Blue Crabs announce additional signings

Friday, March 28, 2008

In signing second baseman Alejandro Prieto, first baseman Clinton Johnson, and starting pitcher Derrick DePriest, the Blue Crabs have filled nearly three-fourths of the roster.

‘‘I am real happy with how things are going and how the team is coming together,” Hobson said Wednesday. ‘‘It has been really hectic recently; the phone doesn’t stop ringing it seems. Guys are being released from organizations and trying to find jobs, and we still have a few spots left to fill.”

According to Hobson, the Blue Crabs are close to signing an outfielder and a utility infielder, each of whom has significant major league experience. The team cannot release names until the contracts have been finalized and received.

Hobson also suggested that the addition of the utility infielder could potentially lead to a trade for a starting pitcher.

The team has already traded first baseman Ian Bladergroen, one of the first players the team signed his year, to Lancaster in exchange for future considerations.

Hobson filled the hole left by the departed All-Star at first base by signing Johnson, a 1998 first-round draft pick of the Pittsburgh Pirates.

‘‘I have heard that Johnson’s a power hitter who can swing the bat really well,” Hobson said. ‘‘The numbers say he is a good hitter and guys that I have talked to say that he is a pure line-drive hitter and solid defensively, so he should be able to help us out.”

Johnson, 30, came into the league as a pitcher, but switched to first base in 2001 while with Single-A Auburn. The former Vanderbilt All-American has since batted .274 with 39 career home runs in the minors.

Last season, while in the Northern League with Edmonton and Fargo, Johnson hit .360 and 42 RBIs.

In signing Prieto, the Blue Crabs have acquired a second baseman with 15 years of minor league experience. The Caracas, Venezuela, native has also played 24 games in the majors while with the Minnesota Twins in 2003 and 2004.

Prieto spent the 2007 season in Triple-A Pawtucket as a shortstop in the Boston Red Sox organization. The 5-foot-11 middle infielder hit .242 and committed just nine errors on the season.

Prieto will potentially join George Sandel, the team’s shortstop, in the center of the diamond.

‘‘I feel pretty good about those two guys playing in the middle for us,” Hobson said. ‘‘They have a good quickness about them. We are pretty happy with that scenario.”

While Hobson admitted to knowing very little about Prieto, he is extremely familiar with DePriest, who pitched for Hobson at Nashua in 2006.

The University of North Carolina product has pitched in the minors for seven years as a reliever, but Hobson hopes to make the 6-foot-8 right-hander a starter.

‘‘He didn’t start for me at Nashua, but those sinker ball pitchers typically have pretty resilient arms, and he is a guy who I think can give us five or six quality innings. Derrick’s a guy who is going to get a lot of ground balls for us.”

In his one career start, DePriest went nine innings. On his career, the 31-year-old has a 2.73 ERA. In 1999, while at North Carolina, DePriest, 31, led the NCAA with a 1.71 ERA. Last season, the former 17th-round draft pick pitched for Lancaster in the Atlantic League.

With 18 of the 25 roster spots occupied and two additional fielders soon to be signed, Hobson hopes to fill out the rest of the rosters with pitching before the team reports to spring training in Lakeland, Fla. on April 14.

sdemedis@somdnews.com