What's been happening ...

Catching up with news from the Wild Things and around the Frontier League:

The Wild Things made a flurry of roster moves this week, including re-signing Jim Vahalik, their starting catcher from last year, and trading four players in three separate deals and acquiring more Experienced pitchers.

Vahalik (6-2, 192) was acquired by Washington last July in a trade with the London Rippers. The deal was finalized minutes before the London franchise ceased operations. The former University of Toledo catcher batted .239 with three home runs and 33 RBI in his first year in the Frontier League.
After the season, Vahalik had his contract purchased by the Baltimore Orioles, but he was released late last month in the final round of cuts during minor-league spring training.

“He had a good spring with the Orioles, but they decided to make him a first baseman,” Wild Things manager Bart Zeller said. “Jim wants to catch and will receive every chance to be our backstop when the season starts. Jim is definitely a gamer and brings great intensity to the game.”

With Vahalik returning, Washington then traded catcher Pat Trettel and pitcher Chandler Barnard to the El Paso Diablos of the American Association in exchange for right-handed pitcher Shawn Blackwell and a player to be named.

Trettel, a North Allegheny High School and Seton Hill University product, was acquired in an offseason trade. He played in the Frontier League for two seasons with Normal and then to a team in the American Association. Barnard was 1-4 with two saves and a 2.47 ERA in 25 games with Washington last year.

Trettel became expendable after Vahalik was re-signed. Barnard, I noticed, was one of two players on Washington's roster that had not been listed in the Frontier League transaction as having signed a contract for 2013 (the other is first baseman Corey LeVier).

"Chandler Barnard had requested to be moved to a more experienced league because of his age, and we wanted to see if we could oblige," Zeller explained. "El Paso called about their availability of Pat Trettel because they needed an everyday catcher. With the release of Jim Vahalik from the Orioles, this deal had to be made."

Blackwell (6-5, 195) was drafted in the 24th round out of high school by the Texas Rangers. He spent three years in the Rangers’ system, pitching in 20 games at the Class A level last season. He had 127 strikeouts and only 43 walks in his career.

“Shawn Blackwell is a strike-thrower,” Zeller said. “He has three years of experience in the Rangers organization and comes highly recommended by their scouting team. Shawn is only 22 with tremendous upside.”

The Wild Things also traded outfielder Matt Fleishman back to the Long Island Ducks of the Atlantic League in exchange for a player to be named. Fleishman played in 17 games with Long Island last year. He signed with Washington in December.

* Washington reacquired pitcher Jhonny Montoya from Lancaster of the Atlantic League, but only for a brief period of time. Montoya wasn't going to to make Lancaster's opening day roster -- the Atlantic League began Thursday -- so he was dealt back to the Wild Things, who traded him to Kansas City of the American Association in exchange for a player to be named.

The Wild Things seem to be cornering the market on players to be named. In a little more than a year, they have made trades from which they are still owed 9 players (4 from Roswell of the Pecos League, 2 from Alpine of the Pecos League, 1 from Kansas City, 1 from Long Island and 1 from El Paso).

* Washington announced today the signing of Will Scott, a right-handed pitcher from Marietta, Ga., who spent three years in the San Diego Padres system. Scott was drafted three times by three teams before singing with San Diego out of Walters State Community College in Tennesse. He pitched in three games last year for the Padres' Class AAA affiliate in Tuscon.

* Trettel and Barnard each were classified as Experienced by Frontier League roster rules. Blackwell and Scott also are Experienced, but Vahalik is an R2. The Wild Things are still 4 over the opening day limit for Experienced players.

* The Southern Illinois Miners made a splash Thursday by signing pitcher Hayden Simpson, the Chicago Cubs' first-round draft pick in 2010. Simpson spent two forgettable years in the Cubs' system after being drafted out of Southern Arkansas University. He had a combined 5-17 record in two seasons and never advanced past Class A.

Simpson was the 16th overall pick in 2010, the same draft that yielded Jameson Taillon in the first round for the Pirates. Simpson was taken nine spots behind Matt Harvey, who is 3-0 with an 0.82 ERA for the New York Mets.

I can recall at least two former first-round draft picks -- outfielder Kellen Kulbacki (Lake Erie) and first baseman Jon Poterson (Chillicothe) playing in the Frontier League, but at No. 16 Simpson is the highest such selection. Kulbacki and Poterson were compensatory picks at the end of the first round.

Simpson received a reported $1.06 million signing bonus from the Cubs.

* Wild Things ownership's plan to put a franchise in Bridgeport, W.Va., seemed to get a boost last Saturday night when the West Virginia legislature failed to pass the Morgantown Tax Increment Financing Plan. Actually, the bill never advanced to the point where a vote was taken.

The TIF was to create a special tax district to generate funds to help pay for a new ballpark for West Virginia University and a New York-Penn League team that will begin play in Morgantown during 2015. A new interchange on I-79 also would be funded by the TIF.

The bill seemed to die when it was tied to a pay raise for magistrates across West Virginia. That was good news for the Wild Things and Bridgeport, which is trying to secure funding for a yet-to-be-built ballpark. However, that good news didn't last an entire week.

A special session called by West Virginia's governor Wednesday resulted in the TIF being passed.