• Julio Franco, who played professionally in parts of four decades, is not quite done yet. The independent league Fort Worth Cats announced today that the 53-year-old will serve as a player/coach for the team’s first homestand. Among his other stops, Franco saw time in 23 MLB campaigns, putting up a strong .298/.365/.417 triple-slash with 173 home runs and 281 stolen bases. While he spent time with eight MLB clubs, Franco did most of his damage with the Indians and Rangers in the late-eighties and early nineties. He then returned for a solid five-year run with the Braves (every season of which came in Franco’s forties). While it would be unwise to count out the ageless wonder, it seems rather unlikely that Franco has in mind another run at the bigs at this point.
• ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick reports that Matt LaPorta has asked for and been granted his release from the Mexican League’s Campeche Pirates (Twitter link). The former No. 7 overall draft pick and top prospect batted .286/.366/.555 with seven homers in 32 games for Campeche.
• The Atlantic League’s Bridgeport Bluefish announced today that outfielder Brandon Boggs has signed a minor league deal with the Braves. Boggs hit .324/.390/.426 in 78 PA with Bridgeport. This will be his second stint with the Braves, as he spent the bulk of last season playing with their Triple-A affiliate in Gwinnett. The 31-year-old Boggs has a nice track record at Triple-A and has seen action in parts of four seasons with the Brewers and Rangers.
• Former big league right-hander Jeff Bennett, who had also been playing in the Mexican League, has inked a minor league deal with the Dodgers, reports MLB Daily Dish’s Chris Cotillo (Twitter link). The 33-year-old Bennett has a 4.30 ERA in 228 1/3 big league innings with the Braves, Rays and Brewers, but he hasn’t pitched in the Majors since 2009. He turned in a strong 2.44 ERA with 6.7 K/9 and 2.8 BB/9 in 44 1/3 innings for los Broncos de Reynosa in 2014.

• The Braves signed outfielder Brandon Boggs to a minor league contract and assigned him to Triple-A Gwinnett on Monday, according to MLB.com's Transactions Page. Boggs, who made his Gwinnett debut last night, wasted little time in finding employment after being released by the Twins on Sunday. The 30-year-old is a .264/.376/.419 career hitter at Triple-A. He has Major League experience with both the Rangers (2008-10) and Brewers (2011).
• Recent DFAs Jonathan Sanchez, Kameron Loe, Rick Ankiel and Fernando Martinez remain in limbo as they wait to find out if they've been traded, claimed on waivers, or outrighted. 

• The Padres signed outfielder Kalian Sams to a minor league contract yesterday, according to MLB.com's Transactions page. The Dutch outfielder ripped two homers tonight in his debut for Double-A San Antonio. Sams, 26, doesn't hit for average or get on base much but has loads of power, as evidenced by his career .215/.292/.443 batting line (which doesn't include today's homers). He spent 2007-12 in the Mariners organization but never reached a level higher than Double-A.
• The Twins have released outfielder Brandon Boggs from Triple-A Rochester, according to MLB.com's Rhett Bollinger. Boggs, who signed a minor league contract with the Twins last December, posted a meager batting line of .184/.292/.316 in 89 plate appearances with Rochester. Boggs last appeared in a MLB game in 2011 with the Brewers.

Steve Adams contributed to this post.

• The Rangers have signed Brandon Snyder to a minor league contract, reports Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com (on Twitter). The 26-year-old former first round pick of the Orioles hit .277/.309/.446 in 69 plate appearances with Texas last year while playing first base, third base, and both corner outfield spots.
• The Padres have re-signed Juan Oramas to a minor league deal according to MLB.com's Corey Brock (on Twitter). The 22-year-old left-hander was non-tendered last month and is recovering from Tommy John surgery.
• The Padres have also signed right-hander Sean O'Sullivan, infielder Gregorio Petit, and catcher Rene Rivera to minor league contracts, the team announced. All three players received invitations to Spring Training.
• The Twins have signed outfielder Brandon Boggs, infielder Ray Olmedo, right-hander Bryan Augenstein, first baseman Reynaldo Rodriguez, right-hander Scott Elarton, right-hander Virgil Vasquez, left-hander Mike O'Connor, and left-hander Jason Lane to minor league deals according to MLB.com's Adam Berry. Boggs, Olmedo, and Augenstein received invitations to Spring Training.

