Almost every player who filters down to the Atlantic League has a story about where it all went south.
Barnstormers second baseman Juan Francia throws to first.
Mike Woods slides safely into second for the Barnstormers.
Mike Woods makes a diving catch in center field.
New closer Sendy Rleal delivers for Lancaster.
Often it involves an injury. Other times it's a case of being in the wrong organization at the wrong time.
Few players have Sendy Rleal's story. The hard-throwing righthander was in the big leagues two years ago and appeared to be part of the Baltimore Orioles' future.
Today, no major league organization is willing to give Rleal a chance. He came to the Lancaster Barnstormers after not even getting invited to spring training in February.
How did Rleal's fortunes change so quickly?
"I don't know, man," he said with a smile. "The game is crazy sometimes. I'm going to give it 100 percent and I'm confident I can get back to the big leagues. If I do a good job here, I'll sign somewhere."
Rleal made his debut in the Barnstormers' 5-2 loss to the Somerset Patriots at Clipper Magazine Stadium Wednesday night. He retired three of the four batters he faced in one scoreless inning.
To understand Rleal's career you have to flash back to March of 2006. In the span of a few weeks, he went from anonymous minor leaguer to talk of the franchise.
The hard-throwing Dominican pitched 131-e innings in spring training and allowed just one run. He became an improbable member of the Orioles' bullpen on opening day.
Rleal pitched decently at the big-league level. He appeared in 42 games and posted a 4.44 ERA. But it wasn't enough to stick around. He was sent back to Triple-A in July and never made it back.
Things started to unravel for Rleal last season. He struggled with elbow soreness, which forced him to start the season on the disabled list. An MRI revealed no structural damage and he returned to the mound in May.
Rleal split time between Single-A Frederick and Double-A Bowie. Overall, his numbers were solid. He posted a 3.24 ERA and allowed 38 hits in 50 innings.
The Orioles decided to part ways with Rleal in September. The pitcher figured it was no big deal. He would just latch on with another team.
The problem was no one called.
.441Once considered big-league worthy, Rleal was now considered unworthy of even a minor league roster spot.
"I was very surprised," he said. "I was doing good last year, but nobody signed me. Life is like that, you know?"
The only option was the Barnstormers, who were anxious to make Rleal their closer. The team signed him in March.
Because of visa problems in the Dominican Republic, Rleal didn't join the Barnstormers until Tuesday. His absence was felt as the team stumbled to a 6-12 start.
Lancaster has spent the past three weeks overhauling its bullpen. Only two of the seven relievers on the roster were with the club in spring training.
Manager Von Hayes hopes Rleal is the final piece to the retooled puzzle.
"He's going to be our closer," Hayes said.
"It's going to be a nice situation if we get Rleal going. He's got experience. He's a big leaguer. "
If Rleal displays the same low-90s fastball and top-notch changeup that helped him reach the majors, he seems a good candidate to get picked up out of this league. He's still only 27 and not far removed from his glory days.
Rleal came to Lancaster to reclaim his fallen star.
"That's what I need now — a team to look at me," he said. "Then I'm ready to go … again."
Just like two years ago, when he was at baseball's highest level.
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Staff writer Jason Guarente can be reached at
jguarente@LNPnews.com or 291-8777.
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