The Rays have signed infielder Alexi Casilla to a new minor league contract and assigned him to Triple-A Durham, according to the Durham Bulls’ Twitter feed. Casilla originally signed a minor league deal with Tampa in January but was released at the end of March. The move allowed the Rays to avoid paying Casilla a $100K retention bonus as an Article XX(B) free agent, yet clearly they wanted him back in the organization.
Casilla, 30, only appeared in one Major League game in 2014 (with the Orioles) as he spent most of the season at Baltimore’s Triple-A affiliate. Since first breaking into the bigs in 2006, Casilla has posted a .247/.302/.331 slash line and gone 80-for-91 in stolen base chances over 1893 career plate appearances with the Twins and Orioles.
