• Former Padres second baseman Matt Antonelli has retired from baseball, according to Chris Cotillo of MLBDailyDish.com (via Twitter).  MLBTR has confirmed the news.  The 28-year-old will become a student assistant coach at Wake Forest next season and finish up his degree.  Antonelli, who was the No. 17 pick in the 2006 draft, spent the bulk of his career in the minors where he slashed .254/.365/.386 across parts of eight seasons.

• The Diamondbacks released right-hander Nelson Figueroa.  The 38-year-old spent 2012 with the Yankees and Red Sox's Triple-A affiliates before hooking on with Arizona in December on a minor league deal.  The veteran posted a 3.89 ERA with 5.4 K/9 and 2.9 BB/9 in 15 starts and ten relief appearances last season but has allowed 26 earned runs through four starts this year.
• The Indians released second baseman Matt Antonelli.  The former first round pick spent time with the Yankees and Orioles Triple-A affiliates last season.  This year, the 28-year-old saw times in just three Triple-A games for Cleveland before being cut loose.

• Chuck James has indicated that the Mets released him from Triple-A Buffalo, Adam Rubin of ESPNNewYork.com reports (on Twitter). The Mets signed the left-hander to a minor league deal in December and he posted a 4.57 ERA with 9.1 K/9 and 3.7 BB/9 in 18 appearances at Triple-A.
• The Yankees released infielder Matt Antonelli, the team announced on its website. The Yankees claimed Antonelli from the Orioles in May then removed him from their roster to create space for Chad Qualls this past Sunday. Antonelli, a 27-year-old former first round pick, posted a .203/.333/.294 batting line in 172 plate appearances at Triple-A this year.

3:38 pm: The Yankees announced they have acquired reliever Chad Qualls from the Phillies for a player to be named later or cash considerations. The Phillies had designated Qualls for assignment on Thursday. This is the second trade in as many days for the Phillies, who dealt Jim Thome to the Orioles yesterday for a pair of Class A prospects.

The Yankees needed to supplement their bullpen with the recent struggles of Cory Wade and the promotion of Freddy Garcia to the starting rotation because of injuries to C.C. Sabathia and Andy Pettitte. Qualls has struggled himself in 2012 with a 4.60 ERA in a team-high 35 games for the Phillies. 

Antonelli, 27, signed a Major League deal with the Orioles this offseason. He posted a .204/.351/.280 battling line for Baltimore's top affiliate before the O's removed him from the 40-man roster over the weekend. The Padres selected Antonelli 17th overall in the 2006 draft.

Antonelli, 27, hooked on with the O's in November and was hitting .204/.351/.280 in Norfolk.  Antonelli was taken with the 17th overall in the 2006 draft by the Padres and was thought to be in line for significant playing time at third base for Baltimore this year.

• The Orioles like Mark Reynolds’ defense better at first than at third. Duquette continued to downplay the likelihood of a major expenditure at first.
• Expect Matt Antonelli and Chris Davis to contribute at third base in 2012, though Duquette endorses the players in considerably different ways. "He looks like a ballplayer. He's got a good look about him, and he's a former No. 1 pick,” Duquette said of Antonelli. “If you take a look at Bill James' projections, they're projecting Davis to slug at .500 next year,” he said of Davis. Duquette added that he expects Antonelli to be healthy and likes his ability to get on base.
• Manager Buck Showalter prefers to rotate players in and out of the DH spot and Duquette will “be guided by [the manager's] preference." Don’t count on David Ortiz signing in Baltimore. “A 36-year-old DH would be a luxury for us," Duquette said.
• The Orioles will attempt to trade for a backup catcher and they have offers out to some minor league free agents, according to Kubatko (Twitter link).
• Earlier today, Jon Heyman reported that the Orioles have expressed interest in free agent Jason Varitek.

“We are pleased to bring Matt to the organization,” GM Dan Duquette said in a statement. “He is a versatile major league player who has a good offensive approach and strong defensive skills at both third and second base.”

MLB.com's Brittany Ghiroli was the first to report the signing, with Dan Connolly of the Baltimore Sun noting that Antonelli had signed a Major League deal (both Twitter links).

