Wells, 35, signed with the White Sox last month but was released just ten days later. The Burton Rocks LTD client hasn't pitched in the big leagues since 2009 and owns 4.71 ERA in over 1,300 innings. Reports from earlier this spring indicate that his fastball is still running as high as 93 mph.

Reyes, 30, did not play at all last season. He's pitched to a 5.12 ERA in 293 1/3 career innings, but like Wells he hasn't been in the show since 2009. Reyes is perhaps best known for his eight-inning, two-run performance in Game One of the 2006 World Series for the Cardinals.

Reyes, 29, underwent reconstructive elbow surgery in June of 2009 after making eight starts for the Indians and posting a 6.57 ERA with 5.2 K/9 and 5.4 BB/9 in 38.1 innings. He spent the 2010 season rehabbing and made five minor league starts before working on his mechanics with the big league staff and pitching in the Fall Instructional League.

Once a top prospect with the Cardinals, Reyes rose quickly through the St. Louis system and struck out more than a batter per inning with excellent command in the minors from 2004-06. However, he has faltered since winning the opening game of the 2006 World Series.

Reyes, a former top prospect with the Cardinals, rose quickly through the St. Louis system after being selected in the 15th round of the 2003 draft. He struck out more than a batter per inning with excellent command in the minors from 2004-06, but soon lost his top prospect status.

This year, the 29-year-old struggled through 10.0 minor league innings and did not pitch in the majors. Last year, he made eight starts for the Indians and posted a 6.57 ERA with 5.2 K/9 and 5.4 BB/9 in 38.1 innings. Reyes does have one major postseason accomplishment; he pitched eight innings of four-hit, two-run ball against the Tigers in the opening game of the 2006 World Series.

Indians GM Mark Shapiro told MLB.com's Anthony Castrovince that he believes Reyes can help the Indians this year, and there is ample reason to believe him.

Reyes underwent Tommy John surgery in June 2009, providing a medical answer to why a pitcher who had been so dominant in the minors- and occasionally in the majors- could also do things like post a 2-14 record and a 6.07 ERA in 2007 for the Cardinals, or post more walks than strikeouts for Cleveland in 2009.

But it is easy to forget that Reyes was considered one of the top prospects in all of baseball, making Baseball America's Top 100 lists in both 2005 and 2006. In 428 minor league innings, Reyes struck out 446 while walking just 101.

Tommy John surgery is usually a 12-month recovery, so Reyes could be back in action by this June. It is hard to know just how much to expect out of him upon his return, but clearly, Cleveland considers him worth another look.

• Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (via Twitter) says that three AL teams and three NL teams have shown interest in Chien-Ming Wang.  However, the Dodgers are not one of those teams "yet."  Rosenthal notes that Wang is a favorite of Joe Torre and his staff.
• In his running blog, Rosenthal says that Kevin Youkilis' versatility gives the Red Sox a number of options this winter.  Boston could sign Adrian Beltre to play third or, for a much lower price, Nick Johnson to play first.
• Regardless of where Wang signs, we can safely assume that it will not be for a split contract.  The Yankees made the 29-year-old a minor-league offer that would become a major-league deal once his shoulder was healthy.  Wang's agent demanded guaranteed money, according to Bill Madden of the New York Daily News.
• Earlier today, Buster Olney mentioned the Yanks as a possible destination for free agent outfielder Brian Giles.  Marc Carig of the Newark Star-Ledger hears that the club is just doing its "due diligence" by checking in on the soon-to-be 39-year-old.
• The White Sox have signed Freddie Bynum and T.J. Bohn to minor league deals, according to the FutureSox twitter page.
• Kevin Correia's agent Barry Axelrod told Dan Hayes of the North County Times that the Brewers and Rays both showed interested in trading for his client.  While GM Jed Hoyer gave him no guarantees that the one-year deal won't be a sign-and-trade, Axelrod is confident that the 29-year-old will pitch for San Diego in 2010.
• Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel spoke to Mike Rivera, who was non-tendered by the Brewers yesterday.  Rivera says he was caught off guard by the decision but was told by GM Doug Melvin that the organization might reach out to him again at some point.

In 2009, Reyes turned in a 6.57 ERA in eight starts before his injured right elbow, which required surgery, shut him down for the year. 

