More Wild Things pitching

In the post below about the Wild Things' roster, I mentioned the curious state of the starting rotation. More precisely, who are the candidates for the rotation? There seemed to be a lack of experienced starting pitchers on the roster last week, and the transactions of the last two days have thinned the ranks even more.

Washington added what appears to be one solid starting pitcher Monday, but also traded one starter and released two potential starters.

The Wild Things signed two pitchers, lefty Vidal Nuno and right-hander Justin Hall. Nuno was a starter for two seasons in the Cleveland Indians system, and had a 5-0 record in the New York-Penn League in 2009. You can probably pencil him into the rotation. Hall was a non-drafted player who spent one year in the Tampa Bay Rays' system. Who knows what role he'll be put in.

Three pitchers who won't be in the rotation are Steve MacFarland, Sean Keeler and Joe Rodriguez.

MacFarland, a former 9th-round draft pick of the Pirates who pitched well for Washington last year (3-2) -- when he was healthy -- was traded to the San Angelo Colts of the North American League. In exchange for MacFarland, the Wild Things will receive "future considerations." Translated, that usually means a player not good enough to make San Angelo's roster.

Rodriguez and Keeler have been released. Rodriguez made a few starts last year for Oakland County -- he was the starter in the game in Lovonia, Mich., when the mound crumbled causing a postponement -- and was taken by Washington in the dispersal draft of Cruisers players. I thought he might be a potential fifth starter. Keeler pitched in only eight games (11 2/3 innings) last year for the Wild Things after being signed out of Franklin Pierce College, where he had suffered an injury that sidetracked his career. I had considered Keller as having a chance at earning a rotation spot, though with his injury history that might have been a longshot.

So with spring training less than two weeks away, this is what we know about the Wild Things' starting pitching: Justin Edwards is injured; Jeff Sonnenberg and Zach Groh are listed on the roster but the Wild Things haven't announced that either guy has been re-signed; the rumor is Billy Muldowney won't be back; Nuno seems to have a spot as a starter and there's a bunch of guys who are either ticketed for the bullpen or have no experience as a starter beyond college.

Who knows, maybe the Wild Thing will be signed to pitch?

Examining the roster

Spring training is less than two weeks away for the Wild Things – the season opener is 27 days from now – but their roster is far from set. Yes, this is a busy time for Frontier League managers and coaches as they scramble to sign players cut during minor-league spring training and released by other independent leagues. Teams also will be adding players from tryout camps, including the Frontier League tryout May 2-3 in Florence, Ky.

A check of the Wild Things' roster shows there are still spots that must be addressed before spring training begins. The most obvious is catcher, where only Blake Ochoa and Greyson Schram are on the roster. Billy O'Conner was placed on the suspended list last week. You can't go through spring training with only two catchers, so expect one or two more to be signed.

The same can be said for the outfield, where only four players are on the roster. Though some of the infielders have position flexibility (a Mike Tomlin term), here's thinking that at least one more outfielder will be signed for spring training, if only to make fewer infielders play out of position during intrasquad games.

One other spot that appears to be quite unsettled is starting pitcher. Judging by the quotes from manager Darin Everson in Wild Things press releases, many of the pitchers signed by Washington seem ticketed for bullpen duty.

Of the 20 players who had their options picked up in December, five were starting pitchers last year. Another, Jason Neitz, did not play last season but was a starting pitcher for Washington in 2009.

Of those six starting pitchers, I've heard that one (Billy Muldowney) won't be coming back, though you never know for sure who will and won't return until camp opens. I've seen guys be no-shows at camp, and at least one who wasn't expected to return arrive several days into camp (and woefully out of shape).

Another starting pitcher (Justin Edwards) is coming off shoulder surgery and won't be back until midseason. Two others (Zach Groh and Steve MacFarland) ended last year on the injured list and aren't even listed on the Wild Things' roster on the Frontier League's website.

The other starting pitcher is Jeff Sonnenberg, who developed into the staff ace last year.

It looks like the other starting options could be lefty Joe Rodriguez, who was selected in the Oakland County dispersal draft after making four starts for the Cruisers, and Sean Keeler, who had some starting experience (three games the last two years) in college at Franklin Pierce.

Depending on the status of MacFarland, Groh and Neitz, this could be a position the Wild Things are actively trying to address. My guess is there's a starting pitcher or two who Washington is waiting to receive a contract from in the next 10 days.

Vieira gone

According to the Frontier League website, Washington left-handed relief pitcher Matt Vieira has retired. Vieira was the losing pitcher in Friday night's 8-3 setback against the Traverse City beach Bums.

Vieira spent two years in the Florida Marlins' system, including one in the New York-Penn League with current Wild Things manager Darin Everson, before being signed by Washington this spring. Vieira had an 0-2 record and 5.52 ERA for Washington.

Prior to Friday's game, Washington put right-handed relief pitcher Sean Keeler (0-0, 5.59) on the disabled list. These two moves leave the Wild Things with only 10 pitchers and the league minimum 22 active players.