• Blue Jays lefty Jeff Beliveau has cleared waivers and been outrighted to Triple-A, per a club announcement. He had been designated for assignment recently after posting rough results over 19 MLB innings. The 30-year-old did manage 9.8 K/9 during his time in the majors, and was striking out over a dozen per nine at Triple-A this year. But he allowed four long balls in just 15 2/3 innings and had not generated much soft contact. The announcement seemingly suggests that Beliveau will take the assignment at Buffalo, though he’s not yet listed on the roster and would have the right to choose free agency.

Earlier Updates

• Righty Lucas Harrell has accepted an assignment with the Blue Jays’ top affiliate, per a club announcement. Depending upon the team’s deadline moves, perhaps it won’t be a lengthy detour. Harrell, 32, was knocked around in 6 1/3 big league innings this year after making nine useful starts last year at the game’s highest level.
• The Mets added righty Jonathan Albaladejo on a minors deal, the team announced (h/t Marc Carig of Newsday, on Twitter). The former big leaguer had been pitching for the indy ball Bridgeport Bluefish. Now 34, Albaladejo hasn’t tasted the majors since a brief showing in 2012. Over 66 total appearances in the big leagues, he owns a 4.34 ERA with 6.6 K/9 and 3.8 BB/9.
• The Rockies have acquired lefty Will Lamb from the White Sox, with an announcement confirming a tweet from Robert Murray of Fan Rag (via Twitter). It’s not known what Chicago will receive in return, but it’s surely reflective of Lamb’s struggles. While the former second-rounder has produced good results in brief stops at Double-A in recent years, he has been knocked around at the highest level of the minors. Over 120 1/3 total Triple-A frames, Lamb carries a 6.06 ERA with 7.8 K/9 and 4.6 BB/9.

• The Marlins signed right-handers Jonathan Albaladejo and Amaury Rivas plus shortstop Ed Lucas to minor league deals, according to Matt Eddy of Baseball America (via Twitter).  Albaladejo, 30, is best known for his time with the Yankees from 2008-10 where he posted a 4.70 ERA with 6.4 K/9 and 4.6 BB/9.  Rivas, 26, has spent the last eight years in the Brewers’ system and the last two in Triple-A.
• The Giants signed 27-year-old former Athletics prospect Javier Herrera, according to Eddy (via Twitter).

• The Padres outrighted right-hander Thad Weber to Triple-A Tucson, according to Corey Brock of MLB.com (via Twitter).  Weber was claimed off of waivers from the Tigers in late August and saw time in two big league games for Detroit in April.
• The Cubs announced that they have outrighted utility man Adrian Cardenas and right-handers Jason Berken, Miguel Socolovich, and Marcos Mateo to Triple-A.  Socolovich spent the bulk of the year in Triple-A for the Cubs and Orioles, posting a 2.11 ERA with 9.3 K/9 and 2.3 BB/9.  Berken was also claimed off of waivers from the O's and posted a 3.50 ERA with 6.1 K/9 and 2.4 BB/9 in 26 Triple-A starts.
• The Diamondbacks outrighted Jonathan Albaladejo, Tyler Graham, Mike Jacobs, Joe Martinez, and Cody Ransom to Triple-A Reno, according to the official MLB.com transactions page.  Albaladejo spent the 2011 season in Japan and saw just three innings of work for Arizona this year.  Jacobs, 31, hit .279/.362/.486 with 18 homers for Triple-A Reno.  Ransom was claimed off of waivers mid-season from the Brewers and hit .220/.312/.411 in 90 games.
• The Mariners announced that they outrighted first baseman Luis Jimenez to Triple-A. The 30-year-old appeared in seven games with the Mariners this past September after spending most of the season at Triple-A. Jimenez hit 20 homers with Tacoma, posted a .310/.394/.514 batting line, and was named his team's Offensive Player of the Year. The left-handed hitter can become a minor league free agent five days after the World Series ends. Seattle now has two open spots on its 40-man roster.

Zach Links contributed to this post.

Albaladejo, 29, allowed two hits in an inning of work last week, his only appearance of the season. He spent last season with the Yomiuri Giants and prior to that he had pitched for the Yankees and Nationals. Albaladejo owns a 4.10 ERA in 74 2/3 career innings and was part of the trade that sent Tyler Clippard to Washington five years ago.

