Sox claim RHP Robert Manuel off waivers

According to ESPN.com, the Boston Red Sox have claimed right-handed pitcher Robert Manuel off waivers from the Seattle Mariners.

Manuel was originally signed as undrafted free agent by the New York Mets out of Sam Houston State in 2005. He was traded by the Mets to the Cincinati Reds in 2006 for Dave Williams. After spending parts of four seasons in the Reds' minor league system, he was traded to Seattle for Wladimir Balentien on June 29, 2009.

In five minor league seasons, the 26-year-old has compiled a 24-17 record with a 2.89 ERA in 170 games pitched, including 24 starts. He has struck out 339 batters in 368.1 innings, posting a 5:1 strikeout-to-walk ratio.

Solar Sox end season with fourth straight loss

11/20 Cup of Coffee: Mesa ended the season with its fourth straight loss, dropping a 8-1 decision to the Peoria Saguaros. The loss saw the Solar Sox finish last in the Arizona Fall League's Eastern Division with 13 wins, 18 losses and a tie.

The Saguaros jumped off to an early lead scoring a run in the top of the first inning. Padre prospect Lance Zawadzki singled, advanced to second on a wild pitch, and scored on a Matt McBride (CLE) base hit. There was no further scoring until the sixth inning, when Zawadzki homered off Mesa reliever Tim Kiely (LAA). In the seventh, the Saguaros broke the game open scoring six times. The runs came as a result of three walks, an error and three doubles off Mesa's Marco Albano (LAA).

The Solar Sox scored their only run of the game in the bottom of the ninth. Steve Singleton (MIN) doubled and advanced to third on an error by Saguaro shortstop Zawadzki. He scored when Casey Kelly grounded into a force out.

Two Sox prospects took part in the game. Ryan Kalish went 1 for 4 and had a stolen base. He ended the fall campaign with a .301 batting average. Kelly went 0 for 4 with a RBI. His batting average for the fall season was .171.

Sox release Michael Lennox, Wang-Yi Lin, Juan Bonifacio, and Roberto Feliz

According to Baseball America's minor league transactions, the Red Sox have released pitchers Michael Lennox and Wang-Yi Lin and outfielders Juan Bonifacio and Roberto Feliz.

Lennox (pictured) was signed in August of 2006 as an international free agent out of Australia. In two seasons with the Gulf Coast League Red Sox, he appeared in 19 games, all out of the bullpen, and compiled ERAs of 3.94 in 2008 and 3.47 in 2009.

Lin was originally signed out of Taiwan as an international free agent in July of 2005. He had an impressive American debut in 2006 with the Gulf Coast League Red Sox, posting a 1.31 ERA in 20.2 innings pitched. He missed all of 2007 with an elbow injury, coming back in 2008 with the Gulf Coast League Red Sox to post a 4.63 ERA in 11 games (9 starts). The next two seasons, Lin appeared in only four games in Lowell without much success.

Bonifacio was signed out of the Dominican Republic in July of 2006 as an international free agent. He spent all of the next two seasons with the Dominican Summer League Red Sox, putting up an OPS of .727 in 2007 and .845 in 2008. In 2009, he made his American debut in the Gulf Coast League, struggling to a .208 average in 30 games.

Feliz was originally signed out of the Dominican Republic in November of 2005, spending his first two seasons with the Dominican Summer League team, hitting 11 home runs and posting 79 RBI across the two seasons. He made his American debut in the Gulf Coast League in 2008, showing good power with 7 home runs in only 142 at-bats. With Lowell in 2009, he hit a home run on opening day, but struggled to a .175 average in 13 games before being placed on the restricted list late in the season.

Solar Sox continue slide, fall to Scorpions

11/19 Cup of Coffee: The Solar Sox dropped their third straight contest 7-5 to Scottsdale, despite pounding out 11 hits.

Mesa got out to an early 1-0 lead once again as Steve Singleton (MIN) laced an RBI single in the first, but Scottsdale answered right back when Jose Tabatha (PIT) tripled and scored on a wild pitch in the bottom half of the inning. Chris Parmelee's (MIN) RBI double in the top of the third gave Mesa a 2-1 advantage. However, Mesa would lose the lead in the bottom half of the inning when the Scorpions staged a two-out rally, capped by Brandon Crawford's (SFG) 2-RBI single and Tuffy Gosewisch's (PHI) 2-RBI double.

