Jeff Nettles was once best known as being the son of a Yankee legend. Now, he's just known as a Somerset Patriot.

The 28-year-old MVP of the 2003 Atlantic League Championship Series officially re-signed with Somerset last week, becoming the first player to officially agree to terms.

Entering his fifth season with the team, Nettles was putting together a career year before a broken thumb ended his season in mid-August. His 21 home runs and 69 RBI were second on the team, and his 14 errors were the fewest he's had as a Patriot.

The Patriots have made a lot of noise in the off-season, with perhaps their biggest splash being made in the front office.

After four years of handling player signings, Adam Gladstone is out and Brett Jodie is in as the new director of player procurement.

"I've got a lot to learn," said Jodie from his South Carolina home. "I've never done anything like this before."

The former Yankees and Padres pitcher, who's enlisting the help of General Manager Patrick McVerry, has encountered a few obstacles during his first few weeks on the job.

"A lot of players we're trying to sign have made a lot of money in the past, so it can be difficult to try to sign some of these guys," said Jodie, who also doubles as the team's pitching coach.

As for Gladstone, his relationship with the Patriots seemed to head south when he was hired by the Keystone Baseball owned Baseball And Sports Associates (BASA). Once in charge of putting together one team, Gladstone would now be handling player procurement for four.

Somerset endured numerous speed bumps in their new relationship with BASA, the most prominent being a much shorter roster than they'd had in previous seasons.

"The way that we handled Somerset was the same exact way that we handled Camden and Lancaster as a group," Gladstone said.

Even with Somerset out, Gladstone's BASA group is still in charge of handling four teams, as Bridgeport and the expansion York Revolution have joined forces with them. But despite nearly constant criticism from players and the coaching staff last season, Gladstone has no regrets about his time in Somerset.

"I had a great four years with the Somerset Patriots," Gladstone said. "We had a pretty good run."

Under Gladstone's guidance, Somerset won championships in 2003 and 2005.

Along with Nettles, the team is waiting to make official announcements regarding the signing of catcher Travis Anderson, and probable agreements with second baseman George Sandel and reliever Saul Solveson.

Both Sandel and Solveson were members of the 2005 Patriots team that went on to win the Atlantic League title, while this will be Anderson's second year as Somerset's backstop.

Two key players who won't be coming back are Larry Barnes and Kevin Nicholson. Barnes has signed with the Los Angeles Dodgers, while the 31-year-old Nicholson has elected to retire.

No less than sixteen former Somerset Patriots are in big league Spring Training, looking to crack Major League rosters. Along with Barnes, Hector Almonte (Cubs), Kane Davis (Phillies), Fernando Lunar (Braves), Tommy Rojas (Nationals), Jason Shiell (Royals), Jeff Urban (Giants) and Justin Wechsler (White Sox) are all players from last year's team that have found new homes in 2007.

Six other players from previous Patriots teams, including Brad King (Twins) and Joe Winkelsas (Braves) are also in camp with big league clubs.

The defending champion Lancaster Barnstormers are bringing back three players from last year's team, with more announcements expected shortly. Playoff MVP Jeremy Todd, original Barnstormer Lance Burkhart and utility player Steve Van Note will all be back in Lancaster this season.

The Long Island Ducks have acquired former New York Met Edgardo Alfonzo from the Bridgeport Bluefish in exchange for the rights to Bucky Jacobsen and Pat Mahomes -- neither of whom are likely to return to the Atlantic League. Alfonzo played in four games for Bridgeport last season before signing with the Mets.