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wow, I am shocked. Jorge was the best player on the team and he is a type of player you want everyone to play like. He gives 110% on everything he does. What really caught my eye was how he ran hard on simple grounders and fly balls. It's the small things like that that have made him one of the most well liked players in Sioux City history.

Good luck to Jorge, you will be missed in Sioux City!

December 17, 2007 - SIOUX CITY, IA - The Sioux City Explorers announced today that they have acquired INF Jabe Bergeron, OF Chad Gabriel, and LHP Tony O'Donnell from Sussex of the Can Am League in exchange for the contractual rights to OF Jorge Moreno and RHP Matt Salvato. All three players acquired have agreed to contracts for the 2008 season and paperwork will be finalized in the coming days.

"We are getting (2) .300 hitters that have a very good eye at the plate, comments manager Les Lancaster. "This will allow me to do several things during a game while getting two everyday players, plus we get a crafty left-handed pitcher coming out of the bullpen. Given up a player like Moreno was not easy, but we feel this trade helps the overall team as this also allows us the opportunity to now go out and get the experienced pitching we need to bolster our starting rotation."

Bergeron, 25, comes to Sioux City after spending the majority of the last three seasons in the Can Am League while beginning his career in the New York Mets organization in 2005. He had his best year as a professional last year in Sussex when he hit .304 while playing in 88 games as the everyday first baseman. He also posted career highs in hits (102), runs (51), doubles (17), and RBI's (49) Bergeron will enter the season as the X's starting 1st baseman.

Gabriel, 23, will enter the 2008 season as the X's everyday left fielder. He began his professional career in 2004 when the St. Louis Cardinals drafted him in the 20th round of the Major League Baseball Draft. After three seasons in the Cardinals organization, Gabriel was released and signed by the Can Am League's traveling team (Grays) in 2007. With the Grays, Chad hit .293 in 92 games and had 16 doubles, 13 homeruns, while driving in 54 RBI'S.

O'Donnell, 28, continues his career closer to home after recently moving to Sioux Falls, SD. Tony has spent much of his career in Independent Baseball with parts of three seasons coming in the Northern League. After taking the 2006 season off, O'Donnell signed with the Grays in 2007 and had a tremendous season posting a 5-1 record with a 4.11 earned run average while making 35 appearances out of the bullpen. In 2008, the 6'4 lefty will primarily work out of the bullpen after having a highly successful season in that role in 2007.


**NOTES**
The Explorers made another move late last week in which they sent INF Julian Benavidez to Chico of the Golden Baseball League in exchange for RHP Nick Singleton. Singleton has a career 13-12 record with a 3.43 career earned run average in three professional seasons. Throughout his career, Singleton has been a very consistant starter, while recording 192 strikeouts in 236.0 innings of work. In 2006, Nick ranked near the top of the Golden Baseball League in a number of categories including 5th in Wins (7), 3rd in Innings Pitched (107.1), 2nd in Games Started (16) and 2nd in Complete Games (3). In 2008, Singleton will have an opportunity to battle for one of the (5) spots in the starting rotation.

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