Wild Things Make Series of Moves Prior to Trip North, Deadline
ON THE WAY NORTH (August 11) – The Washington Wild Things have made several moves in advance of tonight’s Frontier League transaction deadline, which freezes league rosters with a few exceptions available for teams with transactions left or for injuries/activations.
The team, after acquiring utility Pavin Parks in a trade Sunday with Ottawa for outfielder Robert Chayka, has signed and activated Parks. The team also signed left-handed pitcher Danny Diaz and activated catcher Charles Mack from the 14-Day Injured List. To make room on the active roster, righty Lex Meinderts was placed on the 14-Day Injured List, retroactive to Friday, August 8. It also placed infielder Cole Fowler and catcher Nolan Wilson on the 7-Day Injured List.
The moves leave the roster at 24.
Parks is a journeyed player in baseball. After spending two seasons at Seminole State College of Florida, Parks finished his collegiate career at Kent State, where he was All-MAC Second Team in 2018 and 2019 John Ulerud Two-Way Player of the Year Award Watchlist. He was also a four-year letterwinner in baseball and a three-year letterwinner in football and basketball at Manchester High School. He’s a former Butler Blue Sox player for two seasons, where he teamed up with former Wild Thing and big leaguer James Meeker, among other local talents.
Pavin began his pro career with 11 games in the Detroit farm system and the Gulf Coast League rookie affiliate. He was 0-for-19 but walked six times in his affiliated run.
Following COVID, Parks went to the Pioneer League and slashed .330/.427/.568 in 95 games with Ogden in 2021. He belted 27 doubles, seven triples, 15 homers and drove in 102 to go with 24 stolen bases. He’d move on to the Frontier League with Tri-City the next two seasons. In 2022, Parks slashed .284/.399/.488 with 97 hits, 17 doubles, a triple and 17 homers. He drove in 67 and stole 14 bases with 65 walks against 69 strikeouts. That season, he was a midseason Frontier League All Star and was named the game’s MVP, a game played in Washington.
In 2023, Parks hit .224/.347/.343 with nine homers and 55 RBI. After spending a brief part of the offseason in Melbourne in the ABL, Parks appeared in 20 games in the American Association with Chicago and in 54 games with Evansville last year. With the Otters, he slashed .283/.369/.489 with 11 doubles, nine homers and 42 RBI. One of the homers was a July walkoff homer against Washington.
This summer, he played in 63 games with the Otters and had a .268/.380/.434 slash line to go with 10 doubles, two triples, eight home runs and 37 RBI before being released. He signed with Gateway and was only afford three games with the club, in which he was 0-for-10 with a run and an RBI. Gateway traded the utilityman to Ottawa, but Parks had not yet reported to the Titans when the trade with Washington materialized.
He’s also done some work on the mound as a pro. He appeared in four games with the GCL Tigers and didn’t allow an earned run in five innings. He then pitched in 19 games to a 3.80 ERA in 2023 with the ValleyCats, in 14 games to a 2.51 ERA with Evansville last season and in 10 innings for the Otters this year.
Diaz, a lefty, spent 2016 in the Pecos League, 2017 between the Pecos and Mexican League, 2018 in the Pecos, Pacific Association and Can Am League. From 2019 until now, he’s been pitching in different leagues in Mexico. His most recent major Mexican League experience came in 2023 with Quintana Roo, where he appeared in 21 games (11 starts) and worked 54.0 innings. His 2024 and 2025 have been in Liga Estatal de Chihuahua as the team’s pro.
