First round of cuts

The Wild Things trimmed their roster to the 28-player limit Sunday by releasing the following:

- Left-handed pitchers Cory Caruso and Tyler Stovall

- Right-handed pitchers Quintavious Drains, Tanner Hamilton and Dominick Ruscetti

- Corner infielder Coty Pate

- First baseman/outfielder Corey LeVier

- Catcher Mike Perez

Seven of the eight players cut were classified as Rookies. The only player classified as Experienced is Stovall, who played in the Atlanta Braves system for four years before joining the Normal CornBelters last year.

Caruso and LeVier were obtained in the trade with River City that sent Casey Barnes and Mike Bando to the Rascals. The Wild Things now have nothing to show for that trade.

Fifteen of the 28 players on the active roster played for Washington last year. The Wild Things have never gone into an opening day with more nine returning players from the previous season's final roster.

Of the players released, I was most surprised to find Caruso on the cut list. I thought he had a chance to make it to opening day. Pate also showed that he has some potential.

Washington must get down to 24 players before Friday's season opener at Schaumburg. There are 15 players classified as Experienced or Veteran (not counting Rogelio Noris and Mario Yepez, both of whom are on the DL). At least two of those 15 players must be dropped from the active roster to meet Frontier League rules.

My guess is, one pitcher, one infielder and two outfielders will be let go to get down to 24 players.

First offseason trade

The Wild Things have made their first offseason trade, sending starting pitcher Casey Barnes, first baseman Michael Bando and a player to be named later to the River City Rascals in exchange for right-handed pitcher Albert Ayala, first baseman Chris Andreas and left-handed pitcher Cory Caruso.

Barnes, pictured, spent two seasons with Washington, posting an 11-12 record and a 3.11 ERA in 32 starts. In 2011, Barnes was third in the league with a 2.34 ERA but didn't finish the year with Washington as he had his contract purchased by the Philadelphia Phillies and spent a brief stint with their Williamsport affiliate in the New York-Penn League. Barnes had signed a contract extension with the Wild Things during the 2012 season.

Bando, the son of Washington manager Chris Bando, struggled at the plate in his only season with the Wild Things, batting .172 last year with one home run and eight doubles in 180 at-bats.

Ayala is a career independent leagues pitcher. He has spent six seasons in the Indy leagues, posting a 12-17 record with a 4.94 ERA and 17 saves in 155 games (20 starts). Last year, he played for River City and Southern Illinois, finishing with a 0-0 record, 9 saves and 2.95 ERA. He also played in the Frontier League in 2007 with River City and 2008 with the Midwest Sliders. Ayala turned 26 years old earlier this month.

Andreas is a 24-year-old first baseman who was a 39th round draft pick of the Seattle Mariners in 2011 out of Sam Houston State. He played one year of rookie ball in the Mariners' system and hit .336 but did not have a home run in 116 at-bats. With River City last season, Andreas batted .261 in 79 games with 6 home runs and 11 doubles.

Caruso was a 50th round draft pick of the Miami Marlins in 2011 out of Cal State-San Bernardino but did not sign. He returned to college and last spring had a 3-4 record and 3.19 ERA, but he struck out only 51 in 90.1 innings, which suggests he's not a power pitcher. He signed with River City and pitched in 29 games (one start), going 0-2 with a 4.45 ERA. He struck out 25 in 28.1 innings. Caruso still has Rookie status.

By Wild Things standards, this is early in the offseason to make a trade, but River City and Gateway generally build their rosters sooner than the league other teams in the league.

Washington also signed pitcher Dominick Ruscitti, a rookie out of Kutztown University.