Two more former Wild Things released

The end of March can be a difficult time for minor league baseball players. It's when some dreams continue and others are dealt a shocking and quick end. Most major-league teams operate four affiliates in April after running at least six teams at the end of last summer, so there's plenty of jobs to be lost.

Two members of the 2013 Wild Things, outfielder Quincy Latimore and left-handed pitcher Al Yevoli, were recently caught in the roster cutdowns.

Latimore was in minor-league camp but had three at-bats (0-for-3 with a stolen base) with the Pittsburgh Pirates during major-league spring training. He was released over the weekend. Latimore was signed by the Wild Things last summer after being released from the Cleveland Indians' Class AA affiliate in Akron. He hit .232 with six home runs and 22 RBI in 41 games with Washington. Latimore signed with the Pirates, who drafted him in the fourth round in 2007, during the offseason.

A hard-throwing reliever, Yevoli was released by the Chicago Cubs. It was the second consecutive year in which Yevoli made it deep into spring training before being released.

Yevoli has played parts of two seasons in Washington. Last year, he had a 1-1 record in 20 games before having his contract purchased by the Cubs, who assigned him to Kane County, their affiliate in the Class A Midwest League. Yevoli was 0-0 with a 3.15 ERA in 11 outings with Kane County.

There are a couple of other former Wild Things who were in minor-league camps but I do not know their status at this time. I also am trying to locate the destinations of a couple of local players, J.J. Jankowski and Jim Rider, both from Peters Township. Jankowski is with the Houston Astros and Rider was traded during the offseason from the Pirates to the Boston Red Sox.