 22-year old from the Dominican Republic, who signed with the Arizona Diamondbacks organization out of high school in 2016. Like Regnault, Reyes played three seasons for the Diamondbacks’ Dominican Summer League team before being promoted to team in Missoula.
In those four seasons, Reyes has shown himself to be a terrific defensive player, but also a pretty good hitter who likes to showcase his speed. Reyes’ career batting average is .280, with 24 doubles, 17 triples, and 46 stolen bases. He also has nine career home runs.
Gateway could potentially add more players later this evening when the Frontier League will host a Dispersal Draft for players that were on one of the league’s three Canadian-based teams (Ottawa, Trois-Rivieres, and Quebec City). The league announced this week that due to uncertainty regarding the re-opening of the US/Canada border, those three teams would have to sit out this season.
A team is being formed of the Canadian-born players on those teams that will play the 2021 Frontier League as one team known as the Province of Quebec. The rest of the players from those teams are eligible to be drafted by any of the 13 US-based teams and that draft will be held this evening.
Announcements are expected to be made either later this evening or tomorrow morning on which players were drafted by which teams.