• A pair of veterans are headed to the Marlins, per Matt Eddy of Baseball America (via Twitter). Lefty Travis Blackley and catcher Jesus Flores will join the Miami organization after being cut loose by other clubs earlier in the spring. Blackley, 32, has not seen big league action since 2013 and struggled in a brief stint in Japan last year. The 30-year-old Flores, meanwhile, has never returned to the majors since a five-year run with the Nationals. At Triple-A last year with the Royals, he slashed .230/.299/.373 over 271 plate appearances.
• The Braves have released veteran reliever Matt Capps, according to the International League transactions page. Capps, a former closer for the Pirates, Nationals and Twins, last appeared in the big leagues in 2012. He pitched just 12 minor-league innings in the last two seasons in the Indians system while dealing with shoulder issues, and he had not yet appeared in a game in 2015.
• The Braves have announced that they’ve purchased the contract of utilityman Pedro Ciriaco. To make space on their active roster, they’ve optioned lefty Ian Thomas to Triple-A Gwinnett. With Chris Johnson out with a hand injury, the Braves plan to go with Alberto Callaspo and Phil Gosselin at third base, and Ciriaco could provide extra help at third and elsewhere in the infield. The 29-year-old has a career .270/.299/.372 line in 498 plate appearances over five seasons with the Pirates, Red Sox, Padres and Royals. The Braves signed him to a minor-league deal in October.

• Outfielder Cole Gillespie has accepted an assignment to Triple-A from the Marlins, tweets MLB.com’s Joe Frisaro. Gillespie, 30, had the opportunity to elect free agency but has chosen to remain within the organization. The former third-round pick (Brewers, 2006) split the 2014 season with the Mariners and Blue Jays, hitting a combined .243/.300/.311 in 81 plate appearances. He posted a .690 OPS in 33 PAs this spring.
• The Rays have acquired Minor League right-hander Matt Buschmann from the Athletics, reports Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times (on Twitter). The 31-year-old, who is expected to serve as Minor League rotation depth, was a 15th-round pick of the Padres back in 2006 and has spent parts of six seasons at the Triple-A level. Last year, in his first and only season with Oakland, Buschmann worked to a 4.40 ERA with 8.4 K/9 and 3.4 BB/9 in 143 innings of Triple-A ball.
• The Braves have released outfielder Jose Constanza and veteran right-handed reliever Todd Coffey, reports David O’Brien of the Atlanta Journal Constitution. The 31-year-old Constanza offers quite a bit of speed (298 Minor League steals) and posted perhaps surprisingly solid numbers with the bat in 2011, but he’s slumped to a .555 OPS in 121 PA since that debut. As for Coffey, the former setup man hasn’t pitched since 2012 due to Tommy John surgery, but he enjoyed a nice run from 2009-12 with the Brewers, Nats and Dodgers, pitching to a 3.76 ERA in 225 innings of relief. MLB.com’s Mark Bowman tweets one more Braves release — veteran catcher Jesus Flores. The 30-year-old spent parts of five seasons as Washington’s backup catcher but hasn’t seen the Majors since 2012.

• The Pirates announced the signing of righty Josh Wall and catcher Wilkin Castillo to minor league deals with spring invites. And the club also added righty Chris Volstad, per Matt Eddy of Baseball America (via Twitter). Wall, 28, logged just one unsightly inning last year with the Angels but threw 44 1/3 productive innings at Triple-A. Oddly enough, Castillo has spent most of his time in the minors as a backstop but played only left field and second base in brief big league time back in 2008-09. The true utility man has been playing in Mexico since 2012. Volstad, of course, was a fixture in the Marlins rotation from 2008-11, but has seen minimal action since an unsuccessful 2012 run with the Cubs.
• Right-hander Hiram Burgos is heading back to the Brewers, Eddy tweets. Burgos was a 40-man casualty in September, but will remain in the only professional organization he has known. The 27-year-old made one brief, unsuccessful stint in the bigs. He missed significant time last year due to shoulder surgery.
• One additional catcher is joining the Braves organization, Eddy tweets, with Jesus Flores signing a minor league deal. A five-year veteran of the division-rival Nationals, the 31-year-old has bounced around in the upper minors the last two years and will look to extend his career in Atlanta.

