Minor MLB Transactions: 2/5/16

Here are the day’s minor moves:

• The Yankees added outfielder Jared Mitchell on a minor league pact, Matt Eddy of Baseball America tweets. Mitchell has been playing in the upper minors for quite some time after moving quickly upon being taken as the 23rd overall pick in the 2009 draft, but he’s yet to crack the majors. He spent most of last year with the Angels after breaking in with the White Sox, and owns a .213/.329/.338 batting line with 12 home runs and 10 stolen bases over 695 total plate appearances in parts of four seasons at Triple-A.
• Meanwhile, the division-rival Rays are evidently working on a new pitching angle after adding converted catcher Jeff Howell on a minor league deal, as Matt Eddy of Baseball America tweets (with an assist from Mick Reinhard of PennLive, on Twitter). He joins fellow knuckleballer Eddie Gamboa in the Tampa Bay organization, which has also recently added former big league knuckler Charlie Haeger to its instructional staff. Needless to say, it’ll be interesting to see how this apparent experiment pans out.
• The Rays also picked up righty Adam Reifer on a minors deal, per Eddy. The 29-year-old reliever owns a 4.35 ERA with 7.8 K/9 and 4.4 BB/9 over 176 total minor league frames.