Last week former UW-Whitewater pitcher, Greg Reinhard, received another lesson about the politics of professional sports recently. The 6-2, 225 lb righthanded pitcher was entering his 6th year in professional baseball following a record breaking career at UW-Whitewater culminated by the 2005 NCAA III Baseball National Championship.
Last week the Chicago Cubs player transaction wire read:
Released: RHP Diego Encarnacion, RHP Robert Hernandez, RHP Jeff Kennard, RHP Kevin Kreier, RHP Josh Lansford, RHP Dionis Nunez, RHP Greg Reinhard, RHP Josh Whitlock, RHP Hank Williamson, 1B John Contreras, 2B Dwayne Kemp, 3B Jordan Petraitis, SS Robert Bautista, OF Kevin Soto, OF Sean Williams.
It was just last summer that reports out of Chicago and its Triple-A affiliate in Des Moines (Iowa Cubs) indicated that the talented right hand pitcher was very close to getting the call up to the majors. It never happened.
The reason for a player’s release is seldom identified. One hears rumors but nothing more. In Major League Baseball, a player’s move through the minors is often dictated by contract status and the amount of compensation being paid to the player.
What now for the Marinette, Wisconsin native? Voiceseyeonbaseballblogspot.com has learned that several MLB teams have shown interest in Greg. Don’t look for a team to sign Reinhard until the end of 2010 training camp later this week. Signing with an independent team is also a possibility.
I’ll keep you updated.
- Voice
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