Monarchs Re-Sign Gonzalez – Add Two Outfield Prospects

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Kansas City, KS — On Friday morning, Monarchs Manager Joe Calfapietra made three more additions to the 2026 ballclub.  Kansas City has re-signed switch hitting infielder Alvaro Gonzalez and added outfielders Hudson Head and Troy Schreffler.

Gonzalez played in 81 Monarchs games in 2025 – spilt time between second base and third base hitting .243.

“Getting Alvaro back in Kansas City for another season will really help us defensively and having a switch hitter in the lineup is very important and gives us some versatility” said Calfapietra.   The 25-year-old switch hitting Venezuelan has played all four infield position throughout his professional career with the Detroit Tigers organization.

Left-handed hitter Hudson Head was drafted by the San Diego Padres in the 3rd Round of the 2019 Major League Baseball draft out of Winston Churchill High School in San Antonio, Texas. Head played for Pittsburgh Pirates affiliate AA Altoona Curve in the Eastern League in 2025. Head will turn 25 before the Monarchs open Training Camp.

Troy Schreffler is also 25 and from Harrisburg, Pennsylvania and played collegiately for the University of Maryland.  Last season he played in 52 games for Brooklyn – a New York Mets affiliate in the South Atlantic League – hit 3 home runs and had 7 stolen bases.  Schreffler was drafted by the Philadelphia Phillies in the 15th round of the 2022 Major League Baseball Draft.

The four-time league champion Monarchs will open their 2026 season on May 15 at Kane County with Opening Night at Legends Field being Tuesday May 19 at 6:35 p.m. versus the Chicago Dogs. To view the full schedule, fans can visit monarchsbaseball.com/schedule. Tickets for the 2026 season are on sale now.

About the Kansas City Monarchs:

The Kansas City Monarchs are a professional baseball team in the American Association, an MLB Partner League. 2026 will be their 23rd season at Legends Field in Kansas City, Kansas. In 2020, the team partnered with the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum and changed their name from the T-Bones to the Monarchs in honor of the legendary Negro League franchise that played from 1920 to 1965.

Catcher Returns For 2026 Season

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Kansas City, KS — Ryan Leitch, who caught 60 games in 2025 for the Kansas City Monarchs, is returning to Legends Field for 2026.  Leitch hit 6 home runs including a game winning walk off versus Gary, added 26 RBI hitting at a .235 clip over the course of the season.

9th year Manager Joe Calfapietra said “Ryan is an exciting catcher, and we are happy to have him back.  He knows Legends Field and the League – he was a loyal player for us on a good 2025 team.”

Leitch is a former Philadelphia Phillies prospect who joined the Monarchs before Training Camp in 2025

The Whitby, Ontario native represented Team Canada in the WBSC under 18 Baseball World Cup in 2019.

The four-time league champion Monarchs will open their 2026 season on May 15 at Kane County with Opening Night at Legends Field being Tuesday May 19 at 6:35 p.m. versus the Chicago Dogs. To view the full schedule, fans can visit monarchsbaseball.com/schedule. Tickets for the 2026 season are on sale now.

About the Kansas City Monarchs:

The Kansas City Monarchs are a professional baseball team in the American Association, an MLB Partner League. 2026 will be their 23rd season at Legends Field in Kansas City, Kansas. In 2020, the team partnered with the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum and changed their name from the T-Bones to the Monarchs in honor of the legendary Negro League franchise that played from 1920 to 1965.

Monarchs Add Three New Pitchers

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Kansas City, KS — Continuing to add to the roster for the 2026 American Association season, the Kansas City Monarchs and Manager Joe Calfapietra announced the signing of three pitchers yesterday.

Angel De Jesus is a 6’ 4” 28-year-old right-handed pitcher who signed as an international free agent with the Detroit Tigers in 2016. The Tigers added De Jesus to their 40-man roster in fall of 2021 and he was promoted to the major leagues on April 20, 2022. He appeared in 8 major league games that season. De Jesus spent the 2025 season in the Mexican League appearing in seven games with Aguascalientes and most recently with Jaguares de Nayarit in the Mexican Pacific Winter League.

The Monarchs also added a left-handed pitcher in Jacob Gomez to the roster. Gomez pitched collegiately at Old Dominion and is a native of New Jersey. The now 24-year-old pitched at two affiliate teams for the Atlanta Braves in 2025. First with Augusta GreenJackets in the Carolina League where he pitched 21 innings over 13 appearances with a 2.95 earned run average. Transferred to the Rome Emperors of the South Atlantic League on June 3, 2025, he appeared in 20 games and pitched 29.2 innings with a 2.73 earned run average.

