• Infielder Ryan Roberts, 1B/OF Shelley Duncan, outfielder Jason Bourgeois and right-hander J.D. Martin have all elected to become free agents, MLBDailyDish.com's Chris Cotillo reports (Twitter links).  All four players were outrighted off the Rays' roster earlier this season.
• Also from Cotillo (Twitter links), catcher J.C. Boscan and outfielder Darnell McDonald have elected to become free agents.  Both players were outrighted off the Cubs' 40-man roster last week.
• The White Sox announced they have outrighted David Purcey to Triple-A Charlotte. Purcey, 31, posted a 2.13 ERA with 8.2 K/9 and 6.0 BB/9 in 24 relief appearances. The club's 40-man roster is now at 36.  Purcey was one of Chicago's arbitration eligible players this winter.
• Left-hander Hideki Okajima and right-hander Chris Resop have elected free agency from the Athletics, according to Matt Eddy of Baseball America (Twitter link).  Okajima, 38 in December, pitched in five big league games for the A's but spent the bulk of the year in Triple-A where he posted a 4.22 ERA with 9.5 K/9 and 1.5 BB/9 in 37 appearances.  Resop, 31 in November, also spent the lion's share of the year in Triple-A and had a 6.81 ERA with 7.3 K/9 and 3.3 BB/9.
• Reds right-hander Jose Arredondo, Angels right-hander Robert Coello, and Marlins third baseman Gil Velazquez have elected free agency under Article XX(D), according to Eddy (via Twitter).  Arredondo struggled at the Triple-A level in 2013, posting a 5.87 ERA with 10.4 K/9 and 6.5 BB/9.  Coello made 16 big league relief appearances in 2013 and put up a 3.71 ERA with 12.2 K/9 and 4.2 BB/9.
• At Baseball America, Eddy has the full list of the past week's minor league transactions.

MLBTR's Mark Polishuk also contributed to this post

Donald, acquired from the Indians in the Shin-Soo Choo trade, was beat out by non-roster invitee Cesar Izturis. Fay tweets the deciding factor was Izturis' ability to play shortstop and serve as a backup to starter Zack Cozart.

Arredondo, who is in the final year of a contract he signed in January 2012 and will still be arbitration eligible in 2014 and 2015 as a Super Two, lost out to Manny Parra and Alfredo Simon for a spot in the Reds bullpen. 

6:57pm: The Reds and reliever Jose Arredondo have avoided arbitration by agreeing to terms on a two-year contract, the team announced via Twitter.

Arredondo, a right-hander, was eligible for arbitration for the first time this offseason as a Super Two, so he'll have two remaining years of arbitration eligibility after this deal expires. He's slated to hit free agency after the 2015 season.

Arredondo, 28 in March, rebounded with the Reds in 2011, his first season in Cincinnati, after missing the entire 2010 campaign due to Tommy John surgery. He burst onto the Major League scene in 2008 with the Angels, posting a 1.62 ERA in 61 innings for Anaheim.

For his career, the native Dominican has put up a 3.40 ERA, 1.31 WHIP, 8.5 K/9 and 4.3 BB/9 in 159 innings.

Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com first reported the sides were nearing a two-year deal last week.

• GM Walt Jocketty said he signed Navarro “purely for depth” at Triple-A.
• Jocketty doesn’t expect to sign Dmitri Young, the former Reds outfielder/first baseman who is looking to make a comeback at age 38 after losing 70 pounds. The Reds are looking to see what some of their younger players can do in Spring Training.
• Before agreeing to terms with Ludwick, Jocketty said Rick Ankiel was in the mix for an outfield job with the club, according to Groeschen.
• The Reds are “working on” a deal with Jose Arredondo, Jocketty said. The first-time arbitration eligible right-hander appears to be nearing a two-year contract with the club.

Arredondo posted a 3.23 ERA with 8.2 K/9, 5.3 BB/9 and a 42.1% ground ball rate in 53 innings last year. A two-year deal would cover the first two of his four arbitration seasons (he's a super two player). Arredondo, who missed the 2010 season with Tommy John surgery, broke onto the scene in 2008 with an impressive debut season in Anaheim (1.62 ERA, 8.1 K/9, 3.3 BB/9 and a 51.2% ground ball rate in 61 innings).

• Frank McCourt told Dylan Hernandez of The Los Angeles Times that the Dodgers' roster would look the same even if the team didn't have financial problems. He was also vague about future payroll plans if the multi-billion dollar deal with FOX were to be approved (Twitter link).
• B.J. Rains of FOXSportsMidwest.com points out that the Cardinals will have to make room for Brian Tallet when the lefty comes off the disabled list next week (Twitter links). He doesn't think they'll cut ties with the struggling Ryan Franklin, but he says it's "debatable." 
• MLB.com's Brian McTaggart reports that Joe Inglett has accepted his outright assignment and will join the Astros' Triple-A affiliate (on Twitter). Inglett could have elected free agency after clearing waivers earlier in the week.
• Nationals GM Mike Rizzo believes that pitcher Brian Broderick has a bright future in the big leagues, despite being DFA'd by the club earlier today, writes Bill Ladson of MLB.com.
• Manager Dusty Baker is curious to see if the newly activated Jose Arredondo can provide the Reds with the kind of pitching they expected upon signing him.
• Dave Gershman of Beyond The Box Score examined the market for Padres pitcher Dustin Moseley.

• Cubs GM Jim Hendry spoke with Cardinals slugger Albert Pujols behind the batting cage before today's game and Hendry denied that anything unusual occurred between him and the free agent-to-be, according to Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports. “I like Albert. We’ve always gotten along," Hendry said. "Great, great player. I admire the heck out of him.”
• Paul Sullivan of the Chicago Tribune breaks down a few of Hendry's recent moves before noting that it's a "do-or-die season" for the Cubs GM.
• Jose Arredondo's rehab runs out after tonight, though the Reds don't have to activate him, according to John Fay of the Cincinnati Enquirer. We can expect the Reds to make a decision about Arredondo's future Friday, according to Fay.

Arredondo, 26 in March, has a 3.48 ERA with an impressive 8.7 K/9 in 106 big league relief innings. The Angels non-tendered him back in December after we learned that he would need surgery. Because he's going to miss the entire season, Cincinnati made the move with an eye towards 2011 and beyond.

Arredondo posted a 1.62 ERA in 52 games (plus 3.2 scoreless playoff innings) during his 2008 rookie year, but struggled to a 6.00 ERA in 43 games with Los Angeles in 2009.  He was sent down to the Triple-A Salt Lake Bees at midseason and spent some time on the disabled list with a strained elbow ligament.

• Via Twitter, Jon Heyman of SI.com reports that the Padres almost dealt Heath Bell and Adrian Gonzalez to the Dodgers for James Loney, Russell Martin, Blake DeWitt, James McDonald and Ivan Dejesus. Wow.
• Danny Knobler of CBS Sports confirms that the division rivals considered a blockbuster deal involving those players.
• Knobler also says the Rangers and Angels both pursued Heath Bell aggressively this afternoon. The Angels and Padres were discussing Jose Arredondo, Sean O'Sullivan and Sean Rodriguez. 
• Brewers GM Doug Melvin says his team was involved in a "big one that didn't happen," according to Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
• The Crew also had interest in Jarrod Washburn and Brian Bannister.
• Melvin says everyone asked the Brewers for Mat Gamel and Alcides Escobar. Since the Brewers didn't want to deal either prospect and don't have the young pitching to offer rival teams, they had limited options.