Since signing a minor league deal with the Braves in the off-season, DeWitt has seen little playing time at any level due to a lower-back injury. He was brought up briefly early in the year, registering a double and sacrifice in four plate appearances for Atlanta. DeWitt's career line in the bigs — most of it accrued with the Dodgers and Cubs — stands at .257/.324/.381 over 1,247 plate appearances. The 27-year-old was a first-round choice of the Dodgers back in 2004. 

• Infielders: Brian Bixler (Astros), Sean Burroughs (Twins), Blake DeWitt (Cubs), Alberto Gonzalez (Rangers), Angel Sanchez (Astros), Nate Spears (Red Sox), Drew Sutton (Pirates)
• Outfielders: Travis Buck (Astros), Ryan Langerhans (Angels), Mitch Maier (Royals), Darnell McDonald (Yankees), Jai Miller (Orioles), Trent Oeltjen (Dodgers), Jason Pridie (Phillies), Mike Wilson (Mariners)
• Right-handed Pitchers: Roman Colon (Royals), Mike Ekstrom (Rockies), Jack Egbert (Mets), Ryota Igarashi (Yankees), Evan Meek (Pirates), Scott Richmond (Blue Jays), Kip Wells (Padres), Randy Wells (Cubs), Dan Wheeler (Indians)
• Left-handed Pitchers: Alex Hinshaw (Cubs), Cesar Jimenez (Mariners), Zach Kroenke (Diamondbacks), Garrett Olson (Mets)

• Andrew Baggarly of CSNBayArea.com hears from a source that available infield options are "not great" and the Giants must remain patient with Charlie Culberson (Twitter link). Hudson could make sense for San Francisco, though that is just my speculation.
• Diamondbacks GM Kevin Towers has spent the last few days with his staff looking over ways to improve his club, reports MLB.com's Steve Gilbert. "I can't tell you if there's going to a move or not," said the GM. "Maybe none, but we just kind of want to re-evaluate where we're at, and if there are any other options out there that might make us better and kind of spark the club a little bit."
• "The bullpen has been a frustration. There's no question about that," said Mets GM Sandy Alderson to reporters (including MLB.com's Spencer Fordin and Ethan Asofsky) after designating D.J. Carrasco for assignment last night. "At some point, you have to start making changes, and [this] was a step in that direction. It's not that we have outstanding candidates in the minor league system at this point. We've got some good candidates, but like a number of our other prospects, perhaps they're not ready to pitch at this level."
• Blake DeWitt accepted his outright assignment and will head to Triple-A tomorrow, reports Doug Padilla of ESPN Chicago. The Cubs designated DeWitt for assignment then outrighted him off the 40-man roster, but he could have refused the assignment and elected free agency.

• The Cardinals have signed Clay Zavada to a minor league contract and released left-hander R.J. Swindle, according to the Pacific Coast League’s transactions page.  Zavada, 27, was recently let go by the Reds.
• Cubs infielder Blake DeWitt cleared waivers and has been outrighted to Triple-A Iowa, tweets Carrie Muskat of MLB.com.  The Cubs designated the 26-year-old for assignment ten days ago.  Across parts of five big league seasons, DeWitt owns a .257/.324/.380 slash line.
• The Diamondbacks outrighted minor league outfielder David Winfree to remove him from the 40-man roster, tweets Steve Gilbert of MLB.com.  Winfree, 26, has hit .285/.331/.476 in four Triple-A seasons.

The 26-year-old started five games at second base for the Cubs this season and hit just .138/.133/.172 in 30 plate appearances.  In parts of five big league seasons, DeWitt owns a .257/.324/.380 slash line for the Cubs and Dodgers. 

DeWitt could be of interest to teams looking for depth at second or third base.  The former first-round pick also started 17 games for the Cubs in left field in 2011.

• Braves GM Frank Wren told reporters that reliever Arodys Vizcaino will miss the 2012 season after undergoing Tommy John ligament replacement surgery. The 21-year-old right-hander appeared in 17 games with the Braves last year and entered the season as the 40th-best prospect in MLB, according to Baseball America.
• The Phillies could start the season with prospect Freddy Galvis at second base, or explore the trade market for alternatives. ESPN.com’s Buster Olney hears from rival executives that there’s a short list of veteran middle infielders available in trades. Maicer Izturis, Alberto Callaspo, Chris Getz and Blake DeWitt appear to be options for teams seeking infield depth. 
• Even though they're short on left-handed relief, the Mets are unlikely to sign C.J. Nitkowski, Hong-Chih Kuo or Dontrelle Willis, Adam Rubin of ESPNNewYork.com reports.
• Jayson Stark of ESPN.com hears the Nationals "still have a lot of motivation" to trade John Lannan and his $5MM salary (Twitter link).

