Kansas Stars add Series hero David Ross for NBC

The Kansas Stars are likely losing two former World Series champions, but a postseason hero is coming to replace them.

David Ross, who last fall helped the Chicago Cubs win their first championship since 1908, was added to the roster on Saturday according to a team source. Ross, 40, homered in the Cubs’ Game 7 victory over the Cleveland Indians last November before retiring.

The Stars announced their roster in late June.

Ross finished second on the ABC show Dancing With the Stars in May. He was one of several additions confirmed Saturday as the Stars replaced Jeremy Guthrie, a 2015 champion with the Royals who pitched for the Stars last summer but is unable to attend.

“I wish I could but schedule changed on me,” Guthrie wrote on Twitter Saturday morning. “Gonna miss my Kansas Stars (brothers). Last year (the) experience was so memorable & first class!”

Tim Hudson, a champion with the San Francisco Giants in 2014, is rehabilitating an injury and is doubtful to pitch for the Stars, who begin play in the National Baseball Congress World Series on July 29 at Lawrence-Dumont Stadium.

Jeremy Bonderman, a pitcher for the Tigers and Athletics from 2003-13, was added to supplement the pitching staff. Jason Repko, who played for Sioux Falls in the American Association in 2015 following a seven-year major-league career, also was added.

Delwyn Young, a former Dodgers and Pirates infielder, gives the Stars their first African-American player in their two seasons. Also added was Matt Diaz, a former Royals and Braves outfielder who played briefly for the Wichita Wranglers in 2005.

This story was originally published July 8, 2017 at 3:16 PM with the headline "Kansas Stars add Series hero David Ross for NBC."