The calendar turned to April this week, meaning that crunch time is approaching as American Association teams finish their offseason to-do lists before spring camps open in the coming weeks.

In case you missed it, this week I took an in-depth look at everyone’s rosters, starting with the East Division on Tuesday, then doing the same with the West on Wednesday. Kansas City’s two Monday signings are covered in the second piece, but everything else here happened after I wrote those.

Without further ado!

Chicago Dogs

Signed: RHP Patrick Pridgen
Acquired: INF Ethan Wilder (from Washington for future considerations)

The Spin: Chicago has largely looked outside the American Association for lineup re-tooling, and here they swing a deal for a Frontier League infielder. Wilder has zero power (three home runs in 151 games), but hit .281 with a .370 on-base percentage over his first two pro seasons and committed just three errors in 67 games at shortstop last year. He has not yet signed after the trade, so the deal is not fully done yet, but assuming he’s willing to head to Chi-Town, this is a solid bottom-of-the-order guy to tie together the infield (see: Josh Bissonnette in Kansas City).

The Dogs also brought back Pridgen, who came over late last summer from Kansas City. Between both stops, the 27-year-old posted a 5.22 ERA in 60.1 innings. He will likely be in line for a swingman role, similar to last year.

Of note, the Dogs did post on social media on Friday welcoming RHP Andres Diaz, who was acquired in a trade with Gary SouthShore on March 4. Does that mean Diaz has officially locked in with Chicago? We don’t know, as nothing on the wire has officially said he’s signed, so as of now, we’ll proceed as if he hasn’t signed yet.

Cleburne Railroaders

Signed: RHP Andrew Bellatti

The Spin: After pruning some infielders the last two weeks, the Railroaders make a pretty big splash in inking Bellatti, who is a veteran of four MLB seasons and made eight (very good) postseason appearances in relief for the 2022 NL Champion Philadelphia Phillies. Things haven’t gone well the three ensuing seasons, as he was out of the majors less than a year later and most of last year was spent in Mexico after being cut from Triple-A early on. At 34, it will be interesting to see what he has left.

Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks

Signed: RHP Denny Larrondo

The Spin: The RedHawks have been putting together a pretty nice pitching staff and that continues in an intriguing signing in Larrondo. The 24-year-old Cuban pitched for his home country in the World Baseball Classic and has averaged well over a strikeout per inning in his five pro seasons (though a healthy amount of walks, too). To watch with him: Larrondo has only been a starter and the RedHawks rotation is fairly well set (and good), so maybe they seem as a guy who can be maximized in relief, though he could slide in the 4/5 starter slot, depending on what F-M wants to do with Angelo Cabral.

Gary SouthShore RailCats

Signed: RHP Jackson Dannelley, LHP Denson Hull

The Spin: Arms have been a little light for Gary SouthShore, but they addressed that with a pair of signings on the mound. Dannelly briefly pitched (and not well) for Chicago to make his pro debut in ’24 before one year in affiliated ball, while Hull is the much more known quantity. The southpaw is a four-year Indy ball veteran who’s returning for his third year at the Steel Yard after posting a 4.30 ERA in 52.1 innings in relief last year. It’s not a sexy signing, but he’s certainly a productive bullpen arm.

Kane County Cougars

Signed: OF Alex McGarry

The Spin: The Cougars need outfielders and they filled a corner this week in bringing back McGarry, who was passed around three AA clubs last year and eventually finishing in Kane County. All-in-all, last year he slashed .249/.325/.391 with nine homers in 81 games across all three stops. Since arriving in the AA in mid-2024, he had the profile of a guy who I thought would hit really well here. So far, that’s never really happened, but another season of familiarity (and staying in one spot) might finally lead to a breakout.

Kansas City Monarchs

Signed: LHP Ryan Anderson, RHP Austin Hansen

Transferred: RHP Nate Webb (to Chihuahua, Mexican League)

The Spin: Kansas City grabbed a pair of arms with upper-minors experience, though with different trajectories. Hansen last pitched in the U.S. in 2023 and was in Mexico the last two years with okay results. Anderson, meanwhile, is a signing I really like. He’s only had two games at Triple-A, but he has a career 2.94 ERA in 98.0 career innings at Double-A. He has the potential to be a really good bullpen arm.

Lake Country DockHounds

Signed: LHP Brody Rodning

The Spin: The DockHounds go back to a familiar face in Rodning, who pitched very well in relief (1.93 ERA in 14 outings) for the Hounds in 2024 before being picked up by the Houston Astros. He had a rough 2025, though, pitching across the upper two levels of the minors, so a bounce-back will be sorely needed for the 30-year-old. With that said, Lake Country’s pitching staff is in a pretty good place right now, so depending on what the plan is for him, he could have a longer runway to get right…or he might be on a shorter leash with plenty of quality options already in the fold.

Lincoln Saltdogs

Signed: RHP Jeferson Figueroa, RHP Gabriel Jaramillo

The Spin: On the verge of a second quiet week in a row, the Saltdogs slipped in two pitcher signings on Friday. Jamarillo has not pitched since 2023, when he spent most of the year with Lake Country and made a couple appearances in the Frontier League, posting a 6.90 ERA in 30.0 innings with more walks than strikeouts.

Figueroa, meanwhile, is coming off a difficult season in High-A, but was very good in the low minors in ’23 (2.80 ER in 45.0 innings) and ’24 (3.00 ERA in 66.0 innings) with high strikeout rates both seasons. His command completely got away from him last year as his walk rate doubled, but if he can find the zone, the Saltdogs have something here.

Milwaukee Milkmen

The Spin: The Milkmen were quiet this week. With an absurd 19 pitchers signed among their 30 currently inked, Milwaukee will probably be swapping out some arms for a couple more bats, though otherwise I’d say this roster is probably pretty close to complete before spring training.

Sioux City Explorers

The Spin: It was also a quiet week in Sioux City, who made no rumblings for the second week in a row. The X’s only have 21 signees, so there’s still work to be done, with another outfielder probably being needed and several more spots on the pitching staff to be filled, with only nine hurlers in the fold. The Explorers do have a glut of infielders, so we’ll see if they use that to address other needs.

Sioux Falls Canaries

Signed: LHP Thomas Dorminy

The Spin: Last week (in both this column and the in-depth breakdown), I stressed how terrible of shape the Canaries rotation is in and re-signing Dorminy (who also will be the team’s pitching coach) is a great first step in remedying that problem. After not pitching in 2024, the southpaw turned back the clock as a 33-year-old, going 11-1 with a 2.90 ERA in 121.0 innings last year. It would be a big ask to expect that performance again, but even with a slight step back, the lefty is still a huge piece to bring back for Birds.

Winnipeg Goldeyes

Signed: RHP Eli Saul

The Spin: Winnipeg continued to bolster a deep pitching staff in the signing of Saul, who is the sixth Canadian to sign with the AA’s lone outpost in the Great White North. A four-year veteran of affiliated ball, Saul was a workhorse last year (53 outings) between High-A and Double-A, pitching well at the lower level and…not so much at the upper. It’s another piece for Logan Watkins to work with, though.

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