Gonzalez joins Xavier Cedeno as left-handed bullpen depth at Triple-A Syracuse. Those two lost their best chance at a 25-man roster spot when it was decided that Ross Detwiler would start the year as a second lefty in the big league pen. The other southpaw in the Nats' MLB relief corps is Jerry Blevins, who was acquired by trade from the Athletics earlier in the offseason.

7:31am: The Nationals announced that they have signed lefty Mike Gonzalez to a minor league deal with an invitation to Major League Spring Training (Twitter link). Gonzalez is represented by the MVP Sports Group.

Usually one to hold lefties in check, the 35-year-old Gonzalez struggled in that regard last season, surrendering a .274/.336/.443 batting line to opposing lefties en route to a 4.68 ERA in 50 innings with the Brewers. However, his career mark of .219/.287/.346 is a significant improvement from last year's split, and he's just one season removed from posting a 3.03 ERA with 9.8 K/9 and 4.0 BB/9 in 2012 — a season he spent with the Nationals.

Washington has a crowded bullpen mix with Rafael Soriano, Drew Storen, Tyler Clippard, Jerry Blevins, Ross Ohlendorf and Craig Stammen each already set to earn north of the Major League minimum.

For more info on how waiver trades work, refer to the August trade primer that I posted yesterday. In the meantime, here is Friday's list of players who have reportedly been placed on revocable waivers…

• Mike Gonzalez: The 35-year-old Gonzalez was the most likely trade candidate of this group in July and is therefore the most likely to be claimed. He's earning a $2.25MM base salary this season, of which roughly $713K remains (his contract also contains incentives). He's appeared in a league-leading 54 games this season, en route to a 3.76 ERA with 10.8 K/9 and 4.0 BB/9 through 38 1/3 innings.
• Placido Polanco: Polanco, 37, is on a one-year deal worth $2.75MM with the Marlins. He's owed about $872K over the rest of the season but is hitting just .259/.313/.301. UZR hasn't been a fan of his glove work at third this season, but The Fielding Bible still considers him a plus defender.
• Aaron Harang: The 35-year-old Harang is owed roughly $2.22MM through the end of the season plus a $2MM buyout of his mutual option. He's posted a 4.89 ERA with 6.9 K/9 and 1.7 BB/9 in 95 2/3 innings since being acquired by Seattle, and advanced metrics like FIP (4.32) and xFIP (4.27) feel his ERA should be lower. A claim seems unlikely given his salary.

Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe was the first to report that Gonzalez, Polanco and Harang were among today's waived players (Twitter link).

11:09am: "We're not going to move him," Brewers GM Doug Melvin told Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel in regard to affordable right fielder Norichika Aoki.  Melvin noted that most of the players being traded are in their contract years; Aoki has a $1.5MM club option for 2014.

Melvin also told Haudricout he's not motivated to move Kyle Lohse, nor is he engaged in trade talks about today's starter, Yovani Gallardo.  Melvin isn't in active talks for any of his relievers, either, including Mike Gonzalez.  "Teams have to make offers," said Melvin who did acknowledge having one offer on the table for a pitcher, which he does not expect to lead to a deal.

• The Dodgers and Phillies have not discussed a Cliff Lee trade recently, tweets Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports.
• Though the Phillies are discussing lefty Lee with other teams, Rosenthal sees plenty of obstacles to a trade.  One is his current stiff neck; it would definitely help if he jumps in to start Tuesday evening against the Giants.
• The Phillies are "marketing some players aggressively, including Michael Young," writes ESPN's Buster Olney, but not Lee or Chase Utley.  Reportedly, the Phillies are currently trying to extend Utley.
• Retired closer Brad Lidge will sign a one-day contract Thursday with the Phillies and retire in their uniform, tweets Bob Nightengale of USA Today.
• The Nationals do not want to part with high-end young pitchers such as A.J. Cole, Robbie Ray, and Sammy Solis, reports Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports.

Papelbon is of the opinion that the Phillies need to undergo an overhaul, similar to that of his former team, the Red Sox (whose overhaul, ironically, included losing Papelbon to free agency). He says he does not want to be traded, but adds that he does not want to stay in Philadelphia if his team continues on the same path.