• The Dodgers have signed Barry Enright to a minor league deal, tweets Chris Cotillo of MLB Daily Dish (on Twitter).  Across four big league seasons, Enright has made 26 starts and five relief appearances, posting a 5.57 ERA with 4.6 K/9 and 3.1 BB/9 for the D’Backs and Angels.
• Veteran outfielder Andres Torres left the Triple-A Pawtucket Red Sox and is looking for an opportunity with a National League team, SB Nation’s Joon Lee reports (Twitter link).  Torres enacted an out clause in his minor league deal with Boston, MLBTR’s Tim Dierkes reports (via Twitter).  Torres ended up making 95 PA in the Sox system, hitting .275/.298/.473.
• The Royals released catcher Jesus Flores, according to the Pacific Coast League website’s transactions page.  Flores inked a minor league deal with K.C. in March and posted a .698 OPS over 150 PA with Triple-A Omaha this season.  The 29-year-old appeared in 311 games with the Nationals from 2007-12 and spent last season in the Dodgers’ and Rays’ farm systems.
• The Angels released southpaw Justin Thomas, who has signed a $160K contract with KIA Tigers of the Korean Baseball Organization (hat tip to Dan Kurtz of MyKBO.net).  This is Thomas’ second taste of international baseball, as he made three starts last year for the Nippon Ham Fighters in Japan.  Thomas posted a 5.99 ERA over 20 starts for Triple-A Salt Lake City after signing a minor league deal with the Angels in January.
• The Dodgers released right-hander Juan Abreu, the team announced.  Abreu posted a 7.11 ERA over 6 1/3 relief innings at Triple-A this season after signing a minor league pact with L.A. during the offseason.  The righty has 6 2/3 Major League innings to his name (with a 2.70 ERA and 12 strikeouts), all with the Astros in 2011.
• The Nationals released right-hander Ryan Perry, the club announced.  Picked 21st overall by the Tigers in the 2008 draft, Perry posted a 4.36 ERA and 132 strikeouts (against 84 walks) over 169 1/3 relief innings with Detroit and Washington from 2009-12.

Zach Links contributed to this post.

• Indians first baseman David Cooper has cleared waivers and been outrighted to Triple-A, the club announced on Twitter. He'll be back in camp as a non-roster invitee. Cleveland designated him for assignment to make room for Justin Sellers on the 40-man roster.
• The Royals have inked catcher Jesus Flores to a minor league deal that doesn't include a Spring Training invite, according to the team's transactions page. Flores, 29, hasn't appeared in a big league game since 2012 with the Nationals but spent parts of five seasons with Washington's Major League team. In 1014 career plate appearances in the Majors, the Venezuelan backstop is a .241/.289/.375 hitter.
• The Rays have signed right-hander Sergio Perez to a minor league deal with an invitation to big league Spring Training, tweets Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times. The signing marks a homecoming for the 29-year-old, who was born in Tampa and played college ball at the University of Tampa. The Astros selected Perez in the second round of the 2006 draft, and he's climbed as high as Triple-A in the minor leagues, posting a career 4.74 ERA with 6.1 K/9 and 4.1 BB/9. He began the 2013 campaign with the Athletics and wound up spending the bulk of the season pitching for the Mexican League's Pericos de Puebla.

Flores posted a .451 OPS in 80 plate appearances for Triple-A Albuquerque this season after the Dodgers signed him to a minor league deal in January.  The catcher hit .241/.289/.375 over 1014 career PA in the Major Leagues with the Nationals since 2007.

Flores appeared in 83 games for the Nationals this past season. The 28-year-old posted a .213/.248/.329 batting line with six home runs and 12 doubles in 296 plate appearances. Flores, who bats and throws right-handed, prevented 27% of stolen base attempts against him in 2012. He'll provide depth behind A.J. Ellis along with Tim Federowicz.

• The Diamondbacks have non-tendered Wil Nieves according to Jack Magruder of FOXSportsArizona.com (on Twitter).
• In addition to John Lannan, the Nationals have also non-tendered Tom Gorzelanny and Jesus Flores according to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (on Twitter).
• The Cubs have non-tendered Ian Stewart, Jaye Chapman, and Zach Putnam according to MLB.com's Carrie Muskat (on Twitter).
• The Padres have non-tendered left-hander Juan Oramas, the team announced. He had Tommy John surgery this summer and is expected to miss the start of next season.
• The Mets also non-tendered Andres Torres and Manny Acosta, Anthony DiComo of MLB.com reports (on Twitter). Mike Pelfrey has been informed he'll be non-tendered by the Mets, Adam Rubin of ESPNNewYork.com reports (on Twitter). The Mets were expected to non-tender Pelfrey.
• The Braves will non-tender Jair Jurrjens and Peter Moylan.
• The Phillies plan to non-tender Nate Schierholtz, ESPN.com's Jerry Crasnick reports (on Twitter).
• The Pirates will non-tender Jeff Karstens, Rob Biertempfel of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review reports (on Twitter). Technically the Pirates are designating Karstens for assignment, Michael Sanserino of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports (on Twitter). The team confirmed the move.
• The Brewers have non-tendered left-hander Manny Parra, Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports (on Twitter).

