MLN Newswire - www.mlntherawfeed.com-Former Major League pitchers Antonio Alfonseca and Neal Musser have been signed by the Lancaster Barnstormers and will join the team for this weekend’s four-game road series in Southern Maryland, it was announced today.

 

In addition, the Barnstormers have signed right-handerNick Abel, a former New York Mets farmhand and native of Long Island.

 

Alfonseca, 37, made his Major League debut in 1997 with the Florida Marlins and pitched in three games in the ’97 World Series as the Marlins prevailed over the Cleveland Indians in seven. The right-hander fired a scoreless eighth inning in Game Seven, keeping the Marlins to within a run. They came back and won the game in 11 innings.
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Nicknamed “Seis Dedos” due to having six fingers on each hand, the native of the Dominican Republic eventually appeared in 592 regular season games, all in relief, over an 11-year Major League career that also took him to the Chicago Cubs, Atlanta Braves, and Texas Rangers before landing in the bullpen of the Philadelphia Phillies in 2007. For his career, Alfonseca has recorded a total of 129 saves and has posted a 35-37 record with a 4.11 ERA.

 

Alfonseca led the National League with 45 saves in 2000 while pitching for the Marlins. He also appeared in the post-season in three more years (2003 with Chicago, 2004 with Atlanta and 2007 with Philadelphia) and recorded one win (Game Two of the 2004 NLDS).

 

The right-hander had pitched for Puebla in the Mexican League earlier this season.

 

Musser, 28, was a second round draft choice of the New York Mets in 1999 and rose slowly through the ranks, reaching Class AAA Norfolk in 2004. The Indiana native went to the Arizona Diamondbacks briefly in 2006 but was released six weeks into the season. He was signed by Kansas City, and it was the Royals who sent the career starter to the bullpen where he flourished.

 

In 2007, he was 4-1 with eight saves and a 0.49 ERA in 32 appearances for Class AAA Omaha. The left-hander was called up to Kansas City on five separate occasions, appearing in 17 games, going 0-1 with a 4.38 ERA. Musser also pitched in one game for the KC Royals in 2008 but spent most of his season in the minors, compiling a 3-6 record with six saves and a 4.30 ERA.

 

Musser appeared in four games for Class AAA Round Rock (Astros) earlier this season, pitching seven total innings.

 

Abel, 26, signed with the Mets out of Stony Brook University in the 2006 draft. He was 2-3 with seven saves and a 2.37 ERA for the Class A St. Lucie affiliate in 2007 and last year was a combined 4-3 with five saves and a 5.17 ERA in 33 appearances at three separate stops in the Mets organization. He was released from Class AA Binghamton earlier this season.

 

“Our pitching staff has been strong all year when it has been healthy,” said manager Von Hayes. “However, we wanted to strengthen it even further for the second half, and believe we have added some high quality arms to the bullpen.”

 

Two pitchers have also left the club.RHP Spike Lundberg retired, andRHP Joe D’Alessandrowas released.

 

The moves leave the Barnstormers with 24 active players, 11 position players and 13 pitchers, heading into the weekend.

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