FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: June 19, 2017
Contact: Jared Shlensky
[email protected]

GARY, Ind. — The Gary SouthShore RailCats announced the signing of pitchers Alex Weingarten and Westin Wuethrich and catcher James Alfonso on Monday evening. In order to make room on the 23-man active roster for the three, Gary released catcher Kevin Reiher and pitcher Joe Hauser and waived reliever Carlos Misell.

Weingarten was named the New York Region Pitcher of the Year, the SUNYAC Co-Pitcher of the Year and ABCA Third Team All-American as a senior in 2017. The right-hander finished his senior season 7-1 with one save, and a 1.83 ERA in 11 games (nine starts).

Wuethrich was named Third Team All-Midwest Region as a senior at UW-Whitewater, going 5-1 with a 3.34 ERA in 11 games (nine starts) as a senior. Wuethrich struck out 81 batters and walked just 18 in 64.2 innings.

Alfonso signed with the Los Angeles Angels on Anaheim in 2017 but didn’t see any action in their minor league system. The catcher batted .214 with three home runs and 28 RBIs and threw out 43 percent (20/46) of basestealers in 2016 for the Clinton LumberKings. In 2015, Alfonso hit .393 with four doubles and 11 RBIs in 25 games for Clinton. Alfonso was drafted by the Seattle Mariners in the 30th round of the 2014 MLB Draft out of Hartford University.

Reiher went hitless in two starts for Gary while Hauser allowed one run over 4.2 innings in his professional baseball debut on Sunday against Lincoln. Hauser, who signed with the RailCats on Saturday, allowed just three hits and struck out three.

Misell went 0-1 with a 4.09 ERA in seven relief outings. The right-hander allowed 12 hits and walked five batters while striking out 10 in 11 innings.

Gary begins a three-game series vs. Sioux City on Tuesday in a doubleheader. The two teams will play two seven-inning contests, with game one starting at 5:30 p.m. Game two is expected to follow approximately 30 minutes after the conclusion of game one. 

Jared Shlensky and Austin Anderson bring you all 100 RailCats games this season on WEFM (95.9FM) and online at railcatsbaseball.com. Fans can purchase tickets for RailCats home games by calling (219) 882-BALL or online at railcatsbaseball.com. The RailCats box office is open Monday through Friday from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.