GASTONIA, N.C. – The Ghost Peppers have signed former big-leaguers Richie Martin and Dalton Guthrie to contracts for the 2025 season, announced by general manager Brady Salisbury on Wednesday.
Martin, 30, returns to Gastonia after playing for the Baseball Club last season. The Detroit native was a first-round draft pick by the Athletics in 2015 out of the University of Florida. Martin played in the big leagues for the Orioles in 2019, 2021 and 2022, hitting six homers and tallying 10 stolen bases in the 2019 season. The infielder played in 37 games for Gastonia last year, hitting .244 with a .755 OPS and stealing 22 bags.
Guthrie, 29, also attended the University of Florida, where he was drafted by the Phillies out of in 2017. The outfielder spent seven years in Philadelphia’s organization, making his MLB debut in 2022. Guthrie played 37 games with the Phillies between 2022 and 2023, before playing for Triple-A Worcester in the Red Sox system last season. For Worcester, Guthrie hit .254 and recorded 11 stolen bases in 51 games.
With the addition of these two former Gators, the Ghost Peppers have now signed 21 players for the 2025 season.
The players who have signed so far are:
RHP Jimmie Sherfy
RHP Parker Kruglewicz
RHP Ryne Inman
RHP Matt Hartman
RHP Nick Snyder
LHP Nick Horvath
LHP Ryan Hennen
LHP Kevin Smith
LHP Adam Scott
C Gavin Stupienski
C Luis Aviles
INF Jake Hoover
INF Alan Alonso
INF Ethan Skender
INF Braxton Davidson
INF Jack Reinheimer
INF Richie Martin
OF Eric De La Rosa
OF Kevin Watson Jr.
OF Narciso Crook
OF Dalton Guthrie
The team will complete the player signing announcements over the next two weeks.
***
Gastonia Ghost Peppers begins its second season of operations with Zawyer Sports & Entertainment – a sports ownership group with professional teams operating in the U.S. and the fifth season for the franchise at CaroMont Health Park in the FUSE District of Gastonia. The Ghost Peppers have made the ALPB Playoffs for three consecutive seasons, setting the league record for highest win percentage in a three-year span (.651 from 2022-2024.)
In their inaugural season, the Ghost Peppers had seven players with contracts purchased by other leagues, whether that be MLB-affiliated clubs or leagues outside the country. They also had two former players make their MLB debuts in 2024 — Spencer Bivens (Tigers) and Bryan Sammons (2024.) Bivens is on the Giants’ 26-man roster in 2025. J.C. Escarra, who played for Gastonia in 2023, is currently on the Yankees’ 26-man roster.
The Ghost Peppers open the 2025 season on Friday, April 25 against the York Revolution. Game time is set for 7 p.m. Single game tickets are currently on sale. Contact the Ghost Peppers office at 980-415-2255, or visit www.ghostpeppersbaseball.com for more information.
***
About the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball (ALPB) – Celebrating its third decade, the Atlantic League is Major League Baseball’s first Professional Partner League, a player gateway to the major leagues, and a leader in baseball innovation. Over its 26-year history, the ALPB has sent over 1,400 players to MLB organizations while drawing over 47 million fans to its 10 family-friendly ballparks that stretch from New York to North Carolina. Please visit www.AtlanticLeague.com.