• The Indians announced that infielder Andy LaRoche has been released from Triple-A Columbus (via Twitter). LaRoche, 28, was once a modest prospect with the Dodgers but hasn't been able to make the most of big league playing time with Los Angeles, the Pirates and Athletics.
• The Yankees have signed Jonathan Meloan and assigned him to Double-A, reports Mike Ashmore of The Trentonian. The 27-year-old right-hander had been pitching in an independent league and turned down offers from Mexico and Asia to sign with New York. Meloan owns a 4.58 ERA in 17 2/3 big league innings with the Dodgers, Indians, and Athletics.
• The Braves have signed Fabian Williamson according to the MLB.com transactions page. The 23-year-old left-hander had been pitching in an independent league and has previously been involved in trades for David Aardsma and Eric Patterson. Williamson owns a 4.00 ERA in 472 minor league innings and has never appeared in the show.

• The Diamondbacks signed 34-year-old first baseman Randy Ruiz. He won the 2009 Pacific Coast League MVP and spent the past two seasons in Japan.
• The Rangers signed right-hander Jon Meloan, who has big league experience with the Dodgers, Indians and Athletics.
• The Padres signed right-hander Dennis Tankersley. Baseball America ranked Tankersley ahead of Jake Peavy in its 2002 handbook, but he hasn't pitched affiliated baseball since 2008.
• The Blue Jays signed right-hander Fernando Hernandez, who appeared briefly with the 2008 Athletics. The reliever has a 3.55 ERA with 8.8 K/9 and 3.5 BB/9 in nine minor league seasons.
• The Cubs released right-hander Kyle Smit, who struggled at three levels in 2011.
• The Dodgers signed right-handed reliever Blake Johnson, their second round selection in the 2004 draft.
• The Mariners released former catching prospect Angel Salome, according to Kevin Goldstein of Baseball Prospectus.

Gross, 31, hit just .239/.290/.311 in 243 plate appearances this year after signing a one-year, $750K deal last offseason. Despite the down year, Gross said he would return to the A's in 2011 "with bells on." Larish, 28, was claimed off waivers from the Tigers in August and hit .175/.277/.333 in 65 plate appearances with Oakland.

Neither Meloan nor Souza appeared in the big leagues this year. The former didn't pitch at all due to Tommy John surgery, the latter managed a 4.33 ERA with 8.3 K/9 and 4.8 BB/9 in 49 relief innings, mostly at the Double-A level level. 

Tampa Bay acquired Meloan from the Indians in exchange for fellow bullpener Winston Abreu back in July. He had a 5.02 ERA and a 1.61 WHIP in 57.1 IP split between the two organizations this year.

• Michael Silverman says the Brewers wanted players such as Michael Bowden, Lars Anderson, Jed Lowrie, and Josh Reddick from the Red Sox in various Sabathia scenarios.
• The Dodgers apparently talked about dealing Matt Kemp and one of Jonathan Meloan/James McDonald for Sabathia, Casey Blake, and Jamey Carroll.
• Baseball Prospectus’ Joe Sheehan analyzes the trade.
• Turns out Sabathia prefers CC over C.C.
• The agent for Brewers prospects Michael Brantley and Taylor Green believes both are in play as the player to be named later in the Sabathia deal.
• MetsBlog reports that Mark Shapiro approached Omar Minaya, suggesting the Mets had the necessary players to make a trade for Sabathia.  Matthew Cerrone believes the Mets would’ve had to give up Fernando Martinez and two pitching prospects.
• The Phillies were the Indians’ backup plan in case the Milwaukee deal fell through.  The Phillies weren’t a great fit because the Indians preferred a young power hitter to a young pitcher.
• The Yankees had interest, but the price was too high for Brian Cashman.  That price may have included Phil Hughes.  The Yanks reportedly required a signing window in any Sabathia deal, also.
• Cubs GM Jim Hendry says nothing’s changed for his team.
• Brewers fans are ecstatic to have Sabathia.

• Octavio Dotel is almost a lock to be traded, and Chin-Lung Hu remains a possibility.  Stark adds that Dodgers GM Ned Colletti scouted reliever John Malone, which I think means Jonathan Meloan.  The 23 year-old Meloan throws in the low 90s with a hard slider; he commands his fastball well but carries some health concerns.
• Regarding Jon Garland, we’ve already heard that the Mariners, Braves, and Yankees are interested.  Stark adds the Dodgers, Mets, and Phillies to that list.  However, he thinks Kenny Williams really just wants to trade Jose Contreras.
• The Astros, surprisingly, have yet to open shop on their relievers. 
• Michael Bourn is the Phillies’ top trading chip.  Some possible targets: Kameron Loe, Scott Olsen, Ervin Santana, Noah Lowry, and Dontrelle Willis.