Former Red Sox top prospect Michael Bowden has opted out of his contract with the Orioles, reports David Hall of the Virginian Pilot (via Twitter). As Hall notes, the 28-year-old Bowden was leading the Triple-A International League with a 1.91 ERA. In 75 1/3 innings (nine starts 15 relief appearances), Bowden averaged 6.2 K/9 against 2.4 BB/9. The former supplemental round pick ranked among the game’s Top 100 prospects from 2007-09, per Baseball America and Baseball Prospectus. Bowden and his representatives with Turner Gary Sports will now have the option to seek a new club — perhaps one that will consider him for a big league roster spot — for the season’s second half.
Here are today’s other minor transactions from around the league…
- The Mets have re-signed infielder Zach Lutz to a minor league pact and assigned him to Triple-A Las Vegas, according to ESPN New York’s Adam Rubin. Lutz, 29, was drafted by the Mets in the fifth round back in 2007 and remained with the organization until last season, when he departed to play with Japan’s Rakuten Golden Eagles. He hit exceptionally well in a small sample of work overseas, homering five times in 15 games and slashing .314/.379/.667 overall. His 2015 season began with Korea’s Doosan Bears, but he’ll return to Triple-A with the Mets, where he is a lifetime .295/.387/.484 hitter in 1296 plate appearances.
- Rubin also reports that outfielder Alex Castellanos, who had been playing with the Mets’ Triple-A affiliate, is headed to Japan, though he doesn’t specify which team Castellanos will be joining. The 28-year-old Castellanos bounced around quite a bit in the 2013 offseason, as he was traded once and claimed off waivers two more times, making for a total of four organizations in a span of roughly six months. Castellanos has a strong minor league track record and demolished Triple-A pitching while playing in the hitter-friendly environment of Las Vegas in the PCL; he slashed .314/.381/.614 with 16 homers in 312 plate appearances there.
What the heck happened to Bowden? That name is a blast from the past, and he was SO good.
He was actually pretty mediocre in hi MLB career to be honest. I think often people still attach how a player performed as a prospect to how they performed as a major league player. He played in Japan last year for a reason and if he has turned it around I’d bet someone would take a chance on him. Even a reunion with the Cubs would make some sense with how their 5th starter spot has turned out this year. If Richard or even someone like Bowden could hold down that spot for any length of time it would really help push the Cubs to a level where they may not have to add a ton to get a wild card spot.