• A number of teams have asked the Padres about their bench players, but the Friars are "inclined" to keep them, reports Dan Hayes of the North County Times (Twitter link).  Everth Cabrera is one of the players who has been asked about, and Hayes presumes Jesus Guzman is another.
• Tsuyoshi Nishioka's demotion to Triple-A has Phil Mackey of 1500 ESPN Twin Cities radio pointing the finger at both Nishioka and at Twins management for signing the Japanese shortstop and letting J.J. Hardy leave.
• The Giants' rise to prominence has been fueled by their homegrown stars, writes Bruce Jenkins of the San Francisco Chronicle, and the team could be a couple of years away from having almost an entire roster comprised of players drafted and developed internally.
• Gregor Blanco is a virtual "stone-cold lock" to make the Giants' Opening Day roster, writes Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle.  Signed to a minor league deal in November, Blanco has had a huge Spring Training and seemingly has a backup outfield spot sewn up.
• Cubs utilityman Blake DeWitt's name "has come up in recent trade rumors," according to Doug Padilla of ESPN Chicago.  DeWitt has played mostly second and third in his career, though he appeared in 23 games in left field for the Cubs last season.  DeWitt could be a possibility for teams looing for infield depth like the Phillies, Athletics or Twins.
• With the Madoff trustee lawsuit now settled, Andrew Keh of the New York Times wonders if the Mets might now be able to explore keeping David Wright with the team long-term and notes that such a move would help sooth the team's disillusioned fanbase.

DeWitt, the Cubs' main return in the July 2010 Ted Lilly/Ryan Theriot trade with the Dodgers, hit .265/.305/.413 in 243 plate appearances last year.  A left-handed hitter, DeWitt played left field, second base, and third base in 2011.

FEBRUARY 6TH: The Cubs announced that they designated infielder Blake DeWitt for assignment. The move creates 40-man roster space for Adrian Cardenas, who the Cubs claimed from Oakland today.

DeWitt, 26, posted a .265/.305/.413 line in 243 plate appearances in 2011, playing left field, second base and third base. The 2004 first rounder owns a .260/.329/.385 career line in four seasons with the Dodgers and Cubs.

DeWitt and the Cubs had agreed to a $1.1MM salary for 2012 earlier in the offseason, avoiding arbitration. The Cubs could attempt to deal DeWitt, but if they release him, I expect they'll be responsible for one sixth of his salary (approximately $183K). He was arbitration eligible for the first time this offseason.

• The Cardinals avoided arbitration with pitcher Kyle McClellan, tweets B.J. Rains of FOX Sports Midwest. Joe Strauss of The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports (on Twitter) that the one-year deal is worth $2.5MM with incentives based on starts. MLBTR projected a $2.7MM for the Steve Comte client.
• MLBTR's Ben Nicholson-Smith reports (on Twitter) that the Padres and Chase Headley agreed to a one-year deal worth $3.475MM, avoiding arbitration. Earlier this evening, the Padres announced that they avoided arbitration with Luke Gregerson, Edinson Volquez, Carlos Quentin and Will Venable. They also avoided arbitration with lefty reliever Joe Thatcher on a deal worth $700K, tweets Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports.  CAA announced catcher John Baker has signed for $750K.  Bill Center of the San Diego Union-Tribune first reported that the Padres reached agreements with Hundley, Chase Headley, and Tim Stauffer. Hundley will earn $2MM in 2012, MLB.com's Corey Brock tweets.  Dan Hayes of the North County Times tweets the salaries for Volquez ($2.2375MM), Venable ($1.475MM), Gregerson ($1.55MM)
• The Rangers avoided arbitration with Matt Harrison, tweets Evan Grant of The Dallas Morning News. The ACES client gets $2.95MM on a one-year deal. MLBTR had projected a $2.9MM salary.
• The Cubs announced that they have avoided arbitration with Jeff Baker ($1.375MM), Blake DeWitt ($1.1MM), Ian Stewart ($2.237MM) Chris Volstad ($2.655MM), and Randy Wells ($2.705MM). MLB.com's Carrie Muskat tweeted the salary figures.

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12:44pm: The Cubs and Rockies have continued to discuss third baseman Ian Stewart over the last week, reports ESPNChicago's Bruce Levine.  Cubs players Blake DeWitt, DJ LeMahieu, and Tyler Colvin have been discussed.

The Cubs are also looking at the Padres' Chase Headley, notes Levine.

6:13pm: In addition to the Cubs, the Diamondbacks are also interested in Stewart, tweets Jon Heyman of SI.  The 26-year-old is very likely to go somewhere, according to Heyman.

FRIDAY: The Rockies think highly enough of Stewart that they would not consider trading him for DeWitt, according to Renck.

11:39am: The Rockies have already moved Ty Wigginton and Chris Iannetta this offseason, and they're reportedly open to dealing Ian Stewart and Huston Street as well. Troy Renck of The Denver Post reports that Colorado has asked the Cubs for Blake DeWitt in exchange for Stewart, but talks between the two clubs have since cooled.

DeWitt, 26, is a left-handed bat with experience at second, third, and in left field. He's hit .258/.309/.396 with nine homers in 447 plate appearances for the Cubbies after coming over in the deal that sent Ted Lilly to the Dodgers at the 2010 trade deadline. Renck says the Rockies would prefer to get a pitcher in any deal involving Stewart as well.

