Ch-ch-ch-changes

The revolving door on the Wild Things' clubhouse has been in full swing the last two days.

As manager Chris Bando said over the weekend, he's a patient man, but not that patient. He saw enough of the Wild Things' struggling offense (league-low .191 team batting average) during the six-game homestand and made several roster moves leading up to tonight's series opener at Windy City.

Gone is catcher Chris Anderson, who was off to an 0-for-13 start, and veteran outfielder Luis Rivera, who was batting .227. Rivera's average is fourth-best on the team. Third baseman/catcher Davis Page (1-for-5) was traded back to San Angelo of the North American League to complete an earlier trade. Page apparently was traded for himself. Washington acquired him five days ago from San Angelo.

Re-signed was catcher David Peters, who joined Washington in the offseason from the Florida Marlins system and then was dealt to the Pecos League before spring training. Peters has played in two games in the Pecos.

Also signed was outfielder Jeriel Waller, who was drafted in the 47th round last year by the Marlins. I can found no evidence that Waller played in any games in the Marlins' system after being drafted out of Grossmont College, a JC in California. On Waller's Facebook page, it says he attended San Diego Christian College.

Waller is the son of Reggie Waller, a former San Diego Padres scoring director, and nephew of Tye Waller, the Oakland A's first-base coach.

Left-handed relief pitcher Shawn Smith was put on the suspended list, apparently to make room for Steve Grife, who can be activated from the same list Friday. Washington also could activate pitcher Gary Lee, who has been serving as the bullpen coach.

Washington still has one open roster spot (assuming Grife or Lee fill one) and has room for an Experienced player.

The biggest surprise for the Wild Things this season is the trouble at the catcher position, especially when you consider Bando is a former major-league catcher. Washington has played four different catchers in nine games, and has had eight catchers on the roster since the start of spring training.

UPDATE: Shawn Smith was placed on the 7-day injured list and Gary Lee was activated for tonight's game.

3 more signed

The Wild Things recently signed three more players, bringing the total of newcomers already under contract for spring training to 15 (and possibly 16 -- still not sure of Mike Bando's status).

Nothing about the latest signings has been released by the Wild Things, but here's what my research has revealed: The three signees follow a familiar pattern for new manager Chris Bando. Each of the three players is from California. Two played small college ball in California. Two of the three do have pro experience.

Signed were right-handed pitcher Alan Gatz, catcher David Peters and utility player Garrett Jenner.

Gatz is from Torrance, Calif., and played at El Camino Junior College and Cal State-Dominguez Hills University, the latter an NCAA Division II school. Last year, Gatz played for Ruidoso in the independent Pecos League and had a 6-3 record in 13 starts. The Pecos League is a hitters league and Gatz's numbers reflect as much. In 73 1/3 innings, he gave up 102 hits and nine home runs. He walked 32 and struck out only 50, but was selected for the midseason All-Star game.

Peters was drafted by the Florida Marlins out of Lakewood (Calif.) High School in 2009 and signed. He spent two years in rookie ball and put up respectable numbers in his second year, which was 2010. I could find nothing that showed Peters played pro ball last summer.

Jenner has an interesting background. In 2009, he played at William Penn University, which is an NAIA school in Oskaloosa, Iowa. He put up good numbers, leading the team with 14 home runs and 49 RBI. But in 2010, Jenner was playing for a barnstorming team called the "Heroes of the Diamond," a military team similar to the one the Wild Things played an exhibition game against a few years ago.

I found no record of Jenner playing in 2011, so he was likely serving in the military.

With the 15 (or 16) newcomers, the Wild Things have at least 25 players on their roster.