Miller, meanwhile, did not pitch last season as he underwent surgery on his right long finger for the third time.  The 25-year-old was once one of the top prospects in the Tribe's system, having been their supplemental choice (31st overall) in the 2003 draft.

With around 100 free agents vying for less than 20 remaining roster spots, things become more interesting with 227 players on big-league rosters who are out of options. If a player is out of options and is not rostered, he has to either be traded or designated for assignment. If designated, that player has to clear waivers. This could affect remaining free agent signings. Cafardo makes note of a few who are out of options and may wind up as trade fodder or designated for assignment before the season begins:

Red Sox: George Kottaras
Yankees: Melky Cabrera
Cubs: Chad Gaudin, Rich Hill (possibly heading to Baltimore?)
Brewers: Tony Gwynn Jr.
Indians: Anthony Reyes, Andy Marte
Twins: Boof Bonser, Philip Humber
Rays: Jeff Niemann
Orioles: David Pauley

• With Jason Varitek re-signed, the Red Sox will either have to trade catcher Kottaras or designate him for assignment.
• Cafardo notes Niemann is a former No. 1 pick and the righthander should garner some attention.
• Bonser or Humber could be traded to land a reliever. Cafardo also mentions Delmon Young as a possible trading chip.

A few more bullets from Cafardo’s notebook:

• Scott Boras thinks the World Baseball Classic will showcase Ivan Rodriguez and generate "even more" interest for the 14-time All-Star catcher.
• Cafardo mentioned Manny Ramirez to Omar Minaya and Minaya laughed it off saying, "We’ll look into adding some offense, but only if it makes sense."
• All quiet on the Jake Peavy front.
• Cafardo calls Randy Johnson’s $8MM deal from the Giants as "a stroke of genius" by his agents.
• In case you missed it, Bobby Kielty signed a minor-league deal with the Mets last week.

• Stark wonders why no one has questioned MLB’s apparent trade deadline extension for the Manny Ramirez deal.
• Currently the idea of the Brewers swapping Prince Fielder for Matt Cain is just fun speculation.  However, it is true the Brewers will listen on Fielder (he is about to get expensive).  The Giants are known to like the big first baseman.  The hangup is Brian Sabean’s reported unwillingness to trade Tim Lincecum or Cain.
• The Giants also have their eye on Adrian Beltre.  The Mariners want starting pitching, but one year of Beltre is not equal to four of Jonathan Sanchez.
• The Phillies still don’t want to go past two guaranteed years for Pat Burrell.  Stark points out another complication – Burrell would gain 10-and-5 rights early in a Phillies contract.  Any NL team inking Burrell for four years is a risky proposition given his defense.  If Burrell leaves the Phillies, Stark doesn’t expect the team to sign a major free agent as his replacement.
• The Indians deserve props for acquiring Anthony Reyes.  Let’s not overdo it though – it’s only been five starts, and his strikeout rate is just 4.0 per nine in Cleveland.
• The Indians talked to multiple teams about Cliff Lee last winter.  Interestingly, they thought the hardest about swapping him for Carlos Quentin.
• The Astros were quite willing to trade Ty Wigginton, prior to his massive August.