• The Tigers and Rangers have discussed the possibility of a deal that would send Joe Nathan to Detroit, Jon Morosi of FOX Sports tweets. Right now, though, the Rangers are asking a lot, and Morosi says there is "no momentum toward a deal." As MLBTR's Aaron Steen noted yesterday, Joakim Soria could close for the Rangers if Nathan were to depart. The Rangers could target the Tigers' current setup man, Drew Smyly, if they were to deal Nathan, Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News reports.
• The Tigers are not trying to trade for Papelbon, Morosi tweets, but Luke Gregerson of the Padres is a possibility (Twitter links).
• The Padres and Brewers are the top sellers for bullpen arms, CBSSports.com's Danny Knobler reports. The Padres can offer Gregerson and Joe Thatcher, while the Brewers have John Axford and Mike Gonzalez. The Astros, meanwhile, could deal Jose Veras or Wesley Wright, while the Angels could move Scott Downs.

• Braves pitcher Tim Hudson fractured his ankle against the Mets tonight as he was covering first base and the club announced that he will need to undergo season-ending ankle surgery.  Before Hudson's injury, Danny Knobler of CBSSports.com noted that Atlanta had some interest in acquiring another starter.
• The Brewers have shipped off Francisco Rodriguez, but Danny Knobler of CBS Sports tweets that plenty of teams are still interested in their remaining bullpen arms such as John Axford and Mike Gonzalez. The Dodgers are among the interested parties, according to Knobler.
• Cubs outfielder David DeJesus is returning just in time to be showcased for the deadline, but club president Theo Epstein doesn't think he's going anywhere, writes Paul Sullivan of the Chicago Tribune.  However, he won't make any guarantees.  "Does that make him untouchable?" Epstein said. "No, no one is untouchable, but we'll sit and weigh out the options as to what's best for the Cubs. Just because you may listen on somebody doesn’t mean you don’t appreciate everything he brings to the organization."
• Peter Gammons of the MLB Network reports that the Angels are receiving calls on lefty Scott Downs, who is a free agent at season's end (Twitter link). A deal is unlikely to happen, however, Gammons adds.
• One league executive told Jayson Stark of ESPN.com (via Twitter) that he has "no doubt" that the Phillies are buyers after talking to them.

Steve Adams contributed to this post.

The Braves' need for a southpaw reliever has increased with the plan to put Alex Wood in the starting rotation, possibly swapping roles with right-hander Kris Medlen.  That would leave Luis Avilan as the only lefty in the Braves' pen, with Eric O'Flaherty and Jonny Venters both out for the season due to Tommy John surgery.

Russell, 27, has a large platoon split.  He'd held lefties to a .187/.218/.284 line, but righties have hit him hard (small sample size warning).  Russell is earning $1.075MM this year, and he's under team control through 2015 as an arbitration eligible player.  Gonzalez, 35, joined the Braves from the Pirates in the January 2007 Adam LaRoche trade.  He racked up 125 innings and 26 saves for the Braves over three seasons, mostly after recovering from June '07 Tommy John surgery.  The Braves allowed him to leave as a free agent for Baltimore, drafting Matt Lipka as a supplemental pick in 2010 as compensation.  After spending time with the Rangers and Nationals, Gonzalez signed with the Brewers as a free agent in January this year.  He's always been prone to the free pass, especially against righties this year, but he's been strong against lefties.

Wright, 28, came to the Astros in the '07 Rule 5 draft, from the Dodgers.  They were able to retain him by keeping him in the Majors for all of '08, and he's improved since then.  Similar to Russell, Wright is under team control through 2015 as an arbitration eligible player.  His problem this year, against righties and lefties, has been an abnormally high batting average on balls in play and rate of flyballs leaving the yard.

Which other left-handed relievers might be available?  We'll have a full post on the topic later today, but Mike Dunn, Charlie Furbush, Oliver Perez, Jose Mijares, Darren Oliver, Scott Downs, Joe Thatcher, Javier Lopez, and Jeremy Affeldt are names to consider.