Lilly set himself apart from the many brutal pitching signings made in the 2006-07 offseason by making 113 starts for the Cubs with a 3.70 ERA, 7.6 K/9, and 2.3 BB/9 over the four-year deal.  Though he began this season on the disabled list due to November shoulder surgery, Lilly sports similar numbers in 2010.  He serves as proof that velocity isn't everything, with the sixth-slowest average fastball velocity in baseball at 86.1 mph.  Lilly currently projects as a Type A free agent, though the Dodgers' recent history suggests they will not offer him arbitration and therefore will not receive draft pick compensation if he signs elsewhere.

Theriot, 30, has a .284/.320/.327 line on the season.  He'd been the Cubs' starting shortstop for a few years, but moved to second base when they promoted Starlin Castro in May.  Theriot's walk rate reached 11.0% in 2008, but is down to 4.6% this year.  He's under team control through 2012, if the Dodgers want to tender a contract two more times.

DeWitt, 25 next month, is having a better season than Theriot at .270/.352/.371.  He's under team control through 2014, so the Cubs acquired a long-term asset for second base.  Baseball Prospectus' Kevin Goldstein calls his the "prettiest swing you'll see never turned into results," calling DeWitt a "constant source of disappointment" for the Dodgers.

Wallach, son of former big leaguer Tim, was a third-round pick of the Dodgers last year.  Baseball America ranked him 20th among Dodgers prospects heading into the season, saying he could blossom into a No. 3 in time.  He's currently in Low A.  Smit, a reliever, spent most of this year in High A ball where he posted a 2.49 ERA, 8.2 K/9, and 1.8 BB/9 in 50.6 innings.  He's now in Double A.

Jayson Stark, Ken Rosenthal, Joel Sherman, and Tim Brown reported on the trade as it developed.

1:09pm: The Cubs will get DeWitt and two minor league pitchers for Lilly, Theriot, and $2.5MM tweets Yahoo's Tim Brown.

1:03pm: Lilly and Theriot for DeWitt is done, tweets Joel Sherman of the New York Post.

12:53pm: Stark tweets that the Dodgers and Cubs are on the verge of a deal that would send Lilly and Theriot to L.A.  Dylan Hernandez of the L.A. Times agrees.

12:34pm: Blake DeWitt and at least one other player would go to the Cubs as part of a Lilly-Theriot deal if the sides can reach an agreement, tweets Rosenthal.  The inclusion of Theriot will seal the deal from the Cubs' point of view, tweets Chris De Luca of the Chicago Sun-Times.  Lilly doesn't appear to have many suitors aside from the Dodgers.

11:39am: The latest on Cubs southpaw Ted Lilly…

• The Cubs are likely to send Lilly and Ryan Theriot to the Dodgers, tweets ESPN's Jayson Stark.
• The Dodgers are growing more optimistic about acquiring Lilly, tweets Yahoo's Tim Brown.
• The Yankees are not pursuing Lilly, tweets ESPN's Buster Olney, unless the Cubs "put him on a platter and give him away."
• The Dodgers, Twins, Tigers, and Yankees have varying degrees of interest in Lilly, reports Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports.  A deal with the Dodgers seemed fairly close last night.

• Despite their budget constraints, Marc Topkin of the St. Petersburg Times expects the Rays to upgrade their roster.  Topkin mentions several quality free agents who may have to accept minor league deals such as Jim Edmonds, Rocco Baldelli, and ex-Ray Jonny Gomes as proof that the market is rife with valuable players.
• At the Mariners Fan Fest event, pitcher Mark Lowe told the crowd in attendance that he keeps up on all of the latest transactions with MLBTradeRumors (video from MLB.com, :40 mark).  Dave Sims – the television voice of the M's – followed that up with his own mention of MLBTR.  Thanks guys!
• Tim brings us the terms of Jamey Carroll's contract with the Dodgers via Twitter.  Carroll will earn $1.35MM in 2010 and $2.5MM in 2011.  The 35-year-old could also earn up to $525K per year in plate appearance incentives.
• The Dodgers are among the teams that have reviewed Chien-Ming Wang's medical records, according to a tweet from Dylan Hernandez of the Los Angeles Times.  Recently, ESPN's Jayson Stark pegged the Dodgers as a possible destination for the 29-year-old.
• Washington GM Mike Rizzo and Orlando's Hudson's representative haven't talked in a couple of days, according to MLB.com's William Ladson (via Twitter).  Furthermore, Rizzo says that if Hudson has brought his price down, it's news to him (also via Twitter).
• In response to a fan asking how much he thinks Prince Fielder will sign for, MLB.com's Adam McCalvy writes that he doesn't think he will sign at all and will instead opt to hit the open market after the 2011 season (via Twitter).
• Jon Weisman of the Los Angeles Times writes that the Dodgers' rumored signing of Reed Johnson likely means that Ronnie Belliard will get the nod over Blake DeWitt at second base.  Weisman's reasoning is that the roster, as it stands now, would feature an all right-handed bench without DeWitt's inclusion.  Weisman wonders if this overload of righty sluggers means that the Dodgers will pursue another free agent backup outfielder.