Isanti Redbirds look to continue rebuilding

Last year the Isanti Redbirds took the first steps toward revamping a roster that had dominated the Eastern Minny League in recent seasons.

That will continue this summer, as over the winter the team had 11 players either retire or leave.

“Most of them were either starters or of starting caliber,” Isanti manager Steve Allen said. “We lost some pretty high-quality individuals and good ballplayers.

“To be honest, the numbers game was getting scary over the winter. We were fortunate in that we found some players – some good players – and we had a few players come out of retirement to help us. …

“We can put a pretty good team on the field. We just don’t have a lot of depth.”

That’s especially true of the pitching staff, which saw veterans T.J. Wink and Logan Kalis retire.

“Those are two guys out of our top three or four pitchers from last year,” Allen said.

As a result, the Redbirds’ veteran manager cut back on the number of games his team would play this season to help limit the innings his pitching staff would need to cover.

“You don’t necessarily get stronger by getting beat up all the time,” Allen explained. “We needed time for some of our younger players to come along.”

There are still familiar faces on the roster. For example, the offense still centers around Matt Duong and Brent Tholen, with Dan Hamann providing experience, while the pitching staff includes familiar arms such as James Green and Phil Bray.

“We still have quality individuals who lead by example,” Allen said. “We did keep some of the heart of the team to help guide the younger players.

“For example, you don’t see a day where one of our veteran players does not offer tips to our younger players.”

Defense was a concern for Isanti early in the season, especially at key positions such as catcher, second base and shortstop.

“When the season opened, we were thin behind the plate – we lost three catchers from last year,” Allen said. “But we picked up Marcus Hubbard from Cambridge-Isanti, and he’s one of the guys who is a part of our future.

“Luke Selken came back, and we added another young catcher in Colton Abrahamson.”

The Redbirds also had concerns in the middle of the infield following the retirement of shortstop Joe Tuholsky and second baseman Ethan Smith leaving the team. Veteran Troy Jones was added to solidify the shortstop position, and 42-year-old Packy Lind has stepped in at second base.

“Right now it’s still musical chairs, trying to give guys time on the field so they can improve while still trying to stay competitive,” Allen said. “I don’t know how good we’re going to be – it’s a process.

“We’re just going to see what happens.”