Here are today’s minor moves from around the league…
- Astros reliever Rhiner Cruz has been allowed to sign with Japan’s Rakuten Eagles, tweets Ben Badler of Baseball America. The 27-year-old righty had a 2.25 ERA through 20 Triple-A innings this year, and owns a 5.31 ERA with 6.6 K/9 against 4.7 BB/9 through 76 1/3 career MLB frames. He originally came to Houston as the first pick in the 2011 Rule 5 draft.
- Former big leaguer Rusty Ryal has landed a minor league deal with the Phillies, reports Chris Cotillo of MLB Daily Dish (on Twitter). The 31-year-old hasn’t appeared in the bigs since a 2009-10 stint with the D’Backs but had been hitting well in 125 plate appearances for the independent Atlantic League’s Sugar Land Skeeters. He’s a career .273/.321/.430 hitter in 1166 Triple-A plate appearances.
