The Curve roster, as always seems to happen, received a late spring training jolt Sunday with the addition of two familiar and successful names from the past

Lefty Mike Connolly and outfielder Rich Thompson had expected to start the season at Triple-A Indianapolis, but instead both will be in a Curve uniform on opening night Thursday
A third addition, right-hander Jorge Vasquez, spent time in the Atlanta Braves’ bullpen last season and bolsters an already strong Curve relief corps

"It's good because those are all guys who were expected to make the Triple-A team, which means they’re good enough to play up there" Curve manager Tim Leiper said

The late additions should benefit the Curve, but it couldn’t have come as good news to the three players

It may have been toughest on Connolly, who finally got over the Double-A hump with last season’s promotion to Indianapolis
Connolly now will be starting his fourth straight season in Altoona
Leiper expects and welcomes a level of disappointment from the 23-year-old lefty and will talk with Connolly about the situation
"When you get sent down in spring training it's a crushing blow, and you want guys to get mad and be upset" Leiper said
"If the guy wasn’t disappointed, you wouldn't even worry about having that conversation"

The addition of Connolly gives the Curve six starting pitchers - Matt Peterson, Shane Youman, Jason Roach, Landon Jacobsen and Josh Shortslef are the others - so someone will have to be bumped to the bullpen
Leiper didn’t know which one it would be Sunday

Connolly went 5-6 with a 3.32 ERA in 15 starts for the Curve last season, then was 2-4, 4.42 in 13 Triple-A starts
In his first two Double-A seasons, he was 7-8, 3.39 and 8-7, 4.71, respectively
Connolly was cruising in his next-to-last spring training start before getting hit on the leg by a comebacker in his fourth inning of work
He then struggled mightily his final outing Friday against Curve hitters in a Triple-A v Double-A game, having his first two innings stopped shy of three outs because of elevated pitch counts

Leiper, though, said Connolly’s return to Double-A was "absolutely not a performance thing" and said it was because of the trickle-down effect from moves in big league camp
"The guy's good" Leiper said of Connolly
"He’s going to take the ball and pitch and be professional"

Thompson, 26, comes back to the Curve after tying Rajai Davis for the franchise record with 45 steals last season
He hit .257 with three homers and 30 RBI's and had two of the season’s most memorable plays during the playoff stretch run
Thompson’s ninth-inning grand slam beat Bowie on Aug. 22, and he robbed a home run in the 11th inning that helped beat the Baysox in the classic 15-inning game the final weekend
The Curve wouldn't have had great team speed without Thompson, but that changes now
"That's a weapon" Leiper said of Thompson
"We've got to take advantage of that"
Thompson will be penciled in as the center fielder opening day against Trenton

Leiper said that likely will move Vic Buttler to left field, with Rafael Alvarez serving as DH

Vasquez, 27, is 17-32 but with a 3.44 ERA for his career
He was 2-1 with a 1.12 ERA and 10 saves at Double-A Mississippi last season, helping him earn a promotion to Atlanta
He was 1-0 with a 3.00 ERA in nine innings over seven appearances for the Braves
With Vasquez, Josh Sharpless, Chris Hernandez and Brady Borner, the Curve figure to have a strong bullpen late
"We got pretty much our whole pen can throw in the back end of games" Leiper said
"We've got a lot of options"

First baseman Brett Roneberg (sore back) didn’t make the Curve's opening-day roster as he will start the season at extended spring training in Bradenton, Fla

The Curve roster stands at 26 players, so two will have to be deactivated by Thursday to get down to the 24-man limit
Leiper wouldn't say which two because he wasn't sure if the players, who are on their way up from Florida, had been informed yet