Mike Axisa contributed to this post.

• A Mets insider told Adam Rubin of ESPNNewYork.com that the team will likely spend on one outfielder. It’s even too early to rule out a return for Angel Pagan, not that a reunion seems likely. Ryan Ludwick and Cody Ross are among the right-handed hitting free agent outfielders who could draw interest from the Mets, Rubin writes.
• The Mets have also made a list of backup catchers they might target, according to Rubin. Nationals catcher Jesus Flores, a non-tender candidate with a projected salary of $1.2MM, is among the catchers on the team’s list.
• The Mets will likely address their needs via free agency, team insiders told Rubin.
• Joel Sherman of the New York Post heard that it was “vital” that Wright’s contract with the Mets surpass Johan Santana’s $137.5MM contract in terms of total value (Twitter link). Wright's eight-year deal will pay him $138MM in total.
• Dave Cameron of FanGraphs  applauds the Mets for not giving up on the team in the short term.

• The Braves and Eric O'Flaherty avoided arbitration, Mark Bowman of MLB.com tweets. O'Flaherty will earn $2.49MM, just shy of his projected $2.6MM salary.
• The Orioles and Jim Johnson have avoided arbitration, Dan Connolly of the Baltimore Sun tweets.  The right-hander will earn $2.625MM in 2012, just north of his projected $2.5MM salary.
• The Red Sox avoided arbitration with Franklin Morales, Peter Abraham of the Boston Globe tweets.  The left-hander had a projected salary of $1MM and agreed to an $850K deal.
• The Rays avoided arbitration with J.P. Howell, agreeing to a $1.35MM deal for 2012, MLBTR's Ben Nicholson-Smith tweets.  Matt Swartz had projected a $1.4MM salary for the left-hander.
• The Royals avoided arbitration with Chris Getz, agreeing to a $967,500 deal for 2012, MLBTR's Ben Nicholson-Smith tweets.  Matt Swartz had projected a $1.2MM salary for the infielder.
• The Nationals announced they've avoided arbitration with catcher Jesus Flores.  Flores, who is represented by Praver/Shapiro, received $815K, MLBTR has learned.
• The Brewers avoided arbitration with outfielder Nyjer Morgan, tweets Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel.  The ACES client received $2.35MM, reports MLB.com's Adam McCalvy.
• The Royals announced they've avoided arbitration with catcher Brayan Pena, a client of Wasserman Media Group.  Rustin Dodd of the Kansas City Star says the deal is worth $875K; Matt Swartz had him at $900K.
• Orioles pitcher Darren O'Day avoided arbitration for a deal worth $1.35MM, tweets Dan Connolly of the Baltimore Sun.  Matt Swartz had projected the same for the Beverly Hills Sports Council client.
• Yankees righty Phil Hughes agreed to a deal worth $3.2MM plus performance bonuses, tweets his agency CAA.  The 25-year-old gets a $500K raise after a lost 2011 season.
• The Tigers announced they've avoided arbitration with lefty Phil Coke.  Coke, a client of Full Circle Sports Management, gets a $1.1MM base salary with $50K in incentives for appearances or starts, MLBTR has learned.
• The Angels avoided arbitration with infielder Alberto Callaspo, signing him to a one-year deal worth $3.15MM, tweets ESPN's Keith Law.  MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz nailed this one, projecting a $3.1MM salary.  Callaspo, a client of Eric Goldschmidt, received a $1.15MM raise for his second time through arbitration.