Fox, 29, has a line of .237/.288/.425 in 534 plate appearances across parts of four big league seasons with the Cubs, Athletics, and Orioles.  He's spent time at catcher and the infield and outfield corners.  Fox has some powerful minor league performances on his resume.

Boggs, 28, hit .241/.381/.419 for the Brewers' Triple-A team this year, playing the outfield corners.  Most of his big league experience came with the Rangers in 2008.  Martis, 24, had 106 1/3 Major League innings in the Nationals' rotation from 2008-09.  He spent 2011 with the team's Double-A affiliate, posting a 3.05 ERA, 9.9 K/9, 2.6 BB/9, and 0.6 HR/9 in 133 innings.  

Cofield, a 24-year-old minor league reliever, was acquired by the White Sox from the Braves for Scott Linebrink and cash a year ago.  Diaz, a 27-year-old minor league reliever, posted a 1.41 ERA and 10.7 K/9 with 22 saves for the Orioles' Double-A club this year.  Welch, a 23-year-old first baseman, hit 16 home runs in 514 plate appearances for the Mets' High-A team this year.

• Outfielder Brandon Boggs elected free agency, according to MLB.com's Adam McCalvy. Boggs, 28, appeared in 16 games for the Brewers in April and May before returning to Triple-A, where he posted a season line of .241/.381/.419 in 333 plate appearances. He drew 53 walks and collected 29 extra base hits as a corner outfielder in Nashville.

• Rob Delaney has cleared waivers after being designated for assignment by the Rays on Wednesday and has been outrighted to Triple-A Durham, reports Marc Topkin of the St. Petersburg Times (via Twitter).
• The Rangers outrighted Brett Tomko to Triple-A Round Rock and Tomko has accepted the assignment, reports Anthony Andro of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram (via Twitter).  Andro also tweets that Tomko has an out clause in his contract for June 1, though Andro isn't sure if Tomko plans to exercise it. In the corresponding move, Texas called up Michael Kirkman.
• The Brewers have outrighted catcher Mike Rivera to Triple-A Nashville, reports MLB.com's Adam McCalvy.  It is expected that Rivera will accept the assignment. 
• Also from McCalvy, Brandon Boggs has accepted his assignment to Nashville after being outrighted by the Brewers two days ago.  This is the third time Boggs has been outrighted by Milwaukee in the last three months.  Rivera and Boggs were outrighted to create roster space for Josh Wilson and Nyjer Morgan.

• The Brewers outrighted Brandon Boggs to Triple-A to clear roster space, according to MLB.com's Adam McCalvy. The outfielder can decline the assignment and elect free agency istead of accepting his third outright of the year.
  
• Robbie Weinhardt, who was designated for assignment earlier in the week, cleared waivers and was outrighted to Triple-A Toledo, according to the Tigers (on Twitter).
• Daniel Nava has cleared waivers after being designated for assignment, according to Red Sox reporter Maureen Mullen (on Twitter).

• The Brewers sent Brandon Boggs outright to Triple-A to create roster space for Zack Greinke, according to Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (on Twitter). Boggs has three days to choose between Triple-A and free agency.
• Pirates outfielder John Bowker cleared waivers and was assigned to the team's Triple-A affiliate, according to their Twitter account.  Bowker had been designated to clear a spot for waiver claim Xavier Paul.
• Same goes for Rockies' righty Alan Johnson, according to the Pacific Coast League's transactions page. The Rockies had designated Johnson for assignment to create 40-man roster space for Alfredo Amezaga. Johnson made his MLB debut for the Rockies this year, when he started on April 17th.

