The Evansville Otters have acquired infielder Manny Cruz from the Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks of the American Association for a player to be named later and signed right-handed pitcher Sean Johnson.
After playing collegiately at Southern New Hampshire University from 2014-16, Cruz was drafted in the 23rd round of the 2016 MLB Amateur Draft by the Cincinnati Reds.
In 2016 with the Penmen of SNHU, Cruz batted .373 in 57 games. He finished that season with 79 hits, 31 doubles and 97 RBIs.
During his stint in affiliated baseball, Cruz played for the AZL Reds (2016) and Billings Mustangs (2017) before joining the independent RedHawks. Cruz finished his collegiate career with a .327 batting average with 97 RBIs and 193 hits.
Otters manager Andy McCauley said an Oakland Athletics’ scout, who coached in the Reds’ organization, recommended Cruz to him.
“He should compete for a starting job in the middle of our infield,†McCauley said. “He had a great college career and wasn’t really given an opportunity within the Reds organization.â€
Meanwhile, Johnson comes to Evansville after playing college baseball for the Rebels of the University of Mississippi from 2015-17. He began his college career at Iowa Western Community College, where he won a NJCAA national title in 2014.
With Ole Miss, Johnson finished his career with a 4-2 record in 18 games while accumulating a 4.80 ERA in 50.2 innings. As a senior in 2017, he took a no-hitter into the seventh inning against the University of Louisiana-Monroe.
“He pitched very well at the Florida minor league camp,†McCauley said. “He was recommended to me by a long time scout and friend.â€
