Mar 20, 2013 2 min read

The Washington Wild Things recently made several roster moves in preparation for the 2013 season.

Washington signed Jose Rivero, and outfielder from Venezuela who spent four years in the Seattle Mariners system and one year each with the Arizona Diamondbacks and Oakland Athletics. The Wild Things also traded outfielder Vinnie Fayard and catcher David Fanshawe to the Sonoran Explorers of the Freedom League, an independent league based in Arizona.

Rivero has a career .251 batting average and has played 190 games at the Class A level. Last year, Rivero played 13 games for Rio Grande Valley in the independent North American Baseball League and batted .163.

The Wild Things were in need of an outfielder after recently signed Mario Yepez suffered a broken ankle and center fielder Darian Sandford has his contract purchased by the Chicago White Sox. Rivero played in the Venezuelan Winter League, hitting .329 with seven home runs. He was a teammate of Yepez in the VWL.

“When Mario Yepez was injured, we immediately began looking for an outfielder to fill the opening on the roster and we found him on the same team, the Lara Cardinals,” assistant general manager Steve Zavacky said. “Jose also was highly recommended by former Wild Things pitcher Jhonny Montoya, and the reports we received from scouts confirmed what Jhonny told us.”

Fayard was signed by Washington late last year out of Biola (Calif.) University. He played in 10 games and batted .083. Fanshawe was signed this offseason. He was in spring training last year with the Frontier League’s Schaumburg Boomers.

The Wild Things also announced that individual game tickets will go on sale April 13 during the team’s annual open house. National anthem auditions will be held during the open house, which begins at 10 a.m.