GARY, Ind. — The Gary SouthShore RailCats made two major additions to sure up their 2010 relief corps, acquiring right-handers Mike Bille and Jamie Baker along with cash considerations from the American Association’s Grand Prairie Air Hogs in exchange for starter Nick Singleton.

Bille and Baker each bring better than 100 career relief appearances and ERAs in the low 3.00s to help boost a RailCats bullpen that already returns defending Northern League Relief Pitcher of the Year Andy Shipman and third-year setup man Aaron Cook.  Both Bille and Baker were picked up by Grand Prairie earlier in the offseason and have each spent time in the Atlantic League in recent years.

Bille, 28, has been tearing through the independent ranks the past four seasons, the last two with the St. Paul Saints of the American Association.  Bille worked in 36 games for the Saints last year with a 2.40 ERA and four saves in 56.1 innings, allowing only 44 hits, piling up 58 strikeouts and holding opposing hitters to a .217 average against him.  Bille also pitched most of the 2008 season for St. Paul, carrying a 3.42 ERA in 37 outings before being dealt to the Atlantic League’s Bridgeport Bluefish for the stretch run.

A native of Torrance, California, Bille first made his mark as a professional in the Frontier League as the Evansville Otters closer from 2006-07.  Selected to a pair of Frontier League All-Star games, Bille saved 35 games in his two seasons in Evansville, shattering the club’s career saves record and boasting a ridiculous 1.85 ERA in nearly 100 innings.  Bille saved a franchise-record 20 games in 2006 and carried the Otters to their first Frontier League Championship, working nine scoreless innings in the postseason.  Following the 2006 season, Bille was named one of the top 10 prospects in the independent leagues by Baseball America.

In five years as a pro, Bille has a 3.09 ERA and has nearly as many career strikeouts (216) as hits allowed (221).  Opponents hit just .240 all-time off Bille, and the right-hander has 43 career saves while allowing only six home runs in 182 appearances.

Undrafted out of Division I Cal Poly, Bille split time between two stops in the Florida Marlins system in 2005.  In four years (2001-02, 2004-05) at Cal Poly, Bille set the school’s single-season and career saves record, locking down 14 games – one of the top totals nationally – as a senior in 2005.  Bille missed nearly two full college seasons following Tommy John surgery.

Baker, 26, has made his name in the Northeast, pitching primarily in the Can-Am League the last four seasons.  Baker boasted an ERA under 2.00 each of his first two professional campaigns before being slowed by an injury that limited the right-hander to only 11 appearances last season.  Seven of those 11 games, however, came with the York Revolution of the Atlantic League and Baker allowed only five hits in his 8.1 innings there.

Also a former college closer, Baker went 3-1 with a 1.82 ERA in his first professional season with the Nashua Pride, limiting opposing hitters to a .179 average (21 hits in 34.1 innings) and earning an invitation to San Diego Padres Spring Training the following March.  After being released by the Padres, Baker went back to the Can-Am League and had another phenomenal season, going 4-1 with a 1.38 ERA in 37 games for the North Shore Spirit in 2007, striking out 40 in 52.0 innings and again holding opponents to a sub-.200 average.

Baker, a native of Boxford, Massachusetts, spent four seasons at Division III Wheaton (Mass.) College, leading the Lyons to the National Championship Game at the College World Series in 2006.  An All-Conference and All-Region pick as a senior, Baker went 10-1 with 10 saves in his college career.

Singleton, 26, was acquired by the RailCats earlier this offseason in a trade with the American Association’s Sioux City Explorers.

The RailCats currently have 15 players under contract for the 2010 season and expect to have at least 28 players in camp when the team opens Spring Training May 6 at U. S. Steel Yard.  The RailCats will play 50 games this summer at The Steel Yard as part of the Northern League’s new 100-game schedule and kick off the regular season Thursday, May 20 at home against the Kansas City T-Bones at 7 p.m.  Season tickets, mini-plans, flex vouchers and group outings are on sale now by calling the RailCats at 219.882.2255 or visiting www.railcatsbaseball.com.