Justin Germano Latest to be Optioned by Blue Jays

February 24, 2013; Tampa, FL, USA; Toronto Blue Jays starting pitcher Justin Germano (52) throws a pitch in the sixth inning against the New York Yankees during spring training at George M. Steinbrenner Field. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY SportsWith less than two weeks remaining until Opening Day is upon us, the Toronto Blue Jays are continuing to whittle down their roster. This time, the casualty was right-hander Justin Germano, who was optioned to Minor League camp, according to Gregor Chisholm at MLB.com (tweet).

Germano was in camp after signing a minor league contract with the Blue Jays on November 9th and the expectation was that the 30-year-old journeyman would spend most of his season at Triple-A Buffalo, serving as organizational depth.

Germano made seven appearances this spring, racking up 13 innings with a 6.23 ERA and 14 strike-outs before his demotion. He split the 2012 campaign between the Boston Red Sox and the Chicago Cubs, accumulating a record of 2-10 with a 6.20 ERA and 6.7 K/9 ratio.

Over the course of seven seasons, Germano owns a lifetime ERA of 5.27 and a record of 10-30 at the Major League level. That improves to a 95-73 mark and a 3.71 ERA over 13 Minor League seasons. With that in mind, things would have to get fairly drastic in Toronto for Germano to play any sort of significant role for the Blue Jays.

MLBtr recently cited Germano as a possible trade target of the Boston Red Sox, who are themselves looking for starting pitching depth in the minors.