• Rays lefty Everett Teaford has accepted an outright assignment to Triple-A Durham, SB Nation’s Chris Cotillo tweets. The Rays designated Teaford for assignment on Wednesday. He’s spent most of this season in the rotation with Durham, where he’s posted a 5.56 ERA with 6.1 K/9 and 2.4 BB/9 in 68 innings.
• The Rockies have selected the contract of lefty Aaron Laffey, Patrick Saunders of the Denver Post tweets. They’ve also added righty Gonzalez Germen to their active roster, placed righty David Hale (groin strain) on the 15-day DL, optioned righty Scott Oberg, and moved minor league lefty Tyler Anderson (elbow) to the 60-day DL. The 30-year-old Laffey has played parts of seven big-league seasons with the Indians, Mariners, Yankees, Blue Jays and Mets, but he hadn’t appeared in a big-league game since 2013 before appearing with the Rockies tonight. He’s spent this season with Triple-A Albuquerque, posting a 4.91 ERA, 6.2 K/9 and 3.2 BB/9 in 47 2/3 innings split between the rotation and the bullpen.

Teaford, 31, joined the Rays over the weekend when his contract was selected from Triple-A Durham. He pitched in both games of today’s twin bill, firing 1 1/3 scoreless innings and allowing just one hit. Overall this season — his first with Tampa Bay — he’s allowed one run in 5 2/3 innings.

The rest of Teaford’s U.S. career has come with the Royals organization, where he posted a 4.25 ERA with 5.3 K/9 and 3.0 BB/9 in 106 big league innings from 2011-13. The former 12th-round pick also has experience overseas, as he spent the 2014 campaign pitching for the LG Twins of the Korea Baseball Organization. Teaford logged a 5.24 ERA with 7.7 K/9 against 4.6 BB/9 in the hitter-friendly KBO.

The 27-year-old Krauss has collected 48 plate appearances with the Rays and Angels this season, and the bulk of his big-league experience came with the Astros in 2013 and 2014. He’s a career .192/.264/.332 hitter in 402 plate appearances in the Majors. He’s been a significantly better hitter in the minors, batting .289/.415/.453 in 195 plate appearances with the Angels’ Triple-A Salt Lake affiliate this season. The Rays acquired him for righty Kyle Winkler last week.

• Rays lefty Everett Teaford has accepted an assignment to Triple-A after clearing waivers, MLBTR’s Steve Adams tweets. Teaford could have elected free agency as he has previously been outrighted. The southpaw made only one appearance during his stint with the big league club this year, but will serve as a useful depth piece for the organization as it works to bring back a host of arms off of the DL.
• The Cardinals have selected the contract of left-hander Tim Cooney, the team announced.  In corresponding moves, Adam Wainwright was moved to the 60-day disabled list and catcher Cody Stanley was optioned to Triple-A to create room for Cooney on the 40-man and 25-man rosters, respectively.  Cooney, 24, was a third-round pick in the 2012 draft and he has a career 3.50 ERA, 3.95 K/BB rate and 7.6 K/9 over 385 1/3 minor league innings.  The southpaw is ranked by MLB.com as the tenth-best prospect in the St. Louis farm system, and he’ll make his Major League debut today when he starts for the Cardinals against the Phillies.
• Infielder Tony Abreu and outfielder Greg Golson have signed with the Mexican League’s Veracruz Red Eagles, according to the team’s official Twitter feed.  Abreu elected to become a free agent last fall after appearing in 56 games for the Giants in 2013-14.  Abreu has a career .254/.283/.373 slash line over 615 plate appearances with the Giants, Royals, D’Backs and Dodgers since 2007.  Golson, who has 42 MLB plate appearances to his name between 2008-11, has spent the last three seasons playing in the minors, the independent Atlantic League and the Mexican Pacific Winter League.

Teaford, soon to be 31, gave up one earned run in one appearance this year with Tampa. He saw more extensive use out of the Royals’ pen back in 2011-12, but only owns 108 1/3 big league innings in his career. Over parts of five Triple-A seasons, often working as a starter, Teaford has worked to a 3.34 ERA with 8.5 K/9 against 3.1 BB/9.

• Phillies Rule 5 pick Odubel Herrera is expected to be the Opening Day center fielder, reports Jim Salisbury of CSNPhilly.com. Herrera is a second baseman by trade, but the Phillies began using him in center field 10 days ago. He’ll displace Ben Revere whose poor routes and weak arm are better suited to left field. It’s unclear if that arrangement is temporary or permanent. The club entered this spring with a planned alignment of Domonic Brown, Revere, and Grady Sizemore from left to right. Brown will likely miss Opening Day with an Achilles injury and Sizemore has performed poorly this spring. It’s possible Brown will move back to right field upon returning from injury.
• Orioles outfielder David Lough will likely open the season on the disabled list with a hamstring injury, reports Roch Kubatko of MASN Sports. Lough was already on shaky territory with a 5-for-27 spring. The lefty is viewed as a defensive replacement. The impending move will probably open the door for utility man Jimmy Paredes.
• The Rays are looking at external starting pitching options as they try to piece together a decimated rotation, writes Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times. Among the candidates are Wandy Rodriguez, Shaun Marcum, Bruce Chen, and Clayton Richard. Internal alternatives include Matt Andriese, Mike Montgomery, Burch Smith, and Everett Teaford. The club doesn’t need a fifth starter until April 14th. Alex Cobb, Drew Smyly, and Alex Colome are all expected to return relatively early in the season, so a large investment is viewed as unnecessary.