23-year-old right-handed pitcher Lisandro Almonte from the Dominican Republic is also set to join the ballclub.  Almonte has spent time in the Arizona Diamondbacks and Chicago Cubs organizations during his minor league career.

“We are happy to have these three pitchers on the roster as we continue to build the 26 Monarchs. We are really looking forward to having them in Training Camp at Legends Field” added Manager Joe Calfapietra who is starting his ninth season managing Kansas City and his twenty sixth managerial season in his career.

Opening Day in Kansas City is Tuesday, May 19th and tickets are on sale for all home games at monarchsbaseball.com

About the Kansas City Monarchs:

The Kansas City Monarchs are a professional baseball team in the American Association, an MLB Partner League. 2026 will be their 23rd season at Legends Field in Kansas City, Kansas. In 2020, the team partnered with the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum and changed their name from the T-Bones to the Monarchs in honor of the legendary Negro League franchise that played from 1920 to 1965.

Monarchs Bring Back Three Pitchers

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Kansas City, KS — Three Monarchs pitchers will return to Legends Field for the 2026 season, 9th year Manager Joe Calfapietra announced today.

Top right-handed relief pitcher, Jeff Hakanson will be back with the Club for his third season.  Hakanson was 5 – 1 over 51 innings in 35 appearances with a strong 3.35 earned run average.  The 27-year-old was drafted in the 5th round of the Major League Baseball draft by his hometown Tampa Bay Rays. “We are all very excited to have Jeff back for a 3rd season. He is a very reliable arm and more importantly a loyal teammate. The Monarchs are happy to provide an opportunity for Jeff so that he can be in a place for him to sign back with an MLB affiliate” said Calfapietra.

Left hander Steffon Moore rejoins the Monarchs bullpen after spending the off season pitching for Jaguares de Nayarit in the Mexican Pacific Winter League. In 2025 with the Monarchs Moore had a 1.61 ERA over 20 appearances – had one win and one save. Calfapietra added “The team is so very excited to have Steffon Moore back in our bullpen. He is a very coveted pitcher dating back to his time with the Lincoln Saltdogs. We feel that he has a lot of untapped ability and with this upcoming season, we can channel that ability towards the utmost potential.”

Moore struck out 34 hitters and walked 14 over the 22.1 innings last season. Moore (28 years old) was drafted in the 26th round of the 2018 MLB Draft out of University of West Alabama by Tampa Bay.

The third pitcher to re-sign is right hander Cruz Noriega. “Cruz was picked up from the Kansas City Royals organization, and he did an outstanding job for us and strengthened our bullpen last year” said Calfapietra. “Noriega is a multi-faceted player and can fill multiple roles on the mound for the ballclub. Very excited to have him on the staff with the potential to getting him back to an affiliate.” The 28-year-old Venezuelan is a product of the Kansas City Royals system.  Before joining the Monarchs, he pitched in 15 games for AA Northwest Arkansas and 12 appearances for AAA Omaha. In Kansas City last season Noriega had a 2.13 earned run average over 13 appearances in 15.1 innings after being signed on August 6th.

The pitching trio are the first Monarchs pitchers signed for 2026, the Club earlier announced veteran shortstop Josh Bissonette as the first position player to sign for the 2026 campaign.

Tickets for all games are on sale at www.monarchsbaseball.com. Opening night is Tuesday May 19 at 6:35 p.m. versus the Chicago Dogs.

About the Kansas City Monarchs:

The Kansas City Monarchs are a professional baseball team in the American Association, an MLB Partner League. 2026 will be their 23rd season at Legends Field in Kansas City, Kansas. In 2020, the team partnered with the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum and changed their name from the T-Bones to the Monarchs in honor of the legendary Negro League franchise that played from 1920 to 1965.

Monarchs Welcome Back All-Star Bissonette for Third Season

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Kansas City, KS — 2025 American Association All-Star Josh Bissonette, who served as the team’s everyday shortstop for the past two seasons has re-signed with the club for 2026.

