• The Dodgers released left-hander Alberto Castillo today, according to Ken Gurnick of MLB.com (via Twitter).  The 36-year-old reliever has 60.1 innings of big league work to his credit since 2008.

Bard, 33, had 86 plate appearances for the Mariners this year and another 250 in Triple-A.  His signing was first rumored last week at the Winter Meetings.  Ledezma, 30, briefly appeared in the Majors with Toronto this year.  He struck out 64 batters in 48 Triple-A innings as well.  Castillo, a 36-year-old Cuban, tossed 11 2/3 innings for the Diamondbacks and a strong 42 1/3 frames at Triple-A.  His near-deal was first reported last week.

Ascanio, 26, appeared briefly in the bigs with the Pirates this year and also whiffed 50 in 44 Triple-A innings.  He was part of the July '09 John Grabow-Tom Gorzelanny trade with the Cubs, but he had labrum surgery in October of that year.  Tucker, 25, is a former first-round pick of the Marlins who pitched five innings with the Rangers this year and 68 1/3 more in Triple-A.  Guzman, Sullivan, Nieve, Chico, Baisley, Zawadzki, and Cruz have also spent time in the Majors.  Guzman, notably, was a successful setup man for the Cubs in '09.

• Heath Bell told MLB.com's Corey Brock he never heard from new Padres GM Josh Byrnes.  Bell noted that he passed on offers of a little more money to take a three-year, $27MM deal from the Marlins.
• The Padres' goal is to fix the eighth and ninth innings this offseason, manager Bud Black told Jim Bowden on MLB Network Radio.
• The Dodgers are closing in on a minor league deal with reliever Alberto Castillo, tweets MLB.com's Jesse Sanchez.  The 36-year-old spent most of the year at Triple-A, posting a 1.91 ERA and 8.1 K/9 in 42 1/3 innings there.
• The Giants are believed to have scheduled a meeting today with Ryan Ludwick's agent Dan Horwits, reports MLB.com's Chris Haft.  Ludwick, 33, hit .237/.310/.363 with 13 home runs in 553 plate appearances for the Padres and Pirates this year.
• Phillies senior advisor and former GM Pat Gillick would consider a position as the Dodgers' new president of baseball operations, he told Bill Shaikin of the L.A. Times.
• The Padres are getting hits on Chase Headley, Jason Bartlett, and Orlando Hudson, tweets Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports, who expects one of them to be dealt by spring training.  Hudson, who is owed $7.5MM through 2012, would be a pure salary dump, tweets Tracy Ringolsby of FOX Sports.
• The Rockies are lukewarm at best on Hudson, tweets ESPN's Jerry Crasnick, who wonders if the Giants' Jeff Keppinger could be a fit.  Andrew Baggarly of the San Jose Mercury News says the Giants are looking to get creative on the trade front for outfield and infield help.
• Non-tender candidate Joe Saunders told MLB.com's Steve Gilbert he'd like to return to the Diamondbacks, but the decision is up to the team.  About a week ago, ESPN's Buster Olney tweeted that Saunders has a very good chance of returning to the D'Backs on a two-year deal.

Burroughs appeared in 78 games with the D'Backs in 2011, his first taste of Major League action since 2006 and has already been outrighted once this season.  Burroughs was taken by the Padres with the ninth overall pick of the 1998 draft but never lived up to expectations, posting a career slash line of .280/.337/.357 in 1805 plate appearances.

Castillo, 36, has a career ERA of 4.33 in 79 appearances over four seasons with the D'Backs and Orioles.  The left-hander was designated for assignment by Baltimore in June and then signed a minor league deal with Arizona a week later.

Hammock was in his third stint as a Diamondback and, though he has also been part of the Yankees, Rockies and Orioles organizations, has only appeared in the Major Leagues with Arizona.  Hammock, 34, has primarily played catcher in his career but has also logged time at third base, first base and in the outfield.  The veteran has a .719 OPS in 527 career plate appearances over six seasons in the bigs.

• The D'Backs announced that they called up right-hander Yhency Brazoban and left-hander Alberto Castillo from Triple-A Reno and optioned right-handers Esmerling Vasquez and Bryan Shaw to Reno. 
• Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports, who first reported the Brazoban callup, notes that the reliever last pitched in the Major Leagues as a member of the 2008 Dodgers. Meanwhile, Castillo had a 1.83 ERA with 8.0 K/9 and 2.5 BB/9 in 39 1/3 innings at Triple-A this year.
• Padres prospect Donavan Tate received a 50-game suspension for violating MLB's drug prevention and treatment program, according to John Manuel of Baseball America. It's the second time that Tate, the third overall selection in 2009, has tested positive for a drug of abuse. The 20-year-old has a .294/.368/.471 line through 76 plate appearances in the lower minors this year.
• Triple-A manager Steve Decker told Chris Haft and Adam Berry of MLB.com that 21-year-old catching prospect Hector Sanchez probably needs more seasoning before he can contribute in San Francisco. The Giants recently promoted Sanchez from Class A to Triple-A, but would like to see him improve his plate discipline. They're searching for big league catchers in the meantime.

• The Diamondbacks have signed left-handed pitcher Alberto Castillo, according to CBSSports.com. Castillo, 35, was designated for assignment by the Orioles on June 10th.  The veteran has a 2.89 ERA with 8.9 K/9 and 2.7 BB/9 across four seasons of play at the Triple-A level.
• The Blue Jays signed infielder Ramon Vazquez to a minor league deal, according to the CBSSports.com transactions page.  The 35-year-old last appeared in the majors in 2009 when he spent the year with the Pirates.  Vazquez has experience playing shortstop, second base, and third base.
• The Braves signed infielder Ruben Gotay and outfielder Chris Carter to minor league deals and assigned them to Triple-A Gwinnett, according to David O'Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution (via Twitter). Gotay last appeared in the bigs with Atlanta in 2008, while Carter played in 100 games with the Mets last season.

Moore, 27 in November, hit .209/.274/.337 in 96 plate appearances for the Orioles this year, playing mostly second base.  He joined the Orioles in August of '07 in the Steve Trachsel deal with the Cubs.  Moore was designated for assignment in '09 and '10, clearing waivers both times.  He hit .280/.345/.476 at Triple A this year while playing mainly third base.

Meredith, 27, tallied 15 relief innings for the Orioles this year with a 5.40 ERA, 4.2 K/9, 2.4 BB/9, and four home runs allowed.  The sidearmer racks up groundballs and handles righties well on his best days.  The Orioles acquired him from the Padres for Oscar Salazar in July of last year.  He was designated for assignment and cleared waivers in June.

Castillo, 35, whiffed 11 but allowed five homers and 12 earned runs in his 10.6 inning stint with the O's this year.  He was designated for assignment in June to clear a 40-man spot for Jake Arrieta.  Castillo's work in Triple A: a 4.54 ERA, 9.8 K/9, and 3.4 BB/9 in 39.6 innings.  He was done in by 46 hits allowed.  His previous work in Triple A was more encouraging.

Aubrey, 28, was drafted 11th overall by the Indians in 2003.  It appeared that he might get a shot at first base for the Orioles heading into this season, but they signed Garrett Atkins and ended up designating Aubrey on April 1st.  He spent the season at Triple A, hitting .235/.310/.495 with 22 home runs in 419 plate appearances.