Hot Stove news

Here's some news that came out of the Wild Things' Hot Stove Banquet, which drew approximately 240 people Thursday night at the Holiday Inn Meadow Lands:

* Pitcher Justin Edwards had shoulder surgery in November. After experiencing pain after his last start of the 2010 season in Traverse City, a scan of his shoulder revealed a cyst on his lambrum that had caused a tear. Edwards was told he's at least a month ahead of schedule in his rehabilitation. He plans to start throwing in a couple of months and is hoping to be ready sometime in May. Here's thinking you won't see Edwards in a game until July. It's better not to rush a return from shoulder surgery.

* Only one player who had the option in their contract picked up last month has decided not to return to Washington. Eryk McConnell, who was the Wild Things' closer last year, has retired.

* The final phase of installing the ProGrass playing surface at Consol Energy Park will be begin when the weather breaks. There will be no dirt on the playing field. Both the mound and home-plate area will be turf.

* The Wild Things debuted their 10th anniversary logo (shown above).

* The Frontier League changed their roster classifications.

Previously, players were classified as Rookie-1, Rookie-2, L1, L2, Vet and Super Vet. Rookies had the equivalent of less than 1 full year of pro experience, L1 had 1+ years, L2 had 2+, Vets had at least 3 years of pro experience and the Super Vet (also known as the Vet-2) was a player older than 27, with at least 3 years of pro experience and had played at least one year with his FL team.

Now, the classifications are Rookie-1, Rookie-2, Experienced and Super Vet.

On a 24-man roster, each club must carry a minimum of 11 rookies (combination of R1 and R2 players) and a maximum of 13 players with unlimited professional experience. The rookie minimum will be 10 for a 23-man roster and 9 for a 22-man roster. All players with the equivalent of at least one year of pro experience will be classified as Experienced. The 21-year old rule will remain.

The parameters to qualify as a Super Vet have been modified so that he has played 100 games on an active roster over the previous two seasons within the Frontier League as opposed to with one specific team.

The advantage of this setup is obvious. No longer will teams have to dump as many guys from a previous season just to meet the roster rules. In the past, if you had seven L1s who were productive, you had to get rid of at least four of them in the next offseason because you could carry only three L2s - unless you went under the limit on veterans.

As I understand it, FL teams can, if they prefer, put together clubs with 10-12 rookies, a Super Vet and 11 guys who were classified in previous seasons as Veterans.

* If there is one Wild Things player who benefits from the roster classification change it's outfielder Luis Rivera. As a Veteran, his roster spot might have been shaky at best. Now, he seems much more likely to be here on opening day.

* The Wild Things will play two home exhibition games, May 12 and 13. That's a Thursday and Friday.