• The Yankees acquired Xavier Nady and Damaso Marte from the Pirates for OF Jose Tabata, RHP Ross Ohlendorf, RHP Dan McCutchen and RHP Jeff Karstens . I agree with Tim that Ian Kennedy would’ve been a better centerpiece, but Tabata is pretty highly-touted himself. Kennedy would have made a more immediate impact, while Tabata is only 19 years old.
• The Dodgers acquired Casey Blake for minor league RHP Jon Meloan and C Carlos Santana. The Dodgers get a nice boost to their lineup without giving up too much, although Santana’s putting together a very impressive season in Class-A ball.
• The Nationals sent Jon Rauch to the Diamondbacks in exchange for minor league 2B Emilio Bonifacio. Rauch adds to a strong bullpen for Arizona, while Bonaficio could become a very solid leadoff hitter in the future for Washington. They may have been able to get more for Rauch, but I personally like the move, regardless.
• The Brewers acquired Ray Durham from the Giants for minor leaguers Darren Ford and Steve Hammond. Rickie Weeks has been a disappointment to an otherwise red-hot club. Can Durham provide a bit more stability? The power’s gone, but he can still get on base.
• The Astros acquired Randy Wolf from the Padres for minor league pitcher Chad Reineke. This one confuses me a little bit; with all due respect, did the Astros forget they were 12.5 games out? I don’t see the logic in buying on a pitcher.
• The Cardinals traded Anthony Reyes to the Indians for minor league pitcher Luis Perdoma. I don’t get this one either. I feel like the Cardinals could have gotten more, despite Reyes’ struggles in the past. The Indians could make this one look like a steal, in my opinion.
• The Yankees are in deep discussion with the Mariners about acquiring Jarrod Washburn. Tim cites Buster Olney and Ken Rosenthal in saying that the Mariners want a top prospect in addition to the salary dump, but the Yankees are only offering a marginal prospect. Can’t say I blame them. A top prospect for an mediocre pitchers who’s due an additional $14MM? Sounds like Seattle’s getting greedy…
• A new, and surprising name surfaced in trade talks: Manny Ramirez. Manny has said he would waive his no-trade clause, and based on interviews, has basically said that 2008 will be his last season in Boston. I can’t see Boston trading their (arguably) best hitter in the middle of a pennant race, however. I’d bet on him finishing out the season.
• Speaking of corner outfielders, the Mets need one, and they know it. Having missed out on Nady and Blake, they will likely zero in on Raul Ibanez. Ibanez makes great sense for them, and the Mariners would obviously like to rebuild. I expect this one to get done.
• There was a report that Roy Halladay came out and told the Blue Jays that he is unhappy in Toronto, which has provoked the Jays to explore their potential options. Halladay’s price would have to be astronomical, I’d think. He’s signed through 2010 and pitching like it’s 2003 all over again. Personal speculation: I think Halladay to the Cardinals with a Colby Rasums centerpiece would make sense.
• Crisitan Guzman signed a two-year, $16MM contract extension. Guzman has revived his career after surgery following an awful 2005. I like the signing for the Nats.
• Jorge Posada could be out for the season. The Yankees are looking for catchers. In addition to the names mentioned there, they could take a shot at signing Johnny Estrada, who was DFA’ed by Washington this week. Estrada was terrible in Washington, but has put up solid offensive numbers for a catcher throughout his career.
• Brian Fuentes, Huston Street, and George Sherrill are all still potential trade pieces. Fuentes is the most likely to go, I’d say, although the Rockies are asking for quite a bit.
• Tim updated the left-handed reliever and left field markets.

The Cardinals received Luis Perdoma, a relief pitcher, who has split the year between single-A and double-A. At Akron, Perdoma was 2-0 with a 3.52 ERA with one save.

Cork Gaines writes for RaysIndex.com and can be reached here.

• The Pirates are not opposed to creating a hole at shortstop for the rest of the year by trading Jack Wilson.  They would just need the right return.  Teams are still calling on Wilson, with the Dodgers confirmed and the Tigers possible.
• A Jason Bay deal seems less likely – the Pirates’ price is high for their star.
• Xavier Nady and Damaso Marte continue to draw interest, with John Grabow in the mix as well.  Nady or Marte would require two prospects each.  Nady’s suitors are the Rays, Mets, Yankees, and Braves.  Marte has roughly a dozen suitors.
• Ed Price of the Newark Star-Ledger says the injury to Hideki Matsui led to heightened interest from the Yankees in Nady and Bay.  They’re also in on Marte and Grabow.  The Bucs aren’t interested in Melky Cabrera.
• Interesting stuff in this John Perrotto article found via DRays Bay.  He names the Red Sox, Tigers, Mets, Yankees, Phillies, Cardinals, and Rays as teams interested in Marte.  The Tigers, Phillies, and Cardinals also have an eye on Grabow.
• Perrotto runs through all kinds of names of interest to the Pirates: Anthony Reyes, Chris Duncan, Jeff Larish, Matt Joyce, Ross Ohlendorf, Brent Lillibridge, Brandon Jones, Jeff Niemann, Jon Niese, Eddie Kunz, and Bobby Parnell. 