Albaladejo, 29, allowed two hits in an inning of work last night, his only appearance of the season. He spent last season with the Yomiuri Giants and prior to that he had pitched for the Yankees and Nationals. Albaladejo owns a 4.10 ERA in 74 2/3 career innings and was part of the trade that sent Tyler Clippard to Washington five years ago.

• The Mariners have signed right-hander Josh Kinney to a minor league deal with an invite to Spring Training, reports MLB.com's Greg Johns (on Twitter). The 32-year-old allowed 13 runs in 17 2/3 innings for the White Sox last season, though he did strike out 20 and get a ground ball nearly 60% of the time. It was Kinney's first big league action since 2009.  The Mariners also announced ten other minor league signings: infielder Luis Rodriguez, righties Jeff Marquez, Matt Fox, Jarrett Grube, and Scott Patterson, lefties Steve Garrison, Sean Henn, and Philippe Valiquette, outfielder Darren Ford, and catcher Guillermo Quiroz.  Rodriguez, Marquez, Garrison, and Ford logged time in the Majors this year.
• The Royals announced that they signed right-hander Juan Gutierrez, left-hander Francisley Bueno, catcher Max Ramirez and outfielder Greg Golson to minor league deals. Golson appeared in nine games with the Yankees in 2011, but they released him last week. Ramirez didn't play in the Major Leagues in 2011, but he has MLB experience with the Rangers.
• The Diamondbacks have signed Jonathan Albaladejo, according to Joel Sherman of the New York Post (Twitter links). The 29-year-old right-hander spent the 2011 season in Japan after posting a 4.15 ERA with 6.6 K/9 and 3.9 BB/9 in four seasons with the Nationals and Yankees. The Mets were a finalist for Albaladejo.

• Brian Cashman flew to Maryland this week to meet with A.J. Burnett, writes ESPN.com's Buster Olney (Insider required). While it's not the first time Cashman has met with one of his veteran players during the offseason, the visit was more noteworthy because of Burnett's disappointing 2010 campaign. The Yanks' GM "made it clear" to the 33-year-old that the team still believes in him going forward.
• Former Yankee Tino Martinez tells George A. King III of the New York Post that he's bothered by the way Derek Jeter is being perceived this offseason: "It's making it seem like he is greedy. He is not being greedy. He is going through a baseball negotiation like everybody else. It's made him look like he doesn't know what's happening in the real world, and he is not like that."
• Within the same piece, King says the Yomiuri Giants sent the Yankees $1.2MM for Jonathan Albaladejo, who finalized a one-year deal with the Japanese club yesterday.
• Chad Jennings of the Journal News considers some potential landing spots for Jeter and shortstop alternatives for the Yankees in the unlikely event that the two sides can't reach an agreement.

• The Rockies offered Jon Garland a similar deal to the one he agreed upon with the Dodgers, tweets Troy Renck of The Denver Post.
• Tigers owner Mike Ilitch is willing to spend in order to make Detroit a winner again, writes Peter Gammons for MLB.com.
• The Yankees have signed right-hander Brian Anderson and left-hander Andy Sisco to minor league contracts with invites to Spring Training, reports Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (Twitter links). Anderson was recently cut by the Royals and is new to pitching after playing the outfield his entire career. Sisco threw 66.2 innings for the Giants Double-A affiliate this year after having Tommy John surgery in 2008.
• ESPN's Buster Olney asked several talent evaluators for their opinion of Manny Ramirez (Insider req'd). Most see him as a designated hitter (unsurprisingly) that is good offensively but no longer elite. One compared him to a healthy Nick Johnson, meaning good average, great OBP, some power. Almost everyone Olney polled suggested an incentive-laden deal, which is what Scott Boras is seeking.
• Richard Justice of The Houston Chronicle says the Astros need to make a big move in free agency if Drayton McLane really hopes to sell the team for $800MM. He throws the names of Carl Pavano, Jorge de la Rosa, Jeff Francis, Rafael Soriano, and Dan Wheeler out there as possibilities.
• Jonathan Albaladejo finalized a one-year contract with the Yomiuri Giants that will pay him $950K according to the AP (via ESPN New York). The Yankees released Albaladejo at his request earlier this month.

