Royals Sign Torres and Pina to Bolster Lineup
GUELPH - The Guelph Royals Baseball Club is excited to announce today that we have signed catcher Keinner Pina and second basemen Franklin Torres for the remainder of the 2025 season.
Torres, 28, returns for his second season with the Royals after bursting onto the scene a season ago.
In 2024, the native of Maracay, Venezuela batted a combined .333 in the regular season and playoffs, with two home runs and more walks (17) than strikeouts (15).
The former Los Angeles Angels prospect most recently played in the LMPB, Venezuela's top league, where he batted .336 with one home runs and more walks (27) than strikeouts (20).
Pina, 28, meanwhile, joins the Royals for his first season in the IBL.
Like Torres, Pina -- another former Angels farmhand -- recently wrapped up his season in the LMPB.
In the LMPB, the native of Barquisimeto, Venezuela batted .292 with one home run.
Prior to his season in the LMPB, Pina played in the Venezuela Winter League, where he was teammates with the likes of Luisangel Acuna and Ali Sanchez.
Royals assistant general manager Ryan Eakin said he could not be more excited to add Torres and Pina to the lineup.
"This was the plan going back to the offseason -- to add Torres and Pina at the deadline once their seasons in Venezuela ended. It has been a long wait, but we fully expect it to be worth it. Torres showed last year that he is one of the better players in our league, while we fully expect Pina to be one of the best catchers in the league.
"They will make us better defensively and deeper offensively. We fully expect this to dramtically change our lineup, adding two professional bats overnight."
To make room for the two new imports, we have released reliever Gaku Ueda and starting pitcher Hector Yan.