“I am excited to be back in Kansas City for my third season – we just love the city and playing for the Monarchs, it is like our second home” said Bissonette. “I really enjoy playing for Joe and the Monarchs. The last two years have been great, and I am looking forward to helping lead the team to another Championship. We have a lot of motivation going forward after falling a bit short in 2025 – we are all going to be focused on winning in 2026.”

Bissonette, a fixture of the Monarchs’ lineup in 2025 playing in 98 of the team’s 100 regular season games is back. He had a .287 batting average with 55 walks; 33 runs batted in and .350 on-base percentage. Bissonette was a strong contender for Defensive Player of the Year in the American Association with a .974 fielding average.

“We’re very excited to have Josh Bissonette back. He is an extremely loyal ballplayer who does not miss games” Monarchs manager Joe Calfapietra said. “He was a key part of our ball club last year, not only on the field, but off the field. He brings leadership and enthusiasm every day to Legends Field. He has a complete body of work and displays what a true Monarch ballplayer is made of. We are looking for even more exciting things out of him this upcoming season.”

Bissonette, 29, from Orange, California joined the Monarchs in 2024 from the Pittsburgh Pirates organization, where he played with Triple-A Indianapolis in 2023. The Pirates drafted him in the 31st round in 2019 after a four-year career at Baylor University. Bissonette was named Honorable Mention All-Big XII while at Baylor, playing in three NCAA regionals.

The four-time league champion Monarchs will open their 2026 season on May 15 at Kane County with Opening Night at Legends Field being Tuesday May 19 at 6:35 p.m. versus the Chicago Dogs. To view the full schedule, fans can visit monarchsbaseball.com/schedule. Tickets for the 2026 season are on sale now.

About the Kansas City Monarchs:

The Kansas City Monarchs are a professional baseball team in the American Association, an MLB Partner League. 2026 will be their 23rd season at Legends Field in Kansas City, Kansas. In 2020, the team partnered with the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum and changed their name from the T-Bones to the Monarchs in honor of the legendary Negro League franchise that played from 1920 to 1965.

Pitching Coach Returns for 2026

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Kansas City, KS – Matt Hall rejoins the Kansas City Monarchs as Pitching Coach for the 2026 season.   The former Detroit Tiger and Boston Red Sox left-handed pitcher welcomes the opportunity returning to the position he held in 2023, 2024 and 2025.

“I am really excited for the opportunity again this season and to put on my hometown Monarchs uniform for my 6th season,” said Hall.  “We fell a bit short last year and there is a little chip on our shoulder – so it should make for a very exciting season, we hope our fans can make it out to Legends Field for a lot of games”.

Hall continued  “It is important to me to represent the Kansas City Monarchs and wear the KC on the uniform being from Kansas City and making the area our home.”

The 32-year-old Hall has spent time with the Monarchs as either a pitcher or coach every season since 2021 in the uniform number 21.  Hall was the American Association ERA leader in 2022 with a 1.10 ERA and starting pitcher for the 2021 and 2023 American Association Championship teams.

The Monarchs are a four-time League champion under 9-year Manager Joe Calfapietra who has a great history of advancing pitching talent to affiliate organizations or foreign league opportunities.  Since manager Joe Calfapietra took over the Manager position in 2017 with the then Kansas City T Bones, the Monarchs have had more player contracts transferred to MLB organizations than any other American Association member.

That includes five pitchers in 2025. Josh Bortka was picked up by the Twins organization, Jake Bretz transferred to the Cubs, Julian Garcia to Cincinnati Reds and Tyler McKay and Jackson Goddard signed with Mexican Baseball League teams. Hall himself signed with the Giants organization during the Monarchs 2022 season.

“Matt Hall has been and will continue to be a very important and valuable part of this team and this coaching staff.  We are very happy to have Matt back as our Pitching Coach – he has contributed to building a successful culture including championships and pitchers advancing in their careers.  He is a guy that we know, we trust, and that’s been around a couple of our championship teams,” Calfapietra said of Hall.

The Monarchs will open their 2026 season on May 15 at Kane County with Opening Night at Legends Field being Tuesday May 19 at 6:35 p.m. To view their full schedule, please visit monarchsbaseball.com/schedule/

About the Kansas City Monarchs:

The Kansas City Monarchs are a professional baseball team in the American Association, an MLB Partner League. 2026 will be their 23rd season at Legends Field in Kansas City, Kansas. In 2020, the team partnered with the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum and changed their name from the T-Bones to the Monarchs in honor of the legendary Negro League franchise that played from 1920 to 1965.