• Righty reliever Jay Sborz, 26 in January, signed a minor league deal with the Braves with a Spring Training invite, MLBTR has learned.  Sborz was outrighted by the Tigers on November 4th after posting a 4.74 ERA, 8.7 K/9, 4.9 BB/9, and 1.6 HR/9 with 19 saves in 43 2/3 Triple-A innings this year.
• The Twins signed Justin Huber to a minor league contract with an invite to spring training, tweets Joe Christensen of the Minneapolis Star Tribune.  Huber last played in the majors with Minnesota in 2009, and has a .580 OPS in 175 career plate appearances.
• The Royals announced that four players have been designated for assignment: Jordan Parraz, Victor Marte, Gaby Hernandez and former #1 overall pick Bryan Bullington.
• The Rays released first baseman Jose Ruiz, according to Marc Topkin of the St. Petersburg Times (on Twitter).
• The Tigers announced that they signed Al Alburquerque to a major league deal for 2011. GM Dave Dombrowski says the team has been impressed with the right-hander's winter ball performance and expects him to compete for a bullpen job in Spring Training. The 24-year-old has struck out 191 batters in 174 1/3 minor league innings in the Cubs and Rockies organizations.
• The Yankees have released Jonathan Albaladejo, who signed with a Japanese team, according to Mark Feinsand of the New York Daily News (on Twitter).
• The Diamondbacks claimed right-hander Juan Jaime from the Nationals, according to MLB.com's Bill Ladson (on Twitter). The 23-year-old right-hander didn't pitch in 2010, but he has a 2.42 ERA with 11.8 K/9 and 5.7 BB/9 in 111 2/3 minor league innings.
• The Blue Jays signed Mike Hinckley, according to Matt Eddy of Baseball America. The lefty posted a 1.93 ERA in 28 games with the Nationals from 2008-09. Last year he posted 6.8 K/9 and 3.7 BB/9 in 46 2/3 innings in the upper minors.
• Josh Barfield, Ryan Feierabend and Brandon Moss all got Spring Training invitations from the Phillies according to MLB.com's Todd Zolecki.

• Jose Julio Ruiz's new agent Mike Maulini tells Jorge Ebro at Nuevo Herald that the Cuban first baseman made the switch from Jorge Luis Toca after realizing that his much-rumored signing with a major league team was "long overdue." Ruiz had a $2MM offer in hand from Tampa Bay in February, but since then, the market has stagnated and the lefty feared he was in danger of missing his opportunity to play stateside.
• While Haitian baseball prospects exist, don't expect to see any of them signing with Major League teams, writes Juan Mercado in the Dominican newspaper El Dia. He talks with two coaches who complain that the MLB office on the island won't allow promising Haitian players to attend teams' academies because of the difficulty in verifying the players' backgrounds and paperwork. One source tells Mercado that the teams simply "prefer not to waste time" in fruitless investigations, while the two coaches call the policy discriminatory, saying many Cuban and Venezuelan players don't receive the same level of scrutiny. The only current Major Leaguer of Haitian descent is the Orioles' Felix Pie, though he was born in the Dominican.
• Several veteran players were signed during this offseason under the justification of mentoring developing players. But lost in the circle-of-life storyline is the idea that those veterans are being paid for their blunt critical eye. New White Sox backup shortstop Omar Vizquel brings the point home to Luis Rangel of Nuevo Herald when he says that mentee Alexei Ramirez "needs to move his feet when fielding. He has the tendency to stand still and not move to the ball." Ramirez committed 20 errors in his first full season at short, tying for fourth most among major league shortstops.
• Who says winter leagues help keep players in shape for the regular season? Yankees reliever Jonathan Albaladejo tells Esteban Pagan Rivera at Primera Hora that he shed 30 pounds this offseason after the team forbade him from playing in his home country of Puerto Rico. At the other end of the scale sits Pablo Sandoval, whose much-ballyhooed "Camp Panda" proved for naught when he came back from the Venezuelan Winter League in January heavier than when he arrived. 
• The Twins signed one of Sandoval's fellow Navegantes of Magallanes in Venezuela, righty reliever Yoslan Herrera, to a minor league deal, confirms Joe Christensen at the Star Tribune. Herrera, who defected from Cuba in 2005, was a highly touted prospect in the Pirates system but disappointed in his only brief showing with the team in 2008. He showed more promise at the Bucs' Double-A and Triple-A levels in 2009 and will start out at Triple-A Rochester for the Twins. The Cuban blog Terreno de Pelota first reported the signing on Tuesday.

Clippard, a righthanded starter, turns 23 in February.  He’s said to be a "finesse righty with a plus curve."  A move to the NL and a rotation spot means things are looking up for him.

Albaladejo is a 25 year-old who did a nice job in relief at Triple A and with Washington last year.  The Nats had snagged him as a minor league free agent. 

You’ve got to like this move for the Nats, even if it seems small.