Hot Stove: West Division

EVANSVILLE:
- Jason Verdugo is the new manger of the Otters. The 32-year-old Verdugo spent the last three years as the pitching coach for the St. Paul Saints of the independent American Association. Verdugo is more noted for being the backup quarterback to Jake Plummer at Arizona State on the Sun Devils' Rose Bowl team in 1996. I actually remember Verdugo, so at some point during his career he must have seen significant playing time in a game that was televised.
- The Otters hired Brendan Sagara as pitching coach. Sagara held the same job with the champion Windy City ThunderBolts last year.
- The Otters have re-acquired infielder Ryan Bethel from the Wild Things.

GATEWAY:
- Phil Warren returns for his second season as manager.
- The Grizzlies have re-signed two key hitters from last year, first baseman Mike Breyman (.331, 22 HR, 70 RBI) and outfielder Stephen Holdren (.311, 23 HR, 73 RBI).
- Former Wild Things pitcher Justin Staatz has re-signed.

RIVER CITY
- Toby Rumfield will be back for his second season as manager.
- The Rascals have hired former major league pitcher Jeff Bittiger as director of player procurement.
- The Rascals could hit last year but the pitching was a major problem as their 29 quality starts was the second-lowest total in the league (Chillicothe had 28). The Rascals look like they'll have another potent offense as they've re-acquired first baseman Bobby Mosby from Joliet of the Northern League. Mosby, if I recall correctly, was leading the Frontier League in home runs last year when traded to Joliet. The Rascals also re-signed outfielder Phil Laurent, who was signed by the Yankees late last season, and shortstop Brad Hough (.285, 10 HR, 18 SB).

ROCKFORD:
- Interesting coaching situation here. Bob Koopman, who managed the Riverhawks to the championship in 2004, returns as manager, replacing J.D. Arndt. The interesting thing here is that Arndt will be the Riverhawks' bench coach, a job Koopman held the last two years.

SOUTHERN ILLINOIS:
- Mike Pinto is back as manager for the Miners' second season in Marion.
- The Miners probably have signed more players than any team in the league. One player signed is first baseman Tim Dorn. The 6-7 right-hander hit 12 home runs in 32 games for the Miners last year (including a game-winner against the Wild Things in a doubleheader in Washington) before having his contract purchased by St. Louis.
- The Frontier League's tryout camp and player draft, which has been held in Washington three of the last four years, will be held in Marion, Ill., May 4-5.

WINDY CITY:
- Manager Andy Haines, who guided the ThunderBolts to their first championship last season, is gone. He's taken a job as a coach for the Marlins' Gulf Coast League affiliate. The new manager is Brian Nelson, who was the hitting coach of the Northern League's Gary SouthShore Railcats. That's the same job Haines held before going to Windy City.
- The ThunderBolts already have lost several key players from last year. They've traded outfielder Rob Marconi (leadoff HR in game 5 of the finals), pitcher Billy Phillips (winning pitcher in Game 3 of finals) and outfielder John McCarthy (perhaps the toughest player in the league to strike out) to Gary. Yes, it does appear that Windy City is a farm team for Gary.
- Former Wild Things pitcher Shawn Phillips, the winner in Game 5 of the finals, has signed with the Marlins.
- Windy City still has the potential to bring back its entire infield. Third baseman Josh Horn (.302) has re-signed.