Defending champion Wingnuts begin camp with a bevy of new faces

The Wingnuts begin their American Association championship defense with at least 16 new players, and that may not be enough.

Manager Kevin Hooper would have loved to give it another try with a large number of holdovers, but there is something exhilarating about forming a roster out of nothing.

Wichita begins training camp on Saturday and will trim the roster from 28 to 22 before the May 21 season opener at Joplin. The home opener is five days later against Winnipeg.

“I love a challenge, whatever that challenge is,” Hooper said. “It was a challenge. We’re building a lot from scratch.”

Several Wingnuts, including middle-infield mainstays Jake Kahaulelio and Ryan Khoury, opted to retire after a three-year chase for a title culminated with a sweep of Lincoln in the championship series in September.

Retirements and other moves left Hooper with nearly a blank slate this winter, and he filled it with experienced players, including three former major leaguers. Alberto Gonzalez, Luis Hernandez and Luis Montanez combined for 677 major-league games.

Gonzalez and Hernandez take over as Wichita’s new double-play combination, and Montanez is slotted for the outfield.

“It’s not like these guys got cups of coffee, all three of them spent quality time at the major-league level,” Hooper said. “You look at those two middle infielders and their fielding percentages, it’s off the charts. Alberto is a guy who spent three years in a row with over 100 games played in the big leagues. That’s not common at this level.”

The Wingnuts were able to solidify their defense up the middle because offense is present at several other positions.

Right fielder David Espinosa, the only returner to the starting lineup (Brent Dean and Taylor Oldham were part-timers) was acquired for the stretch run in 2014. He has a .379 on-base percentage in more than 1,500 career games, including 530 in Double- and Triple-A.

Third baseman T.J. Mittelstaedt had 48 extra-base hits in 100 games for Kansas City of the AA last season with a career-best 16 home runs. First baseman Chris Garcia hit .383 in the AA in 2010 but has missed the last two seasons due to injury.

The offense could have been even more prolific if the early-winter signing of Alex Cabrera had come to fruition. The 43-year-old Cabrera hit 357 home runs in the Japanese major league between 2001-12, including 154 between 2001-03, but Hooper was worried Cabrera’s age would catch up to him.

“That was obviously going to be a fan-favorite thing, but I got some wind of some things with his knees,” Hooper said. “He’s having issues running. I kept thinking, he might lead the league in walks, then he gets to first and he’s a log jam. With only five (roster spots for) veterans, they’ve got to be able to do a lot of things.”

Most of Wichita’s returners are pitchers – starters Anthony Capra, Tim Brown and Jason Van Skike anchor the rotation while closer Matt Nevarez returns from a stint in the Pittsburgh Pirates minor-league chain.

“They came in a storm, all these power arms,” Hooper said. “We’ve got some fuel down in the bullpen, and to get Nevarez back, there’s your solidified closer.”

This story was originally published May 8, 2015 at 5:51 PM with the headline "Defending champion Wingnuts begin camp with a bevy of new faces."