J.J. Cruz, a native of Cerritos, CA, returns to Evansville for his third season in 2026. Cruz joined the Otters midseason in 2024 and produced quietly in his 22 games, putting up a .250 average with five RBI. Last year, he emerged as one of Evansville’s strongest bats.
In his 80 games, Cruz collected a .236 average but backed it up with 10 doubles (T-6th on team), 11 home runs & 50 RBI (4th on team in both). Cruz had two multi-homer games in 2025, collecting a trio of round-trippers in Schaumburg on July 4 and putting up two in Mississippi on August 13.
Cruz played his college ball at Cal State Fullerton from 2020 to 2022 before transferring to Hope International for his final two seasons of college ball.
Nolan Thebiay, the right-handed pitcher who hails from Wilsonville, OR, is back for a second season in Evansville in 2026. In his debut professional season, Thebiay became one of Max Peterson’s go-to relievers in the bullpen, putting up the second most innings pitched out of the bullpen. Across 34 games in 2025, he put up a 2.89 ERA across 43.2 innings of work, with 48 strikeouts (3rd best among Otters relievers) to just 19 walks.
Thebiay played collegiately at Montana State-Billings for a pair of seasons before transferring to Jessup University for his final two years of college ball in 2024 and 2025.
Alex Valdez, from Las Matas de Farfan, Dominican Republic, joins the four signees from last week for a total of five Dominicans on the 2026 roster. Valdez was acquired by Evansville in 2024 in a trade with the Kansas City Monarchs of the American Association. In his 12 games with Evansville in 2024, he posted a 1.26 ERA in 14.1 innings.
Valdez saw his workload increase dramatically in 2025, serving as one of the primary back-end bullpen pieces. He saw action in 39 games and pitched a 3.40 ERA in 45.0 innings. He collected 52 strikeouts (2nd best among Otters relievers) to just 16 walks and had a team-high six saves.
Chase Waddell is primed and ready for his first full season of professional baseball. After signing with the Otters on August 25, he only made appearances in four games but hit for a .267 batting average. Waddell played collegiately at Barton College in Wilson, NC, just a few minutes from his hometown of Lucama.
In four seasons of college ball, Waddell had a .322 batting average with 136 RBI in 172 games. He averaged over a hit per game in his college career, collecting almost 200 total hits. Waddell has solid plate vision, finishing his college career with 31 walks to just 20 strikeouts in his senior year.
The Otters will continue to reveal signings for the upcoming 2026 season over the next few weeks. Season tickets and group offerings are available now for the 2026 season. Single game tickets will go on sale in February.