The Solar Sox would cut the lead in the top of the sixth as Luis Exposito drove in Singleton on a ground out. But Mesa would give the run back in the bottom half of the inning as Troy Hanzawa (PHI) scored on a throwing error by Parmelee. The Solar Sox scored two runs in the top of the eighth, thanks to an RBI double by P.J. Phillips (LAA) and an RBI single by Ryan Mount (LAA), but once again, the Scorpions added an insurance run in the bottom half of the inning on Chase d'Arnaud's (PIT) RBI single to seal the victory.

Exposito was 1 for 4 with an RBI. Jose Iglesias was 1 for 4 with 2 strikeouts. Dustin Richardson pitched the sixth inning, allowing 1 run on 1 hit, walking 1 and striking out 2. The Solar Sox wrap up the AFL season this afternoon at 2:35 EST against the Peoria Saguaros.

Mesa blown out again by Surprise

11/18 Cup of Coffee: It was the same old story for Mesa on Tuesday, as the team jumped out to a first-inning lead but quickly gave it up and went on to lose big, this time by a 9-2 score to the Surprise Rafters.

The early Solar Sox lead came courtesy of three consecutive one-out singles by Starlin Castro (CHC), David Cooper (TOR), and Ryan Kalish, the last of which drove in the run to make it 1-0. Kalish promptly stole second base, his fifth theft of the AFL season, to put runners at second and third with two outs, but P. J. Phillips (LAA) grounded out to end the threat. Surprise took a lead of its own just half an inning later. Mike Moustakas (KC) opened the inning by reaching on a Casey Kelley error and Daryl Jones (STL) reached on a fielder's choice grounder that yielded no outs. One out later, Ruben Tejada (NYM) doubled and Jarrod Dyson (KC) singled, driving in all three runs against Mesa starter Andrew Cashner (CHC).

The Rafters would tack on two more runs in the top of the fifth on a two-run home run by Nick Evans (NYM), but the game would be put out of reach in the seventh. After having just retired the side in order in the top of the sixth, Richie Lentz allowed a lead-off double to Dyson. After striking out Daniel Descalso (STL), Colin Curtis (NYY) lined a two-run home run to right to make the score 7-1. Another strikeout and a walk later, the home-run bug again bit Lentz, as Moustakas hit his fifth of the season to make it 9-1. Mesa would get one back in the bottom of the inning when Kelley was doubled home by Michael Brenly (CHC), but it was too little, too late.

Kalish, who played right field in this one, ended up 1 for 3 with a walk, an RBI and a steal, while third baseman Kelley was 0 for 4 with 2 strikeouts. Lentz ultimately struck out 3 in his 1.2 innings, but gave up 4 runs on 3 hits (2 home runs) and a walk. Chris Province, who relieved Lentz with two outs in the seventh, pitched 1.1 scoreless innings with a strikeout. Mesa travels to Scottsdale to take on the Scorpions tonight at 8:35 EST.

George Kottaras released

With the deadline to add players to the 40-man roster and protect them from the Rule 5 Draft rapidly approaching, the Red Sox today made another move to clear space, releasing catcher George Kottaras. Kottaras, 26, appeared in 45 games with Boston in 2009, serving primarily as the early-season back-up to Jason Varitek and the personal catcher for Tim Wakefield. He was placed on the disabled list on August 1 to make room on the active roster for Victor Martinez and was called up again when rosters expanded in September, but played sparingly after that. On the season, Kottaras compiled a .237/.308/.387 line in 104 major league plate appearances. Of his 22 hits in 2009, more than half went for extra bases (11 doubles, 1 home run).

Originally a twentieth-round pick in 2002 by San Diego, Kottaras came to the Red Sox organization in a trade for David Wells in August, 2006. He hit 22 home runs in 2008 for Pawtucket, when he also drove in 65 runs and led the team with 64 walks. Over the course of his seven minor league seasons within the Padres and Red Sox systems, Kottaras hit a combined .269/.367/.444 with 134 doubles and 66 home runs in 2274 plate appearances.

November 18 update: Kottaras asked for his release so he could pursue opportunities with other teams, and the Red Sox obliged.