The Braves also seek a backup infielder to fill the void after the loss of Ramiro Pena to season-ending surgery; they'd prefer a left-handed hitter with more offense than Paul Janish, writes Bowman.  The Cubs' Luis Valbuena could be a logical candidate there, in my opinion.

Morosi says the D'Backs and Brewers have discussed Axford, Rodriguez, and Jim Henderson, while Knobler says the Brewers have told teams Henderson won't be dealt.  Interest from the Tigers and Orioles appears more preliminary, writes Morosi, and the Tigers and Brewers have not had formal talks recently.

Rodriguez and Gonzalez will be eligible for free agency after the season, while Axford is under team control through 2016 as an arbitration eligible player.  As a Super Two with 106 career saves to his credit, Axford's salary jumped to $5MM this year.  As Morosi notes, Axford's salary might scare some teams off, though his lack of saves this year will slow down his arbitration raises.  Even though a team can technically own Axford's rights through 2016, the focus for a team acquiring him has to be on 2013, with tendering him a contract even for 2014 a decision that will require more information and some thought.  It's one of the reasons the Brewers are reportedly willing to move him.

Axford started the season as Milwaukee's closer but lost the job after he allowed nine runs in his first 3 1/3 innings. Over the past five weeks, however, he's fired 18 1/3 scoreless innings in a row, striking out 18 hitters and walking just seven in that time.

A look at the custom Fangraphs leaderboard of relief trade candidates compiled by MLBTR's Tim Dierkes shows that each of the three relievers ranks in the top 20 in xFIP. All three are striking out more than a batter per inning, though all three are pretty significant flyball pitchers as well.

As for Gallardo, Brewers GM Doug Melvin spoke about the right-hander earlier this week. While he feels that Gallardo is important to their chances of winning games in the future, he also acknowledged that contenders will likely make him offers that he has to consider. Tim also analyzed Gallardo's case as a trade candidate earlier this year.

Yesterday, ESPN's Jayson Stark noted that the Brewers will listen on any position player other than Carlos Gomez, Ryan Braun and Jean Segura. I'd imagine that Kyle Lohse will also draw some interest from other clubs.

• Michael Gonzalez's one-year, $2.25MM contract with the Brewers could pay him up to an additional $400K in performance bonuses, according to the Associated Press.  Gonzalez will earn $50K for 25 games finished, $75K each for 30 and 35, and $100K apiece for 40 and 50.  The reliever told reporters today that he prefers to be called Michael rather than Mike, according to Adam McCalvy of MLB.com (via Twitter).
• Jason Giambi is working out and told Troy Renck of the Denver Post (on Twitter) that he hopes to play this season.  The 42-year-old will likely have to go to camp with a club on a minor league deal.  Giambi was said to be drawing interest from three or four teams in early December.
• Ugueth Urbina threw live batting practice in Venezuela yesterday and former Marlins manager Ozzie Guillen was on hand to scout for several teams, writes Luis Carlos Gonzalez of El Nacional.  "I told people from the Marlins, where I left behind some friends, and other teams, that Urbina was going to take the mound, and they told me to go see him," Guillen said (translation courtesy of Nick Collias).  Guillen added that Urbina looked good, though he needs to "keep working".
• Jim Bowden of ESPN.com (Insider sub. req'd) looked at five GMs that could be on the hotseat in 2013, including Neal Huntington of the Pirates and Royals GM Dayton Moore.
• If the Pirates do not finalize their deal with Francisco Liriano, reliever-turned-starter Chris Leroux is another option for the rotation, tweets Rob Biertempfel of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review.  Liriano suffered an arm injury in December, leading the Bucs give second thought to the two-year, $12.75MM agreement.

Gonzalez, 34, pitched to a 3.03 ERA with 9.8 K/9 and 4.0 BB/9 in 35 2/3 innings for the Nationals last season after signing in early-May. He held left-handed batters to a .179/.257/.269 batting line with 23 strikeouts in 75 plate appearances. MLBTR's Tim Dierkes did not rank Gonzalez as one of the offseason's Top 50 Free Agents.

