Wright highlights six players cut from Sox camp

The Red Sox announced their latest round of spring training cuts this morning. Pitcher Steven Wright and outfielder Alex Hassan were optioned to Triple-A Pawtucket, while first baseman Mark Hamilton, right-hander Pedro Beato, and outfielders Jeremy Hazelbaker and Juan Carlos Linares were reassigned to minor league camp. 

Wright (pictured), a knuckleballer who was added to the 40-man roster in the off-season, will be part of the Pawtucket starting rotation. The 28-year-old is coming off a strong 2012 split between Portland and the Cleveland Indians Double-A affiliate in Akron, where he compiled a 2.44 ERA and a 1.274 WHIP in 121 2/3 innings across 21 starts. Wright made four spring training appearances, allowing seven runs in 7 1/3 innings.

Also added to the 40-man roster this offseason, Hassan had not played in a spring training game due to lingering effects of a stress fracture in his foot suffered in August. He returns to Pawtucket, where he put together a .256/.377/.365 line in 379 plate appearances in 2012.

Hamilton, signed to a minor league deal in the offseason, went 3 for 19 in spring training play. The veteran first baseman is likely to be assigned to Triple-A, where he has logged 277 games over the last four seasons as a member of the St. Louis Cardinals organization.

Hazelbaker also appears destined for Triple-A, after a 5 for 14 showing this spring. The 25-year-old outfielder first reached Pawtucket in August 2012, going 8 for 30 with three doubles and three stolen bases in seven games. Primarily a center fielder throughout his minor league career, Hazelbaker's playing time this spring came in left field.

Linares was unable to recapture the buzz he had in the spring of 2011, but he had a solid showing in a long look in camp, going 8 for 22 with a home run. He is also likely headed for a return to Pawtucket, where he hit .282/.312/.485 over parts of the last two seasons.

Beato, 26, came over in a trade with the New York Mets last August for Kelly Shoppach. The 6-foot-4 righty owns a 4.67 ERA with 51 strikeouts in 79 major league innings out of the bullpen. A former first rounder in 2006, Beato allowed four earned run in his two Grapefruit League appearances this spring.

The cuts leave the Red Sox with 51 players in major league camp. That number includes Ryan Kalish, who is currently on the 60-day disabled list, as well as David Ortiz, Craig Breslow, and Franklin Morales, who are also likely to miss the start of the season because of injury.

Photo credit: Steven Wright by Kelly O'Connor

[5:52 PM UPDATE: Pedro Beato added to list of players reassigned.]

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