Curaçao Neptunus Snags Away Several Hoofdklasse Players

Unlike many other clubs, Curaçao Neptunus did not wait until the end of the transaction deadline, to present the newly acquired players. In total, the club acquired five players from other clubs, although two of them are coming home.

With Benjamin Dille, Shaldimar Daantji, Berry van Driel, Elton Koeiman, Dudley Leonora, and Quentin de Cuba hanging up their spikes or moving elsewhere, Neptunus had some big holes to fill. Too much to fill with youth players alone. So the club did not have much of a choice to roam around the Dutch hoofdklasse and lure several players away from their clubs.

Pitching:
One of the biggest surprises was the acquisition of one of the starting pitchers of their eternal rivals, L&D Amsterdam Pirates: Juan-Carlos Sulbaran. The Curaçaoan earned the most victories in the hoofdklasse in the 2021 season (10-4, together with Lars Huijer of HCAW) and struck out the most of any Pirates’ pitcher.
The other day, Neptunus also announced the acquisition of Jayden Gonesh, pitcher of the Dutch U23 team. With Silicon Storks, Gonesh was clearly the best pitcher with a 3.49 ERA in fourteen appearances, of which four starts in 2021. He posted a 4-3 record and struck out forty-one.
Another new face on the Neptunus hoofdklasse roster is Brandon Herbold, who is coming from the farm team, Tridents. But the intention is to have him pitch at Tridents in order to pitch enough innings.

Catching:
Even though the club has one of the best, if not THE best catcher in the Dutch hoofdklasse, Neptunus thought it was necessary to lure away Dave Janssen from Oosterhout Twins. Sure, Janssen was the backup of Jason Halman as he only sat behind the dish on Saturdays. In the near future, his role will not change, but Neptunus thinks he will be their future catcher.

Infield:
Another acquisition of a player from Silicon Storks. Sheadion Jamanika reinforces the infield at first base. In the past, he played for the Rotterdam baseball academy Unicorns and for the farm team of Neptunus, Tridents.
Another infielder who is coming home is Raydley Legito. The son of the new manager of Neptunus, Railey Legito, played for L&D Amsterdam Pirates as he attended a school in Amsterdam. He will replace Benjamin Dille at second base.

Outfield:
Aruban-born Jiandido Tromp was the first big surprise acquired by Neptunus. In the past season, Tromp played for the 2021 winner of the Italian Serie A, T&A San Marino.
He carried the team as leadoff hitter as he hit the most home runs and most base hits.
Tromp has a lot of minor league experience under his belt.

The 2022 roster of Curaçao Neptunus will look as follows, barring more acquisitions from abroad:

Pitching:
Kevin Bakker
Jayden Gonesh
Aaron de Groot
Misja Harcksen
Brandon Herbold
Kevin Kelly
Diegomar Markwell
Kaj Timmermans
Orlando Yntema (working to recover from an injury)

Catchers:
Gianison Boekhoudt
Dave Janssen
Dashenko Ricardo

Infield:
Sheadion Jamanika
Dwayne Kemp
Raydley Legito
John Polonius
Stijn van der Meer

Outfield:
Roger Bernadina
Christian Diaz
Gregory Muller
Jiandido Tromp

Coaching:
Raily Legito (manager)
Jan Collins (bench coach)
Wim Martinus (1B coach)
Quincy Ascencion (3B coach)
Diegomar Markwell (pitching coach)