Guelph Royals deal for outfielder from Welland Jackfish

The Guelph Royals continued to make roster changes as they get ready for their season opener May 15 at Chatham-Kent.

Wednesday, the Royals acquired outfielder Jake Sanford from the Welland Jackfish for cash considerations.

Tuesday, the locals released infielder Blake Simpson, veteran outfielder Jeff MacLeod, import catcher Keinner Pina and import pitcher Antonio Frias.

Sanford played the last two years, his first two in the OBL, formerly known as the Intercounty Baseball League. He had six homers, 32 RBIs, one stolen base and a .380 batting average in 45 regular-season games with the Jackfish and one homer, 15 RBIs and a .329 batting average in 17 playoff games. He was a first-team all-star outfielder in 2024 when he was the league’s batting champion with a .393 average and was a member of Welland’s championship-winning lineup last year, playing as the designated hitter in all five games of the 4-1 championship series win over the Barrie Baycats.

Sanford, from Dartmouth, N.S., also played two seasons in the New York Yankees’ organization after being picked in the third round, 105^th overall, of the 2019 MLB June Amateur Draft, getting as high as High-A in 2021. He had 23 homers, 88 RBIs, seven stolen bases and a .267 batting average in those two years. After that he played four seasons of independent ball, mainly with the Ottawa Titans of the Frontier league. In those four years, he had 33 homers, 160 RBIs, nine stolen bases and a .262 batting average. He did split his time between Ottawa and Welland in both 2024 and 2025.

Last year was Simpson’s second with the Royals and third in the league as he had played three games with the Toronto Maple Leafs in 2022. He has two homers, 18 RBIs, three stolen bases and a .333 batting average in 27 regular-season games in the league.

The 43-year-old MacLeod played 15 years in the IBL, including nine with the Royals. He finished with 17 homers, 109 RBIs, six stolen bases and a .247 batting average in 261 regular-season games and three RBIs, a stolen base and .224 batting average in 37 playoff games. He also had a 1-2 (W-L) record and 41 strikeouts in 57 2/3 innings pitched in the regular season and playoffs combined.

Last year was Pina’s first with the Royals and in the league. He had two homers, 11 RBIs and a .289 batting average in 10 regular-season games and an RBI and .360 batting average in seven playoff games.

Last year was also the first for Frias with the Royals and in the league. He had a 0-1 record with 15 strikeouts and 8.79 earned-run average in 14 1/3 innings in the regular season and 1-0 record, seven strikeouts and 2.00 ERA in nine playoff innings.

The Royals are scheduled to start the season with three consecutive road games as they’re to play the Chatham-Kent Barnstormers at Chatham’s Fergie Jenkins Field May 15 at 7:35 p.m., the Jackfish in Welland’s home opener at the Welland Stadium May 16 at 6:05 p.m. and the London Majors at Labatt Park May 22 at 7:05 p.m.

Guelph’s home opener at Hastings Stadium is set for May 23 at 2 p.m. against the Brantford Red Sox.

• Guelph Sports Journal