KANSAS CITY, Kan. – The Kansas City T-Bones announced that they have acquired infielder Eddie Newton, outfielder Daniel Rockett and pitcher Lee Sosa from New Jersey of the Can-Am League for pitchers Evan DeLuca, Sean Furney and Jared Messer, plus infielder Ryan Retz and a player to be determined. 

“We realize that we’re giving up a lot of value here, but sometimes the best trades, especially blockbuster trades like this one, hurt a little,” said T-Bones vice-president and general manager Chris Browne. “In a trade that helps both teams, you have to give up talent in order to get talent.”

Newton is a 6-foot-2 and 200-pound right-handed hitting shortstop from North Billerica, Mass. He batted .244 with 70 hits, including 11 doubles, seven triples and five home runs, plus 50 RBIs and 39 runs scored in 89 games for the Jackals in 2016, playing for new T-Bones manager Joe Calfapietra. In 82 games at shortstop Newton had a .980 fielding percentage. He started his professional career in 2015 for Santa Fe of the Independent Pecos League, where he hit .423 in 51 games.

Rockett is a 6-foot-2 and 200-pound right-handed hitter from Houston. He was a .372 hitter with 11 home runs, 38 RBIs and 47 runs scored in 57 games for New Jersey in 2016. The Kansas City Royals selected Rockett in the ninth round of the 2013 June MLB Amateur Draft out of the University of Texas at San Antonio. He played at high-A Wilmington in 2014 and ’15. In four professional seasons, Rockett has a .251 batting average with 301 hits, 41 home runs, 165 RBIs and 191 runs scored.

Sosa is a 6-foot-2 and 215-pound right hander from Bronx, N.Y., who went 9-6 with a 2.51 ERA in 23 games (18 starts) for the Jackals in 2016. Prior to joining New Jersey, Sosa was a 26th round selection by the Oakland A’s in the 2012 June Amateur Draft out of State University of New York at Binghamton. In five professional seasons, Sosa is 15-16 with one save and a 3.99 ERA. He has struck out 203 and walked 148.

“I am happy to acquire three players that I’m familiar with and who understand my passion for the game,” Calfapietra said.

In DeLuca, Furney and Messer, the T-Bones are sending to New Jersey a combined 11 wins (out of 42) from 2016. Messer spent three seasons with Kansas City, going 13-7 with three saves and a 4.18 ERA. The left-handed DeLuca, who’s from Whitehouse Station, N.J., spent parts of two seasons with the T-Bones. He was a combined 4-3 with a 4.70 ERA. Furney, a Warwick, R.I., native who battled injuries in 2016, was 3-3 with a 4.02 ERA. Retz, who was used as a third baseman in Kansas City, joined the T-Bones late in the 2016 season. In 14 games, he batted .298 with two home runs and nine RBIs.

“Besides this being a good trade for both sides,” Browne added, “I’m happy that we’re able to allow a couple of our guys to play closer to their homes back east.”