Wild Things sign first baseman

With Mark Samuelson having recently retired after two seasons with the Wild Things, Washington has been in the market for a first baseman for the 2014 season.

The Wild Things might have found their replacement for Samuelson in William Beckwith , who has signed with the Frontier League team after playing four seasons in the Atlanta Braves’ system.

Beckwith, 23, was drafted by the Braves in the 21st round in 2010 out of Walters State Community College. With Atlanta, the 6-2, 220-pound Crawford, Miss., native reached the high-Class A level, playing last season with Lynchburg of the Carolina League.

He has played in 238 minor-league games over the four seasons, hitting 37 home runs and driving in 171 runs. Beckwith’s best season was 2012, when he played for Rome (Ga.) in the low-Class A South Atlantic League. He batted .291 with 15 home runs, 78 RBI and 19 stolen bases.

Pitching coach hired

The Wild Things announced Monday the hiring of former major leaguer Kevin Gryboski as pitching coach.

Gryboski replaces Gary Lee, who was a player/coach the last two seasons. Lee was recently traded to Laredo of the American Association.

Gryboski spent five years in the major leagues with three teams and pitched in 238 games. He has been in professional baseball for 14 years.

A native of Wilkes-Barre and product of Wilkes University, Gryboski was drafted twice, both times in the 16th round, by Cincinnati in 1994 and Seattle in 1995. He signed with Seattle and was traded to the Atlanta Braves in 2002, when he made his major-league debut and pitched in 57 games for the Braves.

Gryboski pitched in a career-high 69 games for Atlanta in 2004, compiling a 3-2 record with two saves and 2.84 ERA. He also pitched in the major leagues with Texas and Washington. His career record was 12-8.

 “We are really excited about the addition of Kevin to our coaching staff,” said Wild Things manager Bart Zeller. “He worked side-by-side with Tom Glavine, Greg Maddux and John Smoltz, along with being managed by Bobby Cox. I’m particularly impressed with Kevin’s commitment to work with the young pitchers to develop them into productive pitchers.”

Gryboski spent two years as a volunteer coach at Peters Township before being named the head coach at Thomas Jefferson High School last year. He guided the Jaguars to a 13-9 record and spot in the WPIAL Class AAA quarterfinals.

Joining Zeller and Gryboski on the coaching staff will be hitting coach Bob Didier and veteran Wild Things coach Bob Bozzuto.

What's been happening

Here's a rundown of some news from the Wild Things and around the Frontier League:

* Washington has announced that Bob Bozzuto will return to the coaching staff and former major league catcher Bob Didier will be the Wild Things' new hitting coach.

Didier, 64, spent six seasons as a player and five years as a coach in the major leagues. He also managed in the minor leagues, including several stints at the Class AAA level.

Didier was a fourth-round draft pick in 1967 and broke into the majors as a 20-year-old, playing 117 games with the Atlanta Braves. He spent four seasons with the Braves before joining the Detroit Tigers in 1973 and Boston Red Sox in 1974. Didier played in 247 career games in the majors.

After his playing career ended because of a series of injuries, Didier entered the coaching ranks. He was on the Oakland Athletics’ major-league coaching staff (1984-86) and was the third-base coach of the Seattle Mariners (1989-90). He also managed at Class AAA for Atlanta, Houston and Toronto.
Most recently, Didier was a manager in the Arizona Diamondbacks’ system.

"We are really excited about the addition of Bob Didier to our staff," Wild Things manager Bart Zeller said. "Bob will work with the hitters and has a very successful history of working with hitters at all levels. He comes to us with a high level of energy and I’m sure our players will enjoy working with him."

* Washington released three players Wednesday: outfielders Tim Williams and Tyler Hall and first baseman Nick Boggan. All three players were acquired last August. Williams and Boggan were signed as free agents and Hall was acquired from Southern Illinois Miners in exchange for a player to be named. Williams batted .370 in 12 games before an injury sidelined him for the remainder of the season. Hall batted .200 in nine games before being put on the suspended list. Boggan batted .228 in 21 games.

Washington also placed pitcher Matt Phillips on the 60-day disabled list and re-signed catcher Jim Vahalik.

* Former Wild Things manager Jeff Isom has left the Lake Erie Crushers after one season and was named manager of the Joliet Slammers. Isom had a one-year contract in Lake Erie. Isom returns to the city where he managed the Joliet JackHammers in the now-defunct Northern League. You might recall that Isom left the Wild Things for the JackHammers job.

* Isom was replaced in Lake Erie by Frontier League veteran Chris Mongiardo, who was the Crushers' pitching coach last season.

Mongiardo was a coach with Richmond during the Wild Things' early days in the Frontier League and managed the Roosters for three seasons (2003-05) before the franchise relocated to Traverse City.

* Former Wild Things pitcher Casey Barnes has been traded by the River City Rascals to the Long Island Ducks of the Atlantic League.

* Former Wild Things pitcher Anthony Collazo has been signed by the Arizona Diamondbacks. The lefty spent parts of two seasons in Washington, compiling an 0-2 record in 23 outings (4 starts). He was traded by Washington last August in exchange for a player to be named.

* Washington also signed Nick Ratajczak, a rookie second baseman out of the University of Louisville.

Pitching coach traded

The Wild Things will have a new pitching coach this season.

That's because Gary Lee, who doubled as a player/coach the last two seasons, was traded Tuesday to the Laredo Lemurs of the American Association.

In return, Washington receives ... get this ... left-handed pitcher Matt Phillips.

That's the same Matt Phillips who played for the Wild Things last year but was sent to Laredo in September in a trade that brought outfielder Danny Poma to Washington.

In other words, the Wild Things traded one of their coaches from last season for one of their players.

Lee spent two seasons with Washington, compiling a 12-14 record in 37 starts that included one shutout. He was named to the Frontier League All-Star game in 2012, when he went 7-5 with a 2.90 ERA. At midseason that year, Lee was added to the coaching staff when Tim Ferguson was let go.

Phillips was a very effective pitching in a setup role during his one season in Washington. He was 3-3 with a 2.96 ERA and one save in 40 appearances. He struck out 44 in 45 2/3 innings.