Option plays
The Wild Things announced Tuesday that they have picked up the option on 10 players for the 2012 season. They also declined the contract option on 15 players, making these guys free agents. Some of the players who had their options declined either never played a game with Washington last year or were not with the team at year's end.
Washington also signed two players.
The Wild Things picked up the option on pitchers Steve Grife, Ross Gusky, Justin Hall, Gary Lee, Jhonny Montoya and Chris Smith, second baseman Scott Lawson, first baseman-outfielder Doug Thennis and outfielders Chris Sidick and Luis Rivera. Picking up a player's option doesn't guarantee the guy will be back in Washington. It only allows the Wild Things to retain the player's rights. He can be signed, released, traded or retired.
The Wild Things let go pitchers Matt Barnes, Davis Bilardello, Kevin Hammons, Jake Ramsey and Ryan Gardner, catchers Blake Ochoa, Jonathan Cisneros and Grayson Schram, infielders Ryan Ditthardt, Kevyn Feiner, Emilio Ontiveros and Eric Stephens and outfielders Estee Harris and Tim Battle.
Were there any surprises? A few small ones, though I have no idea who, if anybody, said they had decided to quit playing baseball and thus were dropped from the roster. Hammons' family situation likely prevented him from returning. Bilardello aged out, so it appears the Wild Things couldn't get any takers in other leagues in exchange for him.
The only other guys who I might have done something different with are Lee, Gusky, Cisneros, Rivera and either Harris or Battle.
I thought Harris and/or Battle would be kept because they have some value and could eventually be traded. Harris has played in the Atlantic League and Battle is a "tools guy" that scouts like. With Sidick being retained and new manager Chris Bando raving about new signee Rashad Taylor, I thought Rivera might be the odd-man out in the outfield. You have to remember that most teams usually sign an outfielder in April who has been released from Class A ball and becomes an everyday player in the Frontier League. Plus, Thennis can play left field.
I know Lee is a favorite of pitching coach Mark Dewey, but if I was confident that I could sign two or three starting pitchers after minor league spring training, then I would have declined Lee's option because I don't see him as a relief pitcher. Keeping Lee is not exactly a bad thing. You can never have too much pitching.
Gusky was wildly inconsistent last year but did show some promise and is a local guy.
Word was that Cisneros fell out of favor with the coaching staff at Florence, which is why he was released by the Freedom last season and ended up in Washington. I do think he has some potential and value as a left-handed hitting catcher, so I might have kept him.
As for the two signings, Washington has picked up right-handed pitcher Mickey Cassidy and lefty pitcher Shawn Smith. The Wild Things didn't announce the signings but Cassidy could be the player of the same name who is from Toledo, Ohio, and bounced around four indy leagues the last three years. Last year, Cassidy was 3-2 4.25 for Rio Grande of the North American Baseball league.
Then again, he might be some other Mickey Cassidy.
Shawn Smith appears to be a 21-year-old pitcher was drafted in the ninth round out of a California high school in 2008 and signed with the Tampa Bay Rays. Smith never made it out of rookie ball but put up decent numbers last year. Rookie-league statistics, as we have learned, are often more deceiving than short-season or full-season Class A statistics.
Washington also signed two players.
The Wild Things picked up the option on pitchers Steve Grife, Ross Gusky, Justin Hall, Gary Lee, Jhonny Montoya and Chris Smith, second baseman Scott Lawson, first baseman-outfielder Doug Thennis and outfielders Chris Sidick and Luis Rivera. Picking up a player's option doesn't guarantee the guy will be back in Washington. It only allows the Wild Things to retain the player's rights. He can be signed, released, traded or retired.
The Wild Things let go pitchers Matt Barnes, Davis Bilardello, Kevin Hammons, Jake Ramsey and Ryan Gardner, catchers Blake Ochoa, Jonathan Cisneros and Grayson Schram, infielders Ryan Ditthardt, Kevyn Feiner, Emilio Ontiveros and Eric Stephens and outfielders Estee Harris and Tim Battle.
Were there any surprises? A few small ones, though I have no idea who, if anybody, said they had decided to quit playing baseball and thus were dropped from the roster. Hammons' family situation likely prevented him from returning. Bilardello aged out, so it appears the Wild Things couldn't get any takers in other leagues in exchange for him.
The only other guys who I might have done something different with are Lee, Gusky, Cisneros, Rivera and either Harris or Battle.
I thought Harris and/or Battle would be kept because they have some value and could eventually be traded. Harris has played in the Atlantic League and Battle is a "tools guy" that scouts like. With Sidick being retained and new manager Chris Bando raving about new signee Rashad Taylor, I thought Rivera might be the odd-man out in the outfield. You have to remember that most teams usually sign an outfielder in April who has been released from Class A ball and becomes an everyday player in the Frontier League. Plus, Thennis can play left field.
I know Lee is a favorite of pitching coach Mark Dewey, but if I was confident that I could sign two or three starting pitchers after minor league spring training, then I would have declined Lee's option because I don't see him as a relief pitcher. Keeping Lee is not exactly a bad thing. You can never have too much pitching.
Gusky was wildly inconsistent last year but did show some promise and is a local guy.
Word was that Cisneros fell out of favor with the coaching staff at Florence, which is why he was released by the Freedom last season and ended up in Washington. I do think he has some potential and value as a left-handed hitting catcher, so I might have kept him.
As for the two signings, Washington has picked up right-handed pitcher Mickey Cassidy and lefty pitcher Shawn Smith. The Wild Things didn't announce the signings but Cassidy could be the player of the same name who is from Toledo, Ohio, and bounced around four indy leagues the last three years. Last year, Cassidy was 3-2 4.25 for Rio Grande of the North American Baseball league.
Then again, he might be some other Mickey Cassidy.
Shawn Smith appears to be a 21-year-old pitcher was drafted in the ninth round out of a California high school in 2008 and signed with the Tampa Bay Rays. Smith never made it out of rookie ball but put up decent numbers last year. Rookie-league statistics, as we have learned, are often more deceiving than short-season or full-season Class A statistics.
posted by Chris Dugan at
7:38 PM
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