• The Dodgers have become an embarrassment to the sport of baseball, writes Troy Renck of The Denver Post.
• Brewers right fielder Corey Hart is set to return on Tuesday and the club will have to clear a roster spot, writes MLB.com's Adam McCalvy.  Unfortunately for Milwaukee, both Erick Almonte and the recently-promoted Brandon Boggs are out of options. 
• Although Chris Sampson was somewhat shocked on April 1st when he learned that the Rockies would be releasing him, he was optimisitic that opportunities would likely fall into his lap toward the end of April, writes Stephen Goff of Examiner.com.  Sampson signed a minor-league deal with the Marlins yesterday.
• Michael Silverman of the Boston Herald sees Jarrod Saltalamacchia's coronation as the Red Sox's starting catcher as being indicative of the lack of catching depth in the majors.
• Cutter Dykstra isn't exactly expected to accomplish what his father did, writes Bob Brookover of the Philadelphia Inquirer.  The 21-year-old was recently shipped to the Nationals from the Brewers.
• The Yankees no longer have the largest payroll of any sports team on the planet as a pair of soccer teams have unseated them, according to Nick Harris of Sporting Intelligence.

• D'Backs manager Kirk Gibson told Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic that Tony Abreu cleared waivers and is going to Triple-A (Twitter link).
• The Royals told Bob Dutton of the Kansas City Star that Gregor Blanco cleared waivers and will be outrighted to Triple-A (Twitter link).
• Outfielder Nick Evans cleared waivers yesterday, GM Sandy Alderson told Adam Rubin of ESPNNewYork.com (on Twitter). The Mets outrighted Evans when he didn't make the Opening Day roster.
• Another Mets player, Luis Hernandez cleared waivers, reports MLB.com's Anthony DiComo. He's unsure whether he'll accept a minor league assignment.
• Cubs catcher Max Ramirez cleared waivers and was outrighted to minor league camp, tweets MLB.com's Carrie Muskat.
• The Tigers outrighted infielder Audy Ciriaco to create a 40-man spot for reliever Enrique Gonzalez, tweets MLB.com's Jason Beck.
• Retired reliever Billy Wagner was removed from the Braves' 40-man roster today, tweets David O'Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.   Wagner has no plans to come out of retirement, but if he did he'd have to play for the Braves in 2011.  The AP has details.
• Orioles righty Rick Vandenhurk cleared waivers, tweets Jeff Zrebiec of the Baltimore Sun.
• Mets reliever Jason Isringhausen, who didn't make the club out of Spring Training, agreed to spend two weeks in Port St. Lucie.  According to ESPN's Adam Rubin, one condition of the extended Spring Training agreement is that "if another team approaches Isringhausen in the interim about a major league opportunity, the Mets must either call up Izzy or let him depart."  The Mets chose Blaine Boyer over Isringhausen for the Opening Day roster, which so far has allowed them to retain both relievers.
• Outfielder Brandon Boggs, outrighted by the Brewers yesterday, accepted his Triple-A assignment according to Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel.

• Jeff Marquez of the White Sox cleared waivers and is headed for Triple-A, according to ESPN.com's Jerry Crasnick (on Twitter).
• Braves utility player Joe Mather cleared waivers and has been outrighted to Triple-A, according to David O'Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution (on Twitter).
• The Phillies removed Matt Rizzotti from the 40-man roster and outrighted him to the minor leagues, according to Matt Gelb of the Philadelphia Inquirer (on Twitter).
• Mets lefty Pat Misch was outrighted to Triple-A, tweets Andy McCullough of the Newark Star-Ledger.  He's expected to accept the assignment.  Misch, 29, posted a 3.82 ERA, 5.5 K/9, 1.0 BB/9, 1.0 HR/9, and 52.0% groundball rate in 37 2/3 innings for the Mets last year, tossing another 150 2/3 innings across 23 starts in Triple-A.
• Brewers outfielder Brandon Boggs was outrighted to Triple-A Nashville, tweets Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel.  Boggs, 28, hit .290/.406/.470 in 439 Triple-A plate appearances last year while playing all three outfield positions.  He has until Wednesday to decide whether to accept the assignment or elect free agency, tweets Haudricourt.
• The Mariners outrighted southpaw Cesar Jimenez, tweets ESPN's Shannon Drayer.  Jimenez, 26, missed most of the 2010 season recovering from labrum surgery.

