• The A's have acquired Fernando Nieve from the Indians for cash considerations, Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle reports. Nieve, 31, will report to the Athletics' Triple-A affiliate, according to John Hickey of the Bay Area News Group. The right-hander had a 1.81 ERA in 44.2 innings for Cleveland's Triple-A club this season.

• The Indians announced that right-hander Fernando Nieve has cleared waivers and been outrighted to Triple-A Columbus (Twitter link). Nieve was designated for assignment on Monday when Matt Albers (whose roster spot he briefly took) was re-instated from the restricted list. Nieve has a career 4.61 ERA, 6.9 K/9 and 4.1 BB/9 in 185 2/3 innings for the Astros and Mets. He has not appeared in a Major League game since the 2010 season.

Nieve, 30, was signed to a minor league deal this past November. Nieve was called up after Albers was placed on the restricted list (which does not count against a team's 40-man roster) to tend to a family emergency. He did not appear in a game for the Tribe in his brief time at the MLB level.

Nieve has a career 4.61 ERA, 6.9 K/9 and 4.1 BB/9 in 185 2/3 innings for the Astros and Mets. He has not appeared in a Major League game since the 2010 season.

• Cory Wade elected free agency, Shi Davidi of Sportsnet.ca reports (on Twitter). Wade, 29, appeared in 39 games for the Yankees in 2012, posting a 6.46 ERA with 8.8 K/9 and 1.8 BB/9. The Blue Jays had claimed him off of waivers last month.
• The Indians signed right-hander Fernando Nieve and invited him to big league Spring Training, Paul Hoynes of the Cleveland Plain Dealer reports (on Twitter). The 30-year-old spent the 2012 season with the Dodgers' Triple-A team, posting a 5.96 ERA with 8.1 K/9 and 2.9 BB/9 in 119 1/3 innings. He has MLB experience with the Mets and Astros, most recently in 2010.

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.

Nieve, 28, pitched 42 innings for the Mets in 2010, posting a 6.00 ERA with 8.1 K/9, 4.7 BB/9, 2.1 HR/9 and a 37% ground ball rate before he was Mets granted him free agency. No pitcher who completed 40 innings or more matched Nieve's 18.5% HR/FB rate last year.

The Venezuela native has started three games for the Astros' Triple-A affiliate this year, posting a 7.63 ERA with 10.0 K/9 and 2.9 BB/9 in 15 1/3 innings.

Nieve, 28, was released by the Pirates just two days ago after allowing 17 hits in just 7 1/3 Spring Training innings. Last year for the Mets, he posted a 6.00 ERA, 8.1 K/9, 4.7 BB/9, 2.1 HR/9, and 37% groundball rate in 42 innings. 18.5% of his flyballs left the yard, a rate that led all of MLB among those with at least 40 innings. Nieve also made eight starts in Triple-A, posting a 5.63 ERA. Pittsburgh signed him to a minor league pact back in December.

The Astros originally signed Nieve out of Venezuela back in 1999, and five years ago he was their third-best prospect according to Baseball America.

Last year for the Mets, Nieve posted a 6.00 ERA, 8.1 K/9, 4.7 BB/9, 2.1 HR/9, and 37% groundball rate in 42 innings.  18.5% of his flyballs left the yard, a rate that led all of MLB among those with at least 40 innings.  Nieve also made eight starts in Triple-A, posting a 5.63 ERA.  He signed a minor league deal with the Pirates on December 1st.

Five years ago Nieve was the Astros' third-best prospect in the eyes of Baseball America.  Back then he was said to have a plus fastball and slider, and a comparison to Ugueth Urbina was considered a positive.

Among San Diego's 20 NRIs is a small handful of players with big-league experience and a decent chance of making the 25-man roster at the end of Spring Training. Here's a quick look at some of those guys:

• Kevin Frandsen has spent parts of five seasons with the Giants and Angels, and he has a "good shot" of catching on with the Padres as a utility man, according to Brock. The 28-year-old plays multiple positions and would earn a salary of $575,000.
• Guillermo Quiroz could challenge Rob Johnson for the backup catching job, notes Brock. Quiroz, 29, has played for four teams (Rangers, Blue Jays, Mariners and Orioles) in parts of seven seasons.
• Gregorio Petit spent parts of two seasons with the A's as a utility infielder in 2008-09. The 26-year-old spent the entirety of 2010 with the Rangers' Triple-A affiliate.
• Bullpen hopefuls Luis Perdomo and Scott Munter each have Major League experience. Perdomo made 35 appearances with San Diego in 2009 but only one last season, and Munter was with the Giants for parts of three seasons.

The Pirates, meanwhile, have a slightly more interesting cast of notable names:

• Garrett Atkins, Jeff Clement, Josh Fields and Andy Marte form a quartet of one-time blue-chip prospects. Atkins, in particular, was an above-average player for the Rockies in 2006-07, but he declined quickly in the following years. Clement, a former catcher, was a No. 3 overall pick of the Mariners in 2005, and Fields and Marte were raw-power corner-infield prospects coming up with the White Sox and Braves/Indians, respectively.
• On the pitching side, Tyler Yates has a 8.1 K/9 for his career but did not pitch in the bigs in 2010. Donald Veal, selected by the Bucs from the Cubs in the Rule 5 Draft prior to the 2009 season, is a hard-throwing but wild lefty. Brian Burres has started 54 games in his five-year career with the Orioles, Blue Jays and Pirates. Sean Gallagher was dealt from the Cubs to the A's in the deal that sent Rich Harden to Chicago, and has appeared in 91 games. Fernando Nieve has appeared in 99 games (19 starts) with the Astros and Mets in parts of four seasons.

Marte, a former top prospect, failed to make an impact in parts of five seasons with the Indians. Now 27, the third baseman has a .218/.277/.358 line in 924 career plate appearances. The Indians released him last month.

Brown, 28, appeared in seven games for the 2010 Red Sox, but has spent most of his ten-year career in the minors. He has a .259/.340/.389 line in a decade's worth of minor league plate appearances. The Red Sox dropped him from their 40-man roster in October.

• Many familiar names have been granted free agency, including Ian Snell, Cla Meredith, Micah Owings, Fernando Nieve, Dan Meyer, Ryan Garko, Mike Jacobs, and Jason Bergmann.
• The Royals released reliever Matt Herges. Herges didn't reach the majors this season, but had a solid year in 2009, recording a 3.38 ERA in 30 games between Cleveland and Colorado.
• Yordany Ramirez, a long-time minor league outfielder, was re-signed by the Astros. After struggling as a hitter in three Triple-A seasons, the 26-year-old is being converted to pitching.

The Mets claimed Nieve off of waivers from the Astros last year and he responded by posting a sub-3.00 ERA in 36.2 innings of work. This season, the 28-year-old Venezuelan has a 6.00 ERA with 8.1 K/9 and 4.7 BB/9. It wouldn't be a surprise if the Mets' decision to designate Nieve had something to do with the five runs he allowed the D'Backs to score in his relief appearance Monday.

12:20pm: According to Bart Hubbuch of the New York Post, the Mets released veterans Jose Valentin, Tony Armas Jr., and Junior Spivey today.  Valentin could return to the organization as a coach eventually.

Nieve squeezed in just 10 2/3 innings last season after undergoing Tommy John surgery in 2007.  He could be used in middle relief in New York, but will need a really nice showing over the last few weeks of spring training to make the squad.  Nieve posted a 4.20 ERA over 96 1/3 innings during the 2006 season.