40-Man Roster deadline looming

Look for the Red Sox to make a few roster moves on Friday to protect players from selection in the 2009 Rule 5 Draft. Per the Major League Rules, eligible players must be added to their teams’ respective 40-man rosters by close-of-business on November 20 in order to be protected from selection in the Rule 5 Draft, which is scheduled to take place on December 10. As of today, our sources and calculations indicate that the following players in the Boston system will be eligible to be selected if they are not added to the 40-man roster on or before November 20:

Juan Apodaca, Anatanaer Batista, Travis Beazley, Bubba Bell, Ronald Bermudez, Randor Bierd, Jason Blackey, Zach Borowiak, Cesar Cabral, Yeiper Castillo, Chih-Hsien Chiang, Robert Coello, Bryce Cox, Zach Daeges, Sean Danielson, Mitch Dening, Andrew Dobies, Reid Engel, Roberto Feliz, Kyle Fernandes, Kason Gabbard, Miguel Gonzalez, Matt Goodson, Tommy Hottovy, Jorge Jimenez, Kris Johnson, Mike Jones, Ryan Khoury, TJ Large, Will Latimer, Ryne Lawson, Richie Lentz, Leandro Marin, Miguel Marquez, Blake Maxwell, Jeff Natale, Yamaico Navarro, John Otness, Josh Papelbon, Pedro Perez, Chad Rhoades, Jason Rice, Reynaldo Rodriguez, Jon Still, Felix Ventura, Armando Zerpa

Boston’s 40-man roster presently has thirty three players on it (including potential free agent Alex Gonzalez), leaving seven to eight open roster spots. Don’t expect all those spots to get filled – the Sox always leave a lot of breathing room for upcoming off-season acquisitions. Look for three or four players to be added on November 20. The primary candidates are shortstop Yamaico Navarro (pictured), pitcher Richie Lentz, and third baseman Jorge Jimenez. Each of these players ended the 2009 season in Double-A Portland, and each could potentially see some playing time with Boston in 2010, especially if they're added to the 40-man this off-season.

Navarro, the twelfth-ranked prospect in the system by SoxProspects.com, missed the first two months of the 2009 season with a hand injury. He then played in 23 games at High-A Salem, hitting .319/.373/.543, before earning a promotion to Portland in late July. The 22-year-old struggled offensively in 39 games for the Sea Dogs, hitting just .185/.270/.304. While Navarro has the potential to be a starting infielder at the major league level down the line, he currently projects more as a long-term reliable bench option. He’s also a candidate to slide over to third base in 2010 to make room for Jose Iglesias. In brief playing time this winter for Licey in the Dominican Winter League, Navarro is hitting .125 in six games.

Lentz, 25, is another player who struggled in 2009, putting up a 6.75 ERA for the Sea Dogs in 29 appearances out of the bullpen. He also struggled with control, walking almost a batter an inning, but that has largely been attributed to a shoulder injury that lingered throughout the season. All that being said, the flame-throwing righthander leads the organization with 11.6 strikeouts per nine innings over the last three seasons. He has also bounced back nicely this fall, going 1-0 with a 1.98 ERA, 13 strikeouts, and just 2 walks in 13.2 innings for Mesa in the Arizona Fall League. He’s presently the forty-fifth-ranked prospect in the system by SoxProspects.com.

Jimenez has been voted the SoxProspects.com All Star at third base for three years running. He was also named the Sea Dogs’ Most Valuable Player in 2009 after a year in which he hit .289/.366/.424 with 13 home runs. Look for the 25-year-old to compete for the starting third base spot for Pawtucket in 2010. While Jimenez has shown success offensively at nearly every level since being drafted in the fifteenth round in 2006, his defense has been called into question, leaving his potential as a major league backup corner infielder in doubt. Additionally, until he picks up a little more power, his bat doesn’t profile as a starting major league third baseman. In the end, the Sox may not want to risk losing him in the Rule 5 Draft, so he’s a strong candidate for protection this year. Jimenez, the twenty-eighth-ranked prospect in the system by SoxProspects.com, is presently playing for Mayaguez in the Puerto Rican Winter League, which just got underway on Thursday.

Two other logical possibilities for protection are outfielder Zach Daeges and pitcher Jason Rice. Daeges, a sixth-round pick in 2006, missed most of the 2009 season with an ankle injury, but put up a .307/.412/.454 line for Portland in 2008. Rice, selected by Boston in the Triple-A phase of the 2008 Rule 5 Draft, impressed in 2009, putting up a 2.44 ERA and a 1.13 WHIP with 94 strikeouts in 70 innings for High-A Salem. The 23-year-old righty gets his fastball up to the mid-90s. Because injured fourth outfielders and high-velocity relievers are among the prototypical Rule 5 picks, both players could be in danger of selection if left unprotected this off-season.

Other than the five players discussed above, it seems unlikely that any of the other players in the system will be protected this year, but one never knows, as the Sox have pulled a few surprises in recent off-seasons. Potentially unprotected Sox players who other teams may be willing to take a flyer on include pitchers Randor Bierd, Kason Gabbard, TJ Large, Bryce Cox, Kris Johnson, and Armando Zerpa, and outfielder Bubba Bell. Ultimately, we’ll get to see who the Sox opt to protect on Friday.