• The Red Sox claimed outfielder Jordan Parraz off of waivers from the Royals, the teams announced. The 26-year-old has yet to appear in the majors, but he posted solid numbers at Triple-A last year. In his second stint at Omaha, he batted .266/.350/.410 with 27 doubles.
• The Royals also outrighted right-handers Gaby Hernandez and Victor Marte to Omaha.
• The Nationals announced on Twitter that they outrighted right-hander Ryan Mattheus to Triple-A.
• The Brewers signed Brandon Boggs, according to Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (on Twitter). The 27-year-old outfielder hasn't played much in the past two seasons, but he posted a .733 OPS in 334 plate appearances for the 2008 Rangers.
• The Mariners and Astros also made minor deals today.

Some news items…

• Andrew Stoeten of the Drunk Jays Fans blog and The Toronto Sun's Bob Elliott both recently outlined the Blue Jays' upcoming decision about Aaron Hill's 2012-14 club option years.  If the Jays decline to exercise all three options at once by next Opening Day, Hill can no longer be retained by the team on his $10MM club option for 2014.  It's very likely that Toronto will pass on the three-years-at-once option and then look at Hill's $8MM options for 2012 and 2013 after next season.  In short, Hill's lackluster play this year has cost him $10MM thus far.
• Chris Sampson has accepted his minor league assignment from the Astros and will report to Triple-A Round Rock, tweets Alyson Footer of MLB.com.  Sampson could've opted for free agency, but will instead finish the season in Houston's system and pursue free agency in the offseason.
• If Eric Hosmer continues to develop, ESPN.com's Jason A. Churchill suggests that Kansas City might trade Billy Butler to avoid paying him a significant contract.  Butler is a first-time arbitration candidate this offseason and could make 10 times his current $470K salary in 2011.
• Cleveland manager Manny Acta says that Jensen Lewis' future with the Tribe may depend on how he looks in relief outings this September, writes Paul Hoynes of the Cleveland Plain Dealer.  Lewis will reach arbitration for the first time this winter and is out of options, so he's a possible non-tender candidate.
• In a reader chat, Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News gave his opinion on such Rangers hot stove topics as Cliff Lee's future with the club and whom the Rangers might target in free agency this winter.
• Brandon Boggs has cleared waivers and been assigned to Texas' Triple-A affiliate, reports MLB.com's Alden Gonzalez.  Boggs was designated for assignment on Tuesday.
• Eric Chavez "is not ready to announce [his] retirement," tweets MLB.com's Jane Lee, but would consider a post-playing career of coaching or broadcasting (also from Twitter).
• Blogger El Lefty Malo looks at how the Giants have gotten better at acquiring "band-aid" veterans.
• Diamondbacks president Derrick Hall tells FOXSportsArizona.com's Jack Magruder that money will not be a factor in hiring the team's new general manager, but admits "I'd be lying if I said it wasn't an issue."
• Alex Rodriguez's recent split with agent Scott Boras may have been influenced by advisers from the entertainment business and Rodriguez's "infatuation with Hollywood stardom," reports ESPNNewYork.com's Wallace Matthews.  Somewhere, Ari Gold is yelling at Lloyd to place a call on his behalf…

Boggs, 27, went hitless in eight big league plate appearances this year. He has a .212/.318/.375 line in 360 career major league plate appearances, but he has played well in the minor leagues. The switch-hitter has a .264/.375/.447 line in parts of seven minor league seasons.