Two infielders signed

Bryan Haar

The Wild Things are trying to replace starters at second base and third base. They recently signed two players with multiple years of professional baseball experience to be candidates to fill those positions.
The Wild Things have signed infielders Bryan Haar and John Ziznewski.

Haar has four years of professional experience and Ziznewski spent two years in the minor leagues.
Haar, a 26-year-old native of San Diego, was the Minnesota Twins’ 34th round draft pick in 2012 out of the University of San Diego, where he was a teammate of Kris Bryant, the National League’s Rookie of the Year last season.

Haar, who can third base and first base, had his career with the Twins reach the high-Class A level. He’s a .264 career hitter. His best season was 2014, when he hit .267 with 14 home runs and drove in 68 runs for Cedar Rapids of the Class A Midwest League.

“Haar’s signing is exactly what we were looking to add,” said Washington manager Gregg Langbehn. “He plays both corner infield spots and his bat should produce for us in the middle of the order.”

John Ziznewski

Ziznewski is a 24-year-old native of Staten Island, N.Y., and played college ball at Long Island, where he led the Northeast Conference in home runs, hits and RBI in his final season. The Chicago White Sox drafted Ziznewski in the eighth round in 2014. In two years in the Chicago system, Ziznewski batted. 261. He played 70 games for Kannapolis of the Class A South Atlantic League last year and saw most of his playing time at second base and third base.

“We are thrilled to be adding Ziznewski to our infield mix,” Langbehn said. “He has the versatility we look for, the ability to play all four infield positions. His bat and experience are positives we wanted to address.”

Washington third baseman Sam Mende has retired and second baseman Matt Ford was placed on the suspended list, leaving those two infield positions vacant. Shortstop Austin Wobrock and first baseman Jimmy Yezzo each have re-signed.