Here’s more from around baseball:

• ESPN’s Buster Olney has “real concerns about the Red Sox,” reports Nik Beimler on WEEI.com. Olney identified problems with four of the five members of the rotation. Rick Porcello was the one guy who didn’t draw a negative comment. While Cole Hamels is often connected to the Sox, Olney thinks they should wait on any trades. “I think there will be a lot of opportunities to trade for pitching during the course of summer.” Even with inconsistent pitching, the club could still hit enough to reach the postseason.
• The Rays may need to play roster roulette while they wait for Alex Cobb, Drew Smyly, and Alex Colome to recover, writes Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times. The rotation will affect the number of NRIs the club can add. Presently, Bobby Wilson, Jake Elmore, Brandon Gomes, and Everett Teaford are battling for one or two spots (pending a trade of David DeJesus). Teaford may have a temporary advantage since he can provide long relief or a spot start.
• Pirates pitcher Clayton Richard can opt out of his contract at the end of spring training, tweets Travis Sawchik of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. Per Richard, he can opt out if not on the 40-man roster. He’s the latest in a long string of reclamation projects for the Pirates. His last successful season came in 2012 when he allowed a 3.99 ERA with 4.40 K/9 and 1.73 BB/9 in 218 innings.
• Based upon interviews of rival scouts and executives, nobody believes Diamondbacks third baseman Yasmany Tomas can remain in the infield, writes Joel Sherman of the New York Post. Most cited his thick body type, although they also said he doesn’t have the hands for the position. If Tomas moves to the outfield, it will create a roster crunch for Arizona. The current plan is to share playing time in left field between David Peralta, Ender Inciarte, and Cody Ross. Of course, the club could option Tomas to the minors too.

• The Cubs have signed free agent pitcher Daniel Bard to a minor league deal with an invitation to spring training, tweets Mike Perchick of WAPT Sports. The former Red Sox relief ace last appeared in the majors during the 2013 season when he tossed just one inning. After three solid campaigns to begin his career, the wheels fell off in 2012 with a 6.22 ERA, 5.76 K/9, and 6.52 BB/9 in 59 and one-third innings.
• The Red Sox have signed free agent outfielder Quintin Berry to a minor league deal with an invitation to spring training, tweets Mike Perchick of WAPT Sports. The 30-year-old outfielder has seen infrequent action since making his major league debut with the Tigers in 2012. That year, he hit .258/.330/.354 in 330 plate appearances with 21 steals. He’s since served short stints with the Red Sox and Orioles as a defensive replacement and pinch runner.
• Free agent righty Donovan Hand tweets that he has agreed to a deal with the Reds. The deal would presumably be of the minor league variety. Hand, 28, spent his eighth season in the Brewers organization in 2014 as a swingman for Triple-A Nashville, posting a 5.20 ERA with 8.0 K/9 and 2.5 BB/9. Hand had the same role in the big leagues in 2013, posting a 3.69 ERA and 2.8 BB/9 in 68 1/3 innings but with just 4.9 K/9.
• The Braves have outrighted infielder Tyler Pastornicky, MLB.com’s Mark Bowman tweets. The Braves designated Pastornicky for assignment last week after he hit .290/.330/.347 in 189 plate appearances last year for Triple-A Gwinnett. The 25-year-old has appeared in parts of three seasons in the Majors, most notably hitting .243/.287/.325 in 188 plate appearances in 2012.
• The Athletics have outrighted infielder Andy Parrino, MLB.com’s Jane Lee tweets. The A’s designated Parrino for assignment in the wake of the Ben Zobrist deal last weekend. The 29-year-old hit .274/.352/.384 at the Triple-A level in 2014.
• The Mariners have outrighted lefty Anthony Fernandez, Ryan Divish of the Seattle Times tweets. Fernandez, 24, has never pitched in the big leagues and missed most of last season due to injury, making just five starts for Triple-A Tacoma. The Mariners designated him for assignment Thursday.
• The Orioles have outrighted catcher Ryan Lavarnway, according to MASNsports.com’s Roch Kubatko. Lavarnway, 27, was claimed three times in the past six weeks (by the Dodgers, Cubs and Orioles) before finally making it through waivers. He hit .283/.389/.370 in 257 plate appearances for Triple-A Pawtucket in the Red Sox system in 2014.
• The Blue Jays have outrighted righty Cory Burns, Shi Davidi of Sportsnet.ca tweets. The Jays designated Burns for assignment earlier this week when they claimed Matt West. Burns, 27, pitched well in relief at Double-A and Triple-A in the Rays organization early in the season, but struggled after being claimed by the Rangers in June. The Blue Jays then claimed him in late September.
• The Rays have signed lefty Everett Teaford, the Ballengee Group announces (via Twitter). The contract will presumably be a minor-league deal. Teaford appeared in parts of three seasons with the Royals from 2011 through 2013, but pitched for the LG Twins in the offense-heavy KBO in 2014, posting a 5.24 ERA with 7.7 K/9 and 4.6 BB/9 in 99 2/3 innings.

Teaford has spent his entire career with the Royals since being drafted by the club in 2006. Kansas City largely used the 29-year-old as a swingman in his sporadic big league appearances from 2011-2013. Over that period, which included eight starts, Teaford logged 106 innings and posted a 4.25 ERA. He has presumably been released by the Royals.

The LG Twins inked third baseman Josh Bell earlier in the offseason.