• Anthony Reyes, who has been the object of much trade speculation, made his first start at AAA on Friday night. Reyes pitched 3+ scoreless innings with a strict pitch-count. The Cardinals appear to be reconverting Reyes into a starter in the hopes of increasing his value for potential trade partners.
• Jim Bowden hinted that he may implement a full-fledged youth movement in the near future, noting that a number of top prospects are close to being ready. Specifically, he mentioned two outfielders which would likely mean that Bowden will seek to move Austin Kearns and/or Wily Mo Pena. Kearns is due $8MM next year and there is a $10MM option for 2010 ($1M buyout). Pena may be easier to move with only a $5MM team option for 2009.
• Justice B. Hill suggests that the Indians are now paying the price for their inability to swing a deal this past offseason for another offensive weapon at one of the corner outfield spots or third base. The timing of the story was unfortunate as the Tribe laid a 12-spot on the Jays last night.
• The Red Sox do not have a need for a starting pitcher at this point, but they may soon have one too many arms for the rotation if Bartolo Colon continues to progress. Colon allowed one run in three innings, touching 97 on the radar gun. The obvious move would be to move somebody to the bullpen, but if somebody does go down with an injury, Colon’s availability likely means that the Red Sox will not be in the market for an extra arm down the stretch.

Cork Gaines writes for Rays Index and can be reached here.

• Tom Krasovic of the Union Tribune notes that the Padres are close to completing a trade for a reliever with "good stuff" according to Kevin Towers.  It does not say who it is, but it should be someone better than LHPs Joe Thatcher, who would be sent down, and Glendon Rusch, who was just outrighted yesterday.  Rusch has 3 days to accept his assignment.  He most likely will as he signed a minor league deal after missing all of ’07.  Stay tuned to see who the Padres acquire.  Any guesses?
• "If [Anthony] Reyes enjoys success as a major-league pitcher, it will likely occur elsewhere," writes Joe Stauss of the St. Louis Dispatch.  This is old news – two years old actually, if you go back to a March ’06 MLBTR post.  We’re just waiting for Cards GM John Mozeliak to lower his price…
• Tim Sullivan brings us a quote from Jake Peavy, "He can help somebody. It sucks that this is probably the last year of his career and he’s got to sit here and be a part of this and have (this be) the last thing he remembers in baseball — if this thing doesn’t turn."  Sullivan seems to think he could net a couple prospects in a trade, which seems reasonable.  Maddux can certainly reel in some ticket sales, if nothing else – I would love to watch the Professor cap off his legend with my team.

By Nat Boyle

THURSDAY: On Tuesday we found out that the Rockies have been looking into a number of trade options for their starting rotation. The two most common names in the conversation are Josh Fogg and Julian Tavarez, both former Rox. Fogg has given up over a run an inning for the last place Reds, and could be DFA if the team opts to go with youngster Homer Bailey, who has a 2.72 ERA in AAA. Tavarez might be expendable for the Sox, though that would mean depending on David Aardsma.

Today, Jack Etkin of the Rocky Mountain News tells us that the Rox have inquired on Cardinals pitcher Anthony Reyes. We’ve heard the rumor that the Cardinals are shopping the former USC star, though they are looking for "an upper echelon prospect back, plus another piece." Any Rox fans want to toss out names of trade candidates? Could Brian Fuentes be the other piece?

After a poor major league showing in 2007, Reyes broke camp with the Cardinals this year as a reliever. He didn’t fare very well, allowing eight runs in 13.2 IP, though of course that’s a measly sample size. He’s since been optioned to AAA, where he’ll be showcased as a starter. He has yet to make an appearance.

Etkin further notes that the Rox have had no substantial talks with the A’s about Joe Blanton or Rich Harden, nor the Rangers about Kevin Millwood. It’s unlikely any of that crop will be traded until much later in the season, if at all. The Boston Herald confirms the team’s interest in Tavarez, and as Tim noted, Walt Jocketty didn’t deny the Fogg rumors.

Posted by Joe Pawlikowski. If you see any rumors, send ’em over.

Last week, ESPN’s Jayson Stark heard rumblings that the Cards want "an upper echelon prospect back, plus another piece."  Reyes, 26, has shown flashes of brilliance but has a 5.41 career ERA in 219.2 innings.  He just seems fixable, is all.