• Infielder Matt Antonelli will undergo a physical on Monday to finalize his major league deal with the Orioles, tweets Dan Connolly of The Baltimore Sun.
• Orioles GM Dan Duquette didn't sound terribly interested in signing a high-priced DH such as David Ortiz during an interview on WEEI (audio link, 9:00 mark).
• If Liberty Media decided to sell the Braves, Mark Cuban wouldn't pursue the franchise, tweets David O'Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.  A recent AJC poll showed 95% of readers would like Cuban to buy the team but the eccentric owner told O'Brien that he would prefer to buy a team that is in need of a lot of help.  Liberty Media has the right to sell the team after the current CBA expires on December 11th, but there's no evidence that a sale is imminent.
• The Marlins have already scouted Cuban outfielder Jorge Soler, reports MLB.com's Joe Frisaro. The 19-year-old has been working out for teams in the Dominican Republic, and yesterday we heard that the Rangers have scouted him as well.
• The Indians and Grady Sizemore are in "serious discussions" about a reunion, but the Phillies had interest in the outfielder according to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (Twitter link). Current GM Ruben Amaro Jr. and former GM Pat Gillick visited Sizemore in Arizona on the first day of free agency.
• “The free agent guys haven’t made me any offers,” said Yankees GM Brian Cashman to Dan Martin of The New York Post. “The free agent [market] is moving at a glacial speed. And the category I’m shopping in, I don’t believe guys are jumping off the board this week. The players I’m interested in won’t be coming off the board anytime soon."

• Matt Antonelli announced that he has signed with the Nationals on his personal blog.  The Padres' first-round selection in the 2006 draft carries a reputation as a second baseman with a solid glove and bat but doesn't possess a great deal of power, writes Pete Kerzel of MASNSports.com.
• The Yankees have claimed outfielder Jordan Parraz off of waivers from the Red Sox, tweets Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports.  The 26-year-old's time in the Boston organization was rather brief as the club claimed him off of waivers from the Royals just three weeks ago.

• Rockies: Manny Delcarmen
• Mets: Sean Green Chris Carter, John Maine
• Nationals: Joel Peralta, Wil Nieves, Chien-Ming Wang
• Dodgers: Russell Martin, George Sherrill, Trent Oeltjen
• Giants: Chris Ray, Eugenio Velez
• Pirates: Lastings Milledge, Argenis Diaz, Donnie Veal, Brian Burres
• Diamondbacks: Blaine Boyer, Ryan Church, Augie Ojeda, D.J. Carrasco
• Marlins: Jose Veras, Ronny Paulino
• Padres: Tony Gwynn, Scott Hairston, Matt Antonelli, Luis Perdomo
• Brewers: Todd Coffey, Joe Inglett
• Astros: Sammy Gervacio
• Braves: Matt Diaz

LaRue also cites Betancourt's reputation for mental lapses and a "slow learning curve" as deterrents for teams looking for infield help.

6:20pm: Ryan Divish of the Tacoma News Tribune cites a source close to the Padres who says that Headley is "off the table" in trade talks. He writes, "Yuni may be traded, but it won't be for Chase Headley."

Furthermore, Divish writes that any deal for Betancourt is unlikely, since the Padres are trying to dump payroll.

8:26am: Geoff Baker of the Seattle Times says Mariners shortstop Yuniesky Betancourt is being showcased for a possible trade.  He mentioned the Jack Wilson idea on Monday, though that seemed lopsided.  Baker says the Padres have also discussed acquiring Betancourt:

Two names I've heard mentioned as trade returns for the Mariners would be either a package of, or choice between switch-hitting left fielder Chase Headley  and Class AAA second baseman Matt Antonelli. I'm trying to pin down whether it is one or the other, or both, being offered up.

Baker says the Padres dangled the names of Headley and Antonelli, though moving Headley to get Betancourt seems highly unlikely.  Plus there is the matter of the $10.5MM coming to Betancourt through 2011.

Just a little more impetus for the Pads to get a deal done for an outfielder. Kevin Towers, though, says not so fast.  He’ll wait a week or so to see how Edmonds is progressing before pulling the trigger on any trades.  Edmonds, who’s in the last year of a two-year deal he signed with the Cardinals, will make $8MM this season. He’s missed 97 games over the last two years with a variety of aches and pains.

The strain may be worse than the one Edmonds suffered in 2003, causing him to miss significant playing time. Towers and Theo Epstein chatted yesterday over email, though Coco Crisp is seen as a long shot. Towers says Boston can’t have either Chase Headley or Matt Antonelli.

By Big Mike Glab

UPDATE, 12-4-07 at 9:15pm: Talks are ongoing.  Chase Headley and Matt Antonelli won’t be involved, but names like Nick Hundley, Will Venable, Josh Geer, and Wade LeBlanc have been mentioned.

FROM 12-4-07 at 2:39pm:

According to ESPN’s Buster Olney, the Padres are nearing a deal to acquire Luke Scott from the Astros.  No word on the return yet.  I’m curious – Scott seemed like a solid bargain acquisition and it’s no surprise Kevin Towers got him.