Fort Report: Early minor league notes

Alex Speier of WEEI.com and Peter Abraham of Boston.com are putting in yeoman's work in the trenches down in Fort Myers this week, and they've reported several interesting minor league notes in the process. Here's a collection of minor league notes from the last couple days:

• According to Speier, Red Sox RHP Michael Bowden added a cutter to his arsenal over the off-season.  Bowden hopes that the new pitch will be an effective tool against lefties, an area where he has struggled in the past. 

• Speier was also the first to report that top prospect Jose Iglesias expects that his father will join him in the United States in about a month. That should help with the 21-year-old Cuban’s comfort level here in the States.  In other Iglesias news, Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe tweets that the shortstop spent three weeks working out with Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez earlier this off-season.

• Abraham notes that pitchers Alfredo Aceves and Dennys Reyes are both experiencing visa issues. Reyes will be late to camp, and while Aceves reported on time, he may need to head to Miami for a day to resolve the issue. 

• Abraham also reports that the Red Sox front office has received ample interest in Robert Coello, who was designated for assignment last week, and that interest will likely result in a trade.  Speier has since followed up on Abraham’s report, noting that a trade could happen in the next few days. 

• In today’s spring notes column, Speier reports that RHP Jason Bergmann is being shut down because of a shoulder "hindrance,” and that pitchers Brandon Duckworth and Tony Pena, Jr. will also be held back after coming up short on shoulder strength tests.

• SoxProspects forum member sarasoxer was at camp today, and he notes that 2B prospect Oscar Tejeda bulked up over the off-season.  Tejeda looked solid in this morning’s drills, hitting a home run out of the complex and across the adjoining street.  If Tejeda continues to add size, he’s a candidate to move to third base down the line.  

• A Harvard University reporter notes that Matt Kramer, a former Harvard catcher signed by the Red Sox last week to be a converted pitcher, is consistently throwing his fastball at 93-95 mph and working his slider at 87 mph.

• Abraham reports that LHP Rich Hill is exclusively throwing sidearm now.  Hill feels comfortable with his new arm angle, which has altered his curveball from 12-6 to more of a frisbee curve. 

• Brian MacPherson of the Providence Journal reports that reliever Matt Fox is looking forward to his first major league camp.  Despite that the team designated him for assignment this off-season, the 28-year-old righty knew right away that he wanted to re-sign with Boston.

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