Luis Ayala had to settle for a spring training invite last offseason, but he might find a guaranteed major league contract this winter.
According to Jon Paul Morosi of FOXSports.com, the Red Sox and Rays are among the teams who have “checked in” on the veteran right-hander.
Ayala, who turns 34 in January, made the Yankees’ Opening Day roster this season and posted a 2.09 ERA and 39/20 K/BB ratio over 56 innings. He also induced ground balls 50 percent of the time, his highest percentage since 2004 as a member of the Expos.
Ayala didn’t pitch in the majors at all in 2010 and had an ugly 5.68 ERA from 2008-09 between the Nationals, Mets, Twins and Marlins. His peripherals weren’t overly impressive this season and his strand rate was a little on the fortunate side, so some regression could be in order for 2012.
