Montero catching a few glances

FORT MYERS, Fla. -- Phenoms who seemingly materialize from nowhere are a rare commodity in this Internet age, but one relative unknown showed up in Red Sox camp this weekend, which brought out a curious John W. Henry. Jesus Montero, a strapping 16-year-old catcher from Venezuela, worked out for the Sox staff Saturday in minor league camp, then spent yesterday in big league camp, where, with Henry and GM Theo Epstein watching, he took batting practice with the veterans who did not go to Clearwater for yesterday's exhibition against the Phillies.

The player is not a secret among ballclubs expected to bid at least $1 million and possibly more for Montero, who according to Sox VP of player personnel Ben Cherington is 6 feet 3 inches, 225 pounds. Montero already has been in the camps of both New York teams, and is expected to work out for other clubs as well.

Under Major League Baseball rules, teams are not permitted to sign players from Latin American countries (players from the commonwealth of Puerto Rico are draft-eligible) until July 2 if they have not yet turned 17. If they turn 17 after that date in the same calendar year, they're eligible to sign.

''He's raw, but there's a lot of power there," said Cherington, who also spoke approvingly of Montero's arm and hands.

Tony Graffanino, who recently was placed on waivers, homered yesterday for what could go down as his final hit as a member of the Red Sox. Graffanino, who's hitting .189 (7 for 37) with a homer and three RBIs, will learn any day now whether he's been claimed on waivers, has cleared waivers (in which case he can be bought out for a quarter of his $2.05 million salary), or has been traded. ''That was a nice swing," manager Terry Francona said. ''Tony knows there's not a person in this camp who's not pulling for him to be successful. He's just got in a bind."

Dustan Mohr, who was poised to make the club until Wily Mo Peña was acquired, is waiting as the Sox look to deal him. One team interested: the Phillies. The 29-year-old showed them something yesterday in the Sox' 3-2 win in Clearwater. Playing left field, with Jimmy Rollins on second base and two outs in the fifth inning, Mohr fielded an Aaron Rowand single in medium left and threw the speedy Rollins out at the plate. ''It's nice to do stuff like that," Mohr said, ''but I've been in the league long enough that they probably know by now what I'm capable of doing."