Prior to tonight's start in Portland, the Thunder activated Manny Banuelos and catcher Myron Leslie from the Temporarily Inactive List and placed outfielder Damon Sublett and left-handed reliever Wilkins Arias on the Disabled List.

Banuelos was in Mexico to be with his sick grandmother. The reason for Leslie's TIE was unknown, but it could just have been a paper move with a backup catcher really not necessary over the first few games.

Sublett hasn't played at all this season, and Arias appeared in two games.

The team has announced its roster changes, and they are as follows:

- Manny Banuelos and Myron Leslie have been placed on the temporarily inactive list.

- Nick McCoy has been removed from the roster entirely.

That trims the roster down to the required 24, and it also leaves the team with just one catcher, Austin Romine. If necessary, Addison Maruszak will be the team's emergency catcher.

Trenton opens its season in a few hours, when it takes on Zach Stewart and the New Hampshire Fisher Cats in Manchester this evening. Steve Garrison, a Hun school graduate and a Trenton native, will oppose Stewart.

Additionally, Jeremy Bleich, David Adams, Grant Duff and Alan Horne all appear on the team's disabled list. Even before those moves were announced, it was pretty clear those four guys were good candidates to play for the Thunder this year.

The rest of the pitching matchup for the New Hampshire series are as follows:

LHP Shaeffer Hall (0 - 0, 0.00) vs. RHP Rey Gonzalez (0 - 0, 0.00)
RHP Graham Stoneburner (0 - 0, 0.00) vs. RHP B.J. LaMura (0 - 0, 0.00)
RHP Dellin Betances (0 - 0, 0.00) vs. LHP Willie Collazo (0 - 0, 0.00)

With Donnie Collins peering into Scranton's future over at his blog, I figured I'd do the same over here. We'll start today with the infield, which, because a bit of a logjam of up-the-middle talent, has the potential to feature a prospect of some degree at every position.

First base - Brad Suttle: After missing all of 2009 with an injury, Suttle really broke out this season at High-A Tampa, hitting .272/.340/.411 with 10 home runs and 80 RBIs. Problem is, at 25 years old, and with scouts' reviews not terribly pleasing, Suttle's stock is falling.

Second base - Corban Joseph: The wispy middle infielder faltered after making his way to Trenton toward the end of the 2010. He hit just .216/.305/.342 with in 31 games with the Thunder, including just five hits in 42 at-bats against left-handers. Still, the swing is pure, and he'll get another crack at Double-A in 2011.

Shortstop - Jose Pirela: He hit just .252 with Tampa last season, but impressed Yankees brass enough to earn a spot in the Arizona Fall League when Joseph's late-season wrist injury forced him to shut it down for the year. He didn't hit terribly well in the AFL, but produced a .333/.387/.858 line with Zulia of the Venezuelan Winter League. He also stole 30 bases in 37 tries with Tampa.

Third base - David Adams: I think Adams and Joseph will split time at third and second, but Adams should see the majority of the time at the hot corner. He played 14 games there in 2009 with Charleston, and could move over there this season to get everyday time with Joseph and Pirela in the same locker room. I wouldn't be shocked to see him spend time at designated hitter, either.

Utility - Myron Leslie: This is exactly the kind of player Tony Franklin covets. He plays multiple positions, and will do anything asked of his skipper. In 2010 with Tampa, Leslie played catcher, first base, second base and even pitched a game. He could fill a very similar, Justin Snyder-esque role with the Thunder in 2011.

Heading out to the fields soon, so I just wanted to check in before I left. Here's a couple of links before I go try to make the most of my last day in minor league camp.

First, here's my story yesterday on new Thunder catcher/utilityman Myron Leslie

Second, here's the notebook I did with news about two cuts, David Phelps, John Van Benschoten, Casey Erickson and Tony Franklin

Here's a link to The Trentonian's video page, where you can find Part 2 of my interview with Leslie (Part 1 is included with the story)and a video of Austin Romine doing catching drills with Thunder coach Vic Valencia.

Reminder, tomorrow night I will be doing a Web chat to wrap up my stay. Stay tuned.

At my second day in Thunder camp, I spoke with Myron Leslie, Jeremy Bleich, David Adams, Christian Garcia and D.J. Mitchell. Leslie is a probable Thunder catcher, joining Austin Romine and possibly Jose Gil. Adams will be Trenton's second baseman, and Bleich, Mitchell and Garcia are all likely to be in the team's rotation come April 8.

In tomorrow's paper, I have a long feature on Leslie and a notebook with bits and pieces from today's 4-4 tie with the Pirates' Double-A work group. On the Web site, there will also be pictures from today's action, as well as videos of the interview I conducted with Leslie, today's starter David Phelps, and Austin Romine working with Victor Valencia in the batting cages.

The interviews with Adams, Bleich, Garcia and Mitchell will more than likely be used in the Thunder season preview section, which hits newsstands on April 8, the day the Thunder open the season.

There's a good chance the roster will be finalized tomorrow some time, so that could be the big news.

I plan to also speak with Tony Franklin (who was at home today in Los Angeles), Austin Romine, Damon Sublett, Kevin Mahoney and Ryan Pope tomorrow. Also, later tonight (once I get done uploading video) I will post some of best (that term is VERY relative) pictures from the day's action.

Also, remember that there will be a Web chat on Saturday night at 8 p.m. wrapping up my short stay in Tampa.

Once again, per the Thunder via trainer Tim Lentych.

PITCHING

Christian Garcia: 5 shutout innings
Craig Heyer: 3 innings, 2 runs

HITTING

Austin Krum: Double, Single, HBP, 3 runs
Myron Leslie: 2-run HR
Austin Romine: Triple, 2 RBIs
Marcos Vechionacci: 2 singles, 2 RBIs
Brandon Laird: Single, RBI
Walter Ibarra: Single
Eduardo Sosa: Walk, Single, Run

Opening Day at Waterfront Park is just more than two weeks away, and there are many questions that still need answers.

How will the rotation shake out?

Will Brandon Laird play first or third base?

How about shortstop?

Where does Myron Leslie fit?

All these questions — as well as many others — will be addressed starting a week from today, when I travel to Tampa, Fla. to kick off The Trentonian’s coverage of Thunder spring training.
Over those four days, I’ll be working hard to glean every piece of information needed to provide the clearest picture possible of what the team will look like come April 8.

I’ll be in attendance at the Yankees game with the Minnesota Twins on March 31, the Thunder’s home games against the Pirates and Blue Jays, respectively, on April 1 and 2, and the Yankees vs. Future Yankees game on April 3 at George M. Steinbrenner Field.

Look for coverage on Twitter (jnorris427), on my blog, through videos on The Trentonian’s Web site, and, of course, in the paper itself.
•••
The Thunder lost yesterday, 4-1, against the Blue Jays’ Double-A work group. Here are few notable stats from the game, provided by the team through trainer Tim Lentych.
Pitching
D.J. Mitchell: 3 IP, 3 runs
Noel Castillo: 2 IP, 1 run
Jonathan Hovis: 2 IP, 0 runs
Pat Venditte: 2 IP, 0 runs
Hitting
Austin Romine: Single
Walter Ibarra: Single
Ray Kruml: Single, RBI
Jeff Farnham: Double, run