• The Orioles traveled to the Dominican Republic to scout Yoenis Cespedes this past weekend, writes Roch Kubatko of MASNSports. Among those in attendance were manager Buck Showalter, executive director or international recruiting Fred Ferreira, director of international operations David Stockstill, scout Carlos Bernhardt, and bullpen coach Bill Castro. Kubatko says O's brass is staying tight-lipped about whether or not they'll attempt to sign Cespedes.
• Kubatko's colleague Pete Kerzel writes that the Nationals could non-tender Jesus Flores, Doug Slaten, and Tom Gorzelanny before tomorrow night's deadline.
• There have been some reports that the Marlins have discussed trading Hanley Ramirez, but MLB.com's Joe Frisaro writes that the Fish aren't looking to Ramirez and those discussions were all intitiated by other teams.

• The Nationals prefer not to give players no-trade clauses, but GM Mike Rizzo admitted today that after giving one to Jayson Werth last year he'd do it again for the right player.   Rizzo also said he met with two teams and two agents today and he's not close on anything.
• Ryan Zimmerman's camp at CAA says their attempts at securing an extension with the Nationals have been rebuffed, reports ESPN's Jim Bowden.  The Nationals, however, maintain that taking care of Zimmerman is an offseason priority.  For more on Zimmerman, check out this November post.
• Mark Buehrle is the Nationals' primary starting pitching target, confirms Mark Zuckerman of CSNWashington.com.  Roy Oswalt is probably their second choice, and C.J. Wilson is a distant third.
• Free agent reliever Todd Coffey told MLB.com's Bill Ladson, "In my heart of hearts, if it's the right contract, I would look to definitely come back to the Nationals."  Ladson hears at least five teams have expressed interest in Coffey so far.
• Nationals catcher Jesus Flores is now represented by Barry Praver, Scott Shapiro, and Bart Hernandez, tweets Adam Kilgore of the Washington Post.  You can track representation for most MLB players in MLBTR's agency database.

• There's no question in the mind of MLB.com's Bill Ladson that Davey Johnson will be back as manager of the Nationals in 2012 as players and people in the front office have told said that they want Johnson back in the same role.  Ladson also writes that Carlos Beltran is not a fit for the Nats and believes that he should get no more than a one-year deal due to his injury history.
• The Red Sox will consider Phillies coach Pete Mackanin as a managerial candidate, sources tell Buster Olney of ESPN.com (via Twitter).
• Jorge Arangure Jr. of ESPN The Magazine spoke with Ruben Amaro Jr. and Ed Wade about how Amaro came to join the Phillies as assistant GM.  The former outfielder had zero experience between going from the field to the front office.  
• Nationals catcher Jesus Flores sounds like a player who may want to continue his career elsewhere, writes Adam Kilgore of The Washington Post.  Kilgore says that Flores doesn't seem bitter or angry about his lack of playing time, but he doesn't sound content.

• The Rays are not likely to trade B.J. Upton this summer, though the Nationals have been monitoring the center fielder just in case.  Though the Rays feel they have a long-term need for catching, they're not enticed by the Nats' dangling of Jesus Flores and Ivan Rodriguez.
• Scott Boras is the biggest culprit in trying to steal clients, says one agent.  However, the practice is legal if Boras reports all contact made with others' clients to the Players Association.  Last year Boras' free agent group looked weak before he snagged Jayson Werth and Rafael Soriano a few months before the offseason began.  This time, Boras won't be swiping Jose Reyes from Peter Greenberg, but he does have Prince Fielder, Carlos Beltran, Ryan Madson, and anyone else he manages to bring aboard.
• Realignment is unlikely to happen for 2012, since the schedule needs to be finalized by September.  Stark also explains that realignment may depend on the decision to expand the postseason.
• The Dodgers are telling teams they're weeks away from deciding whether to be deadline sellers.  If they do sell, it won't be because of money issues.  Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports agrees, saying MLB-appointed monitor Tom Schieffer would intercede if the team tries to make a move that's not in its best long-term interests.

• Even though Kevin Millwood has won both of his minor league starts and posted a 1.29 ERA, scouts say he doesn’t look very good. Millwood, whose fastball is averaging 85 mph, can opt out of his contact with the Yankees this Sunday.
• Rival teams are eyeing the Nationals’ catching depth, but they’re finding that after missing two seasons with labrum surgery, Jesus Flores isn’t ready.
• Sam Fuld has become an important piece for the Rays, but the Cubs expected to move him last offseason, according to Stark. Fuld had a history of getting injured, was behind Kosuke Fukudome and Tyler Colvin on the depth chart and was out of options and when the Cubs sent him to the Rays.