• MLB.com's Bill Chastain profiles left-hander Carlos Hernandez, who hasn't pitched in the majors since 2004 and is trying to return with Tampa Bay.
• While it's very unlikely that Barry Zito will live up to his $126MM contract, Craig Calcaterra of NBCSports.com notes that the left-hander is still a solid starter.
• The Braves have no interest in teenage prospect Wagner Mateo, reports MLB.com's Mark Bowman.  Mateo was originally signed by St. Louis last summer but the Cardinals voided the contract due to concerns over Mateo's eyesight.
• The signings of Jason Jennings and Brett Tomko shouldn't cause any concern about the health of other key pitchers on the Oakland staff, says Tom Singer of MLB.com.
• Philadelphia has become a prime destination for free agents and stars looking to be traded, writes MLB.com's Todd Zolecki.  Back-to-back NL pennants and a World Series title will tend to do that.
• Chris Young struggled in his first season of a five-year, $28MM deal with Arizona and has yet to have a true breakout year after three seasons as a major league regular.  John Sickels of MinorLeagueBall.com, however, thinks it's too early to write Young off.
• MLB.com's Bill Ladson answers fan questions on a variety of topics, including how prospect Chris Marrero (Washington's first-round pick in the 2006 June Amateur Draft) could be affected if the Nationals re-sign Adam Dunn.
• Speaking of mailbags, Baseball America's Jim Callis answers some fan questions about prospects and also looks ahead to the 2011 June Amateur Draft.

• The Mets "would have interest in Kiko Calero on a minor league deal," tweeted Ken Davidoff of Newsday yesterday.  Calero is holding out for a big league contract, which seems reasonable.
• Scott Boras client Jacoby Ellsbury hasn't had any long-term contract discussions with the Red Sox, nor does he intend to, reports Joe Haggerty of CSNNE.com.
• The latest GM's Corner video from Jim Bowden of FOX Sports is fifteen minutes well-spent, with appearances by Billy Beane, Jack Zduriencik, Mike Rizzo, Logan White, and Lance Berkman.  The video is all about scouting.
• Check out Rob Bradford's in-depth discussion with Josh Beckett for WEEI.
• Geoff Baker of the Seattle Times says the Mariners might have a nice find in hard-throwing lefty Mauricio Robles, who came from Detroit in last summer's Jarrod Washburn trade.
• Baker's colleague Larry Stone talked to Jason Bay, who said the Mariners expressed interest but never made a serious push for him.
• Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle notes that Brett Tomko and Jason Jennings will each earn $700K if they make the A's.

Jane Lee of MLB.com tweets that Jennings will report to the team's spring training camp, while Tomko will continue rehabbing an arm injury at Minor League camp. The San Francisco Chronicle's Susan Slusser adds, via Twitter, that the Twins made Tomko a similar offer, but that he felt more comfortable in Oakland. Slusser also tweets that Jennings was close to a deal with the Giants at one point, while Stiglich adds the Cardinals and Mets to the list of teams spoken to by Jennings in a separate tweet.

Tomko was extremely effective in six starts for the A's in 2009, winning four games with a 2.95 ERA. Jennings, meanwhile, acted as a setup man for the Rangers, posting a 4.13 ERA in 44 relief appearances.

Jennings, who turned 31 last month, makes $800k this year.

On to the linkage…

• Matthew Pouliot of Circling The Bases says that Dayton Moore's moves over the last season and a half are enough to warrant his dismissal. He notes they have a more than qualified replacement already in-house in senior advisor Mike Arbuckle.
• Ben Bolch of The LA Times notes that Jason Schmidt threw 104 pitches over 7.2 shutout in a rehab start yesterday. We know the Dodgers are looking for pitching, but a healthy and reasonably effective Schmidt could lessen that urgency.
• Tracy Ringolsby writes that Garrett Atkins' recent hot streak creates "more of a possibility of another team having interest in acquiring him." Atkins is hitting .340-.415-.553 in June.
• The Rangers have been getting good production from unexpected sources like Jason Jennings, says Ken Sherrington of The Dallas Morning News.
• Rockies outfielder Carlos Gonzalez says he's happy to be in Colorado, according to Susan Slusser of The SF Chronicle.
• Joe Cowley tweets this Ozzie Guillen quote: "The people that run baseball teams now are soft." I wonder what Kenny Williams thinks about that.
• Marc Carig writes that the Rockies had begun combing through the Yankees' farm system in advance of a potential Huston Street trade back in May.

In the same article, Marchand writes that Sheets might be "a low-risk, high-reward option for the Mets."

Jeff Wilson of the Dallas Morning News discussed Sheets in a Q&A on Friday. In response to a question about whether the Rangers would sign the injured star, Wilson urged readers that they should not "count on Sheets for a stretch run."

Wilson points out that Rangers pitcher Jason Jennings had the same surgery twice, and "should serve as poster child for not rushing back from the injury."

