Apr 19, 2018 2 min read

With spring training less than two weeks away, the Wild Things made several roster moves Thursday by placing outfielders Rashad Brown and Joey Havrilak on the suspended list and signing outfielder Reydel Medina, a native of Cuba who played the past four years in the Cincinnati Reds system.

Brown was the Wild Things’ center fielder last year while Havrilak is a Trinity graduate who spent two seasons in the Detroit Tigers farm system and was acquired this offseason by Washington in a trade with Gary of the American Association.

“Rashad requested that we shift him to the suspended list to start 2018, as he is dealing with family issues,” said Wild Things assistant general manager Tony Buccilli. “We are uncertain if he will join us at some point during the summer or if his playing career is over. We certainly appreciate all he did for us on and off the field, being a great community figure and playing every day with that big smile on his face.

“We acquired Joey with the expectations of him returning home to play in front of his Washington community. Unfortunately, we do not expect him to commit to playing in 2018 because of his career away from baseball.”

Medina was born in Havana, Cuba, and in four seasons in the Reds’ system he hit 36 home runs and drove in 148 runs and has 10 games of experience at the Class AA level.

“Reydel was the Reds’ top international signing in 2014. His journey to the states was not easy but his perseverance and love for the game kept his dream alive,” Buccilli said. “He is a very toolsy kid with noted power and a natural sense to play the game all out. Offensively, he should be one of the biggest X-factors on our team. His extra-base hit potential and run production should give us added depth to our lineup.”

The Wild Things open the season May 11 at Evansville, and will sign at least two players from the Frontier League’s annual open tryout and draft that will be held Monday and Tuesday in Florence, Ky.