Jun 24, 2025 By Chris Dugan 4 min read

Though they entered a series-opening game Tuesday night against Lake Erie in first place in the Frontier League’s Central Division, the door to the Wild Things’ clubhouse has been revolving at full speed and the paperwork has been flying in recent weeks.

The changes to Washington’s roster have been aplenty as manager Tom Vaeth tries to improve his club that has been winning despite having an inflated team ERA and a rash of injuries.

Of the 27 players who began the season on the Wild Things’ opening day roster or injured list, only 15 remain. Seven have been released, two had their contracts purchased by major league organizations, one was traded, one was suspended by the team and another left to play in the higher-paying Mexican League.

Washington jettisoned three players Monday, following a seven-game road trip that produced a 4-3 record. Released were catcher Jommer Hernandez (.212) and left-handed pitcher Jake Carroll (2-0, 6.30), and catcher Willie Estrada (.242) was traded to Southern Maryland of the Atlantic League for future considerations.

Washington also placed relief pitcher Jacob McCaskey on the 7-day injured list.

The additions to the roster are rookie right-handed relief pitcher Christian Diaz, who was signed Monday, and left-handed hitting catcher Charles Mack, a former farmhand of the Minnesota Twins and Washington Nationals. The 25-year-old Mack, who was signed Tuesday, was a sixth-round draft pick of the Twins out of high school in New York, where he was the state player of the year. He played one game this year for Harrisburg, the Nationals’ Class AA affiliate.

“I wasn’t very happy with our catching situation,” Vaeth admitted.

Washington did keep catcher Three Hillier, who was signed last week after Estrada was injured in a game at Evansville. Hillier is a rookie out of High Point University.

“He gave us energy behind the dish,” Vaeth said. “I like that he’s a block-first guy instead of pick.”

Hillier and Mack are both left-handed hitters, probably the first time in franchise history that the club had a pair of lefty-hitting catchers.

“I’ve known of Charlie for a long time,” Vaeth said. “He and his brother (a Class AAA player with Miami) were highly regarded guys coming out of high school in the Buffalo area. He was hurt last year and didn’t play, and this year he was sitting in Double-A.”

This is not the perfect time to be tinkering with the roster. The major league draft is not until mid-July, so many college seniors are waiting to see if their name will be called in the two-day event before considering independent ball. Though major league organizations have started to clear roster spots on their minor league affiliates for draft picks by releasing underperforming players, many of those guys hold hope that another major league club will be picking them off the waiver wire and aren’t thinking about playing on the independent circuit.

In other words, the talent pool for Frontier League teams to restock their roster from is shallow.

“There are people looking for jobs,” Vaeth said, “but it’s hard to find the right fit.”

Mason back in FL

Former Wild Things coach and manager Mark Mason is back in the Frontier League as Lake Erie’s pitching coach.

Mason was hired less than two weeks ago, after he was let go as manager of the Hagerstown Flying Boxcars in the Atlantic League. Mason was in his second season in Hagerstown.

Mason has known Lake Erie manager Jared Lemieux for many years and connected with his friend as Lake Erie had an opening on its coaching staff. He was originally hired as a bench coach, but during a bus trip to Florence last week, Crushers pitching coach Johnny Barbato, a former Pirates pitcher, took an offer to play in the Mexican League. That moved Mason into the pitching coach role.

A Canonburg native, Mason was on the Wild Things’ original coaching staff in 2002 and was manager in 2009.

Mason also has been manager of the Empire State Greys, Chillicothe Paints and Ohio Valley Redcoats in the Frontier League and York Revolution in the Atlantic League. Mason guided York to a league championship in 2017.

Notes

Quebec, which entered Tuesday with the league’s best record at 31-8, is the only team with an ERA under 4.10 in June. The Capitales are pitching to a 2.78 ERA.