Less-crowded dugout

After their practice Wednesday night, the Wild Things trimmed six players off the roster, including three who were selected at the Frontier League's tryout/draft.

Released were catchers Juan Reyes and Doc Neiman, left-handed pitchers David Jensen and Kevin Johnson, right-handed pitcher Eric Binder and infielder Garrett Jenner. Reyes was one of the Wild Things' two first-round draft picks, and Neiman and Jensen were also picked up at the league draft. Johnson was a bit of a surprise because he had been drafted twice out of the University of Cincinnati and spent last year in Class A.

Jenner, you might recall from a story in the O-R last week, played the last two years for the "Heroes of the Diamond" military all-star team (the O-R jinx strikes again?).

The moves leave Washington with 34 players on the official roster (one on the DL), though I have seen one player not on the roster at camp.

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.