Relief help was a priority for the Brewers this offseason after their bullpen posted a MLB-worst 4.66 ERA in 2012. Earlier this month they acquired Burke Badenhop from the Rays and signed Tom Gorzelanny, another former Nationals left-hander. ESPN's Jim Bowden says (on Twitter) the Nats and Reds were also in on Gonzalez.

Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports first broke news of the agreement (Twitter links). Jim Bowden of ESPN and MLB Network Radio on Sirius XM tweeted the financial details, and MLB.com's Adam McCalvy tweeted that Gonzalez's physical would take place after New Year's Day (on Twitter).

Steve Adams contributed to this post.

• The Red Sox, Rays, Nationals, and Royals scouted Javier Vazquez during his Puerto Rican League outing tonight, reports Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (on Twitter). The right-hander was said to be pitching at 93 mph with the fastball.
• The Rockies will scout Brandon Webb's throwing session, which will take place in the coming weeks according to MLB.com's Thomas Harding. The Twins will also be in attendance.
• "Obviously, it's been a little slow, a little slower than anticipated … It's going to eventually work itself out. It's not like I'm not going to be out of baseball," said Kyle Lohse to MLB.com's Mike Bauman. The right-hander has yet to receive an offer other than the qualifying offer he rejected.
• "I haven't really thought other than that … If something happens, it happens, but I'm looking forward to getting back to that beautiful facility again and start going," said Jason Kubel to MLB.com's Steve Gilbert when asked about trade rumors. The Diamondbacks are expected to move one of their spare outfielders before Spring Training.
• The Brewers will probably announce the Mike Gonzalez signing on Monday, reports Tom Haudricourt of The Journal Sentinel (on Twitter). The holidays delayed the finalization of the contract.

• Based on comments Epstein made on WEEI’s Hot Stove Show (audio link), it doesn’t sound like the Cubs will be targeting impact players like Michael Bourn, Rafael Soriano, Kyle Lohse, and Adam LaRoche since they are tied to draft pick compensation.  Epstein explained that the changes to the draft and international spending mean that high draft picks are more valuable than ever, writes Patrick Mooney of CSNChicago.com.
• John Fay of the Cincinnati Enquirer writes that Reds GM Walt Jocketty expects a decision from Scott Rolen on whether he will play in 2013 in the next seven-to-ten days.  Fay personally expects Rolen to call it a career.
• Earlier today, Jocketty said that he is looking to sign Mat Latos and Homer Bailey to multiyear deals.
• The Brewers still haven’t made their signing of left-hander Mike Gonzalez official, but that’s likely to happen on Friday, tweets Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel.  Gonzalez agreed to a one-year, $2.25MM deal plus incentives late last week.

• On today’s edition of the Rosters & Rumblings podcast, MLBTR’s Ben Nicholson-Smith and Jason Martinez of MLB Depth Charts discussed the Mariners–Angels trade, the Cubs’ new-look rotation, and some recent trade rumors.
• The Dodgers are still kicking the tires on Joel Hanrahan of the Pirates and free agent Brian Wilson as they look to deepen their bullpen, but they aren't in the mix for Rafael Soriano, according to Jim Bowden of ESPN.com (on Twitter).
• The Nationals continue to talk to Mike Gonzalez about returning and the Reds are also in pursuit, Bowden tweets.
• Sources tell Jeff Wilson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram (on Twitter) that the Rangers were never serious bidders for Edwin Jackson.  The right-hander signed a four-year, $52MM contract with the Cubs earlier today.
• Mariners General Manager Jack Zduriencik has landed a bigger bat for the middle of his lineup, but that doesn't mean Seattle is done with its roster maneuverings, writes Greg Johns of MLB.com.  The Mariners still have financial flexibility since they should several million dollars in the difference between what Kendrys Morales ($4.8MM) will earn compared to Jason Vargas ($7.4MM) in their final year of arbitration eligibility.  
• Dexter Fowler told Jim Bowden of SiriusXM (on Twitter) that Rockies General Manager Bill Geivett told him that it would take a lot in return for them to deal him to the Braves.  Atlanta is targeting Fowler along with Emilio Bonifacio and other outfield options.