Sheets was last seen visiting the Rangers' pitching coach Mike Maddux two weeks ago. As we await word on his status, which teams do you think should make a play for him? Do the Mets make sense?

"The former Mesquite Poteet and Baylor star remains willing to open the season in the minor leagues to build up arm strength if he’s unable to do so over the final three weeks of spring training.

But the minor league contract Jennings signed last month has two opt-out dates – April 1 and April 25. Plenty of scouts have seen him pitch, and more will watch him as those dates draw near."

Jennings’ flexor tendon has torn each of the last two seasons. This spring, there’s added velocity to his fastball, now recorded in the upper 80s. Rangers Manager Ron Washington is optimistic and expects it to reach 90mph by the time the club breaks camp.

As recently as 2006, Jennings recorded a 3.78 ERA and held opponents to a .258 average over 212 IP while playing half of his games for the Rockies in Coors Field.

Krasovic says the Padres are focused on out of options pitchers, and in particular inquired on Arizona’s Juan Gutierrez.  Krasovic tosses out names of other out of options hurlers on the D’Backs and Angels: Jason Bulger, Shane Loux, Dustin Moseley, Yusmeiro Petit, and Travis Blackley.  Two more possibilities: Giants Rule 5 pick Luis Perdomo and Rangers veteran Jason Jennings.  I don’t know whether the Padres are interested, but a few more out of options pitchers include David Pauley, Hayden Penn, Dustin Nippert, Jeff Niemann, and Jason Hammel.

According to Krasovic, GM Kevin Towers is focused exclusively on pitching this month.  Krasovic adds:

Some Padres evaluators have become dismayed, according to other clubs, by a perceived dearth of power arms high in the organization and are wondering if the club’s four-year emphasis on “pitchability” got overdone.

9:07am: According to Troy E. Renck of the Denver Post, the Rangers signed pitcher Jason Jennings to a minor league deal. 

Jennings was a bust after the Astros acquired him for the ’07 season; he had surgery for a torn flexor tendon in his elbow in August of that year.  Sound familiar?  It’s the same injury Ben Sheets has.  Jennings was still able to get $4MM guaranteed from the Rangers before the ’08 season, reminding us how drastically the market has changed in one year.  Jennings had another flexor tendon surgery in May of ’08 (the first surgery "didn’t take.")  MLB.com’s T.R. Sullivan notes that the Rangers had interest in Odalis Perez before he re-signed with the Nationals.  In a blog post, Sullivan looks at some other flexor tendon cases, with Andy Pettitte being the best one.

TUESDAY, 7:48am: Wilson says Guardado "has agreed to return to the Rangers on a non-roster deal."  Final details remain, and the deal could be worth up to $3MM.

MONDAY, 5:21pm: Jeff Wilson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram spoke with Rangers GM Jon Daniels, who confirmed that a deal could be finalized for Guardado "within the next few days."

2:05pm: According to MLB.com’s T.R. Sullivan, the Rangers are close to a deal to bring lefty reliever Eddie Guardado back to Texas.  It may be completed in the next few days.  Adding Guardado could help soften the blow of losing Joaquin Benoit to rotator cuff surgery.

Sullivan adds that the Rangers continue to look for pitching help beyond Guardado, with names like Jason Jennings, Kris Benson, and Chad Cordero in the mix.

• Jason Jennings is still on the team’s radar.  His agent and GM Jon Daniels had multiple conversations last week.  Jennings, 30, struggled last season before undergoing surgery to repair a torn flexor tendon.  He should be ready for spring training and is likely to come cheap.
• The lines of communication remain open with free agent Ben Sheets, but there hasn’t been much progress.  Wilson believes that might change now that the Mets have agreed to a deal with Oliver Perez.

The D-Backs have an offer out to Braden Looper, but if that falls through Jennings could be next on the list.  Jennings last pitched effectively in 2006, when he finished 9-13 with a 3.78 ERA.  He lasted just 27 1/3 innings last season.  Renck claims the Rangers have also expressed serious interest.

Pedro Martinez, Ben Sheets, and Jason Jennings are also on the radar.  Piecoro figures Braden Looper would make sense based on his similarity to Garland.

The club has traditionally avoided incentive-based deals because they bring financial uncertainty, but Piecoro sees "indications the team might be willing to relax its policy." Piecoro names Ben Sheets, Pedro Martinez and Jason Jennings as possible fits for the club, but those pitchers are considered health risks, so incentive-based deals could work for them.

To Sheets’s credit, he did make 31 starts last year, so he’s likely to get much stronger offers than the other two.

• The Rockies are a long shot for Tim Redding following their Jason Marquis acquisition.  The Mets and Orioles still like him; he may command $2.5-3MM.
• Josh Fogg would like to return to Colorado, but has drawn interest from other teams as well.
• The Rangers and D’Backs are interested in Jason Jennings.  Jennings missed most of the season after signing with Texas for $4MM.  He had surgery in May to repair a torn flexor tendon in his forearm.
• The Mets are one team with an eye on outfielder Cory Sullivan.