The usual comings and goings of a senior baseball off season seemed to be a lot busier in the winter of 2017, as the GTBL will say goodbye to a number of iconic veterans who donned a uniform in the GTA for many years.
The longest standing member of the league at twenty five years played, Garrett Gilroy of the Leaside Leafs, finally bid the GTBL adieu after another solid 2017 season. Victor Simon, who also tossed countless innings in GTBL action, also called it quits. Also retiring from senior baseball are Simon's Newmarket teammates, Brent Heaslip and Mark Petrou, both had long and very good senior careers. The Pickering Red Sox also saw the loss of three long time pieces, Mark Cheeseman, Steve Horsley, and Jeff Fox, who all hung em up after their 2017 GTBL championship season.
The rest of the announced transactions as of April 25, 2018 are listed below.
EAST YORK
Out
- Mike Arsenault LHP. Veteran southpaw not back for 2018
- Jesse Bartle CF/IF. Speedy outfielder travelling for the 2018 season
- Anthony Buonaiuto OF/RHP. Playing overseas for the foreseeable future
In
- Brian MacDonald OF/DH. The former GTBL hitter of the year is expected back early June
- Len Wood OF/LHP. Talented offensive player expected to return after a year off from baseball
LEASIDE
Out
- Adam Campbell OF. Ex Red Sox draft pick retires after a handful of GTBL seasons
- Garrett Gilroy RHP. After twenty five seasons of play(22 with Leaside), the veteran says goodbye in 2018
- Tyler Hughes 3B/SS. Had some big years for the Leafs after a UBC career
- Francis Toribio LHP. After two solid seasons, the youngster will be away in 2018
In
- Avery Bet-Payumo IF. Returns from knee injury that caused the 2016 hitter of the year to miss the entire 2017 season
- Jesse Fishbaum OF. Junior graduate and Ryerson product joins Leafs in 2018
- Zac Kelcher-McConnell UT. Leafs Junior grad moves to the GTBL for rookie year in 2018
MARTINGROVE
Out
- Will Bargel OF. After a number of part time years, the outfielder walks away in 2018
- Sam Vaughan UT. Will not return for 2018
In
- Mike Bannon LHP. Talented lefty gives Sox a third quality starter
- Peter Gott OF. Returns after a year off
- Robert Gott UT. Youngest of the four brothers makes GTBL debut in 2018
NEWMARKET
Out
- Brad Crone LHP. After seasons with Whitby, Thornhill and the Hawks, the veteran joins Etobicoke for 2018
- Brent Heaslip RHP. Veteran who was known for his fork ball retires in 2018
- Liam O'Brien IF. After a number of GTBL seasons Liam will not return in 2018
- Mark Petrou C/OF. Had a great career with Markham and Newmarket, numerous all star selections later Mark walks away for the 2018 season
- Victor Simon RHP/DH. Storied senior career saw years of dominance on the hill for multiple GTBL clubs
- Ryan Taylor RHP. Young arm not returning in 2018
- Jordan Vecchiarelli P/UT. After a number of part time seasons he wont return for 2018
- Sean Wallace IF. Moved to the USA, not around for the 2018 season
In
- Chris Bloom IF. After a number of seasons in Thornhill, the talented infielder joins the Hawks for 2018
- Nick Capitano C. Finishing a college career at Canisus, the catcher should have a nice 2018 GTBL debut
- Dalton Clarke OF. The Indiana U at Kokomo product figures to add some talent to a different looking 2018 Hawk lineup
- CJ Dungavell RHP. The young arm will jump right into the mix for innings as a 2018 rookie
- Dan Lehmkuhl RHP/IF. Leaves Thornhill for an increased role with Newmarket in 2018
- Tyler Plumpton IF/RHP. After a couple years in East York the two time MVP heads to Newmarket for 2018
- Paul Rupnik OF. Rookie out of Newman U in Kansas joins the Hawks for 2018
PICKERING
Out
- Mark Cheeseman RHP. Talented arm says goodbye after an amazing senior career with Markham/Pickering franchise
- Jeff Fox 2B. The reliable glove man says goodbye after many years of competent senior play
- Steve Horsley RHP. After a fantastic senior career, Steve hangs em up after a GTBL championship in 2017
- Duncan Watt OF. Speedy outfielder calls it quits after one year in the league
- Mat Wilson RHP. Front end arm suffered injury in 2017 that wont allow him to return to AAA ball
In
- Avi Anantharajah RHP. McGill U product will be looked on to provide innings in his GTBL debut of 2018
- Matt Melissis 3B. Travelled the world playing baseball all over, most recently in BC
- Carlos Perez RHP. Pitched at Erie CC, and will jump right into the mix for the Red Sox in rookie year
- Billy Sloat UT. Has played senior ball with the Tillsonburg Red Sox, joins new Red Sox club for 2018
THORNHILL
Out
- Chris Bloom IF. After a number of solid GTBL seasons as a Red, Chris joins the Hawks in 2018
- Peter Joseph RHP. Will play US summer college ball in 2018
- Dan Lehmkuhl RHP/IF. Joins the Hawks in 2018 after a lengthy Reds career
- Cal Mui OF. After a number of seasons in Thornhill, Cal will not return in 2018
- Junya Oshima IF. Will not return in 2018
- Yusuke Oshima P. Coaching with team Ontario in 2018 after a handful of seasons with the Reds
- Joe Presutti DH. Head coach of Team Ontario 14u, will not return in 2018
- Edwin Ronquillo IF. After three seasons in Toronto with the Reds, the veteran moves back to Winnipeg for 2018
In
- Daniel Apostoli OF/C. Joins the Reds after an excellent rookie year with the Milton Red Sox of COBA Major
- Ben Brown LHP. Rookie will make his GTBL debut out of Albany U and the Toronto Mets program
- Hunter Greenough RHP. Returns after missing 2017 with arm injury
- Jeremiah Groulx UT/RHP. Veteran rejoins the Reds after health issues robbed him of two GTBL seasons
- Pat Orr C/RHP. Graduate of Allegheny College joins the Reds as a 2018 GTBL rookie
- Ben Teplin 1B/DH. The Toronto Mets product joins the Reds after a season at Indiana U of Pennsylvania