Wild Things Sign First Baseman James Vasquez, Announce Retirement of All-Star First Baseman Kane Sweeney
WASHINGTON, Pa. (April 2) - Today the Wild Things announced a pair of roster moves, both involving the first base position. The team signed former UCF star and former Cincinnati Reds' farmhand James Vasquez, while also announcing the retirement of 2017 Frontier League Postseason All Star first baseman Kane Sweeney.
Vasquez was drafted in the 25th round of the 2015 MLB Amateur Draft, and played three seasons in the Reds' organization prior to his release. In 2015, he played for the rookie-ball affiliate Arizona Reds, and sported a slash line of .359/.415/.669 in 42 games to go along with 11 doubles, three triples, nine home runs and 36 RBI. Vasquez was named the MVP of the Arizona League following that season.
The Palm City, Florida, native, was assigned to the Dayton Dragons of the Midwest League (Class A), and hit 14 home runs with 66 RBI in 2016, before splitting time with Dayton and the Daytona Tortugas (Advanced-A ball, Florida State League) in 2017. In total last year, Vasquez hit .258 with a .332 OBP. He hit 24 doubles and 10 home runs, while driving in 59 runs and walking 49 times in 110 plate appearances.
At the University of Central Florida, he hit to a slash line of .284/.387/.435. In his four seasons with the Knights, Vasquez hit 23 home runs, drove in 147, had 40 doubles and had a strikeout to free-base ratio of 115 to 130.
In a corresponding move, the Wild Things announced the retirement of 2017 Frontier League Regular-Season and Post-Season All Star Kane Sweeney. Sweeney played the 2017 season with the Wild Things, and hit .296, with an on-base percentage of .457 and a slugging percentage of .539. The team-dubbed "Big Red Machine" hit 15 home runs and drove in 61 runs. He also had two, separate, 30-plus game on-base streaks, and set the single-season franchise record for walks in a season by reaching first via base on balls 87 times.
During the offseason, Sweeney was offered and accepted an assistant coaching job at his alma mater Morehead State. The job came after the team had announced Sweeney's intentions to re-sign for 2018, but after Sweeney accepted the gig, he decided to retire from playing baseball.
"Unfortunately, my playing days are up, but I'm blessed to have a great opportunity to stay in baseball and coach at my alma mater," said Sweeney. "I wish Washington nothing but the best in the future and will continue to follow them and be in touch."
On his time in Washington, Sweeney added:
"I was very fortunate to have the opportunity to play for Washington after a few years in the Yankees organization. I appreciate getting a chance to keep playing. It was the most fun I've had playing ball since my senior season in college when we won the conference and made a regional," said Sweeney. "I learned a ton from [field manager Gregg Langbehn] Banger and the whole front office was first class all the way through. I want to personally thank [assistant GM of team operations] Tony Buccilli and [vice president and general manager] Steve Zavacky, for everything they did for me. I enjoyed every second of this past summer, had great teammates and we had a lot of success as an organization."
The Wild Things also enjoyed the opportunity to have Sweeney on board and wish him the best moving forward.
“The Morehead State program added a quality baseball person and a great baseball mind with Kane. This opportunity to coach and recruit for his alma mater is quite special. As his roles transformed, so did our plans for him in 2018. Now with recruiting responsibilities, his summers will be quite hectic and playing became impossible," said Buccilli. "Kane was such a needed figure for us on and off the field. He set records that will likely never be broken, he delivered in so many clutch spots but maybe most importantly he built such great relationships with the Wild Things’ community. We appreciate all he and his family poured into his time in Washington, and wish him nothing but the best in his coaching career.”
