Bridgeport, CT - The Bridgeport Bluefish announced Thursday the signings of infielders Pedro Lopez and Brett Dowdy, along with pitcher Gilbert De La Vara. Lopez, Dowdy and De La Vara will all make their Atlantic League debuts with Bridgeport.
“It’s great to bring in players of this caliber and see our roster start to fill out,” says Bluefish manager Willie Upshaw. “Pedro and Brett are excellent fielders that will be assets up the middle, while Gilbert will be an important member of our pitching staff.”
Lopez joins the Bluefish for his 11th season of professional baseball. The former Major Leaguer last played stateside in 2010 as a member of the Washington Nationals organization when he split time between Triple-A Syracuse of the International League and Double-A Harrisburg of the Eastern League. Pedro reached the Major Leagues for the first time early in his career at the age of 21 with the Chicago White Sox. The 27-year-old appeared in seven games and collected two hits and two RBI for the South Siders in 2005. After being claimed off of waivers by the Cincinnati Reds two season later, he would make his final stop in the big leagues with the Reds in 2007, playing in 14 games. The infielder has also been a member of the Toronto Blue Jays and Pittsburgh Pirates organizations. In 947 career minor league games, he has recorded a .269 batting average with 413 runs scored and 183 extra-base hits. Lopez was signed as a non-drafted free agent by the Chicago White Sox in 2000.
Dowdy enters his ninth year of professional baseball. Last season, the infielder started off with Independent Winnipeg of the American Association, but suffered an injury early in the year and was forced to sit out the 2011 campaign. The 30-year-old last played professionally in 2010 when he was a member of the Milwaukee Brewers organization, splitting time between Triple-A Nashville and Double-A Huntsville. He began his career with the Los Angeles Dodgers farm system before he joined the San Diego Padres in 2005. The Florida native was with the Padres organization for five years, posting his best season as a professional in 2008 with Double-A San Antonio and Triple-A Portland. Split between the two clubs, he recorded career-highs with a .290 batting average, 13 home runs, 50 RBI, 26 doubles and 84 runs scored. Brett was selected by the Los Angeles Dodgers in the ninth round of the 2003 amateur draft.
De La Vara makes his way to Bridgeport for his eighth season of professional baseball after being acquired from Independent Yuma of the North American League for future considerations. In 17 starts with Yuma last year, the lefthander posted a 6-8 record with 82 strikeouts in 91 innings of work. The Arizona native began his career with the Kansas City Royals organization after being selected in the 15th round of the 2004 amateur draft. He spent five years with the club, reaching as high as the Triple-A level with Omaha in 2009. The following season, Gilbert would again make an appearance at Triple-A with Toledo (Detroit Tigers) before being picked up by the Cincinnati Reds and reporting to Double-A Carolina. In 221 career games (34 starts), the 28-year-old owns a 38-29 record with a 4.31 ERA, 31 saves, and 435 strikeouts over the course of 507.1 innings pitched.
