Sand Gnats: Roster Moves

2B Matt Gaski, C Ralph Henriquez, RHP Samuel Martinez and RHP Michael Powers have all been transferred from the Savannah roster to Extended Spring Training while RHP Phillips Orta and infielder Imbewer Alvarez have been added to the Gnats roster, the New York Mets announced today.

Orta, 23, will join the Gnats for the third time in his minor league career when he meets the team in Rome. Last season, Orta made two starts for the Savannah club and was 0-1 with a 2.70 ERA. In 10 innings, the Bolivar, Ven. native allowed three runs on nine hits. He spent the remainder of the 2008 season with Kingsport, where he was 4-4 with a 2.05 ERA in 14 appearances being used primarily as a reliever. Alvarez, 23, will begin his fourth year in the Mets organization when he joins Savannah for tonight’s game against the Braves. The Valencia, Ven. product hit .189 in 29 games with the Kingsport Mets in 2008. In 2007, Alvarez hit .323 with four home runs and 22 RBI for the Venezuelan League Mets. This will be his first stint in a full-season league. Gaski hit in all nine games that he started with Savannah and was hitting .389 in 10 games overall while Henriquez was batting .265. Martinez made three appearances in his short time with Savannah and registered a 4.50 ERA. Powers notched his first win of ’09 four days ago in a relief outing versus Rome. Both Alvarez and Orta will be active for tonight’s game versus Rome.