• The Yankees have signed Mike Lamb and Terry Tiffee to minor league deals, reports Donnie Collins of The Scranton Times-Tribune. Both infielders were playing in the independent Atlantic League, Lamb with the Camden River Sharks and Tiffee with the Lancaster Barnstormers. They will head to Triple-A.
• The Mariners have signed Alex Periard to a minor league pact according to Baseball America's Matt Eddy (on Twitter). Eddy notes that Periard was originally drafted by Seattle GM Jack Zduriencik back when he was the Brewers' scouting director in 2004. The right-hander had a 4.71 ERA in 11 starts last season before Milwaukee released him.

• The Nationals re-signed Ron Villone, according to Matt Eddy of Baseball America (on Twitter). As Eddy points out, the 18-year veteran has been traded for Greg Vaughn and Andy Benes.
• The Camden Riversharks of the Atlantic League signed Mike Lamb, Toby Hall and Jason Johnson, according to Mike Ashmore of the Hunterdon County Democrat (on Twitter). Lamb, 35, was a pinch hitter for the Marlins last year after missing the 2009 season; Hall, a nine-year veteran, hasn't spent time in the majors since 2008 and Johnson, a 37-year-old right-hander with 11 years of MLB experience, has been out of the majors for two years as well.
• The Dodgers signed right-hander Steven Jackson to a minor league deal, according to Eddy (on Twitter). He appeared in 11 games for the Pirates last year, but got much more exposure in 2009 when he posted a 3.14 ERA in 40 relief appearances despite walking more batters than he struck out.
• The Reds signed right-hander Tyree Hayes, the son of former MLB third baseman Charlie Hayes, according to Eddy (on Twitter). Hayes, 22, has yet to advance past Class A in five pro seasons.
• The Twins signed former Royals prospect Joe Dickerson, according to Kevin Goldstein of Baseball Prospectus (on Twitter). The 2005 fourth rounder didn't play last year.
• The Angels signed former A's prospect Jeff Baisley, according to Goldstein (on Twitter). The 28-year-old played in 14 games for the 2008 A's and posted an .845 OPS in the upper minors of their system last year.

SATURDAY: The Marlins will designate Mike Lamb for assignment tomorrow, tweets Juan C. Rodriguez of The Sun Sentinel. 

The 34-year-old Lamb hit .189/.231/.270 in 39 plate appearances spread across two stints with the big league team this year. He was designated for assignment back in June when the Marlins called up Mike Stanton, though he cleared waivers and headed to Triple-A.

3:39pm: Clark Spencer of the Miami Herald tweets that Stanton will join the Marlins for the series opener in Philadelphia on Tuesday this week.

1:46pm: MLB.com's Joe Frisaro echoes (via Twitter) that Stanton is not in the lineup and says that there is a report out that he's been called up by the Marlins.

1:42pm: Juan C. Rodriguez of the Sun Sentinel reports that Marlins top prospect Mike Stanton is not in the lineup for Double-A Jacksonville this afternoon.

As Rodriguez cautions, it's possible that Stanton is just receiving a scheduled day off, however this news certainly meshes with the previous reports and speculation that Stanton may be on his way to Miami to continue his 2010 reign of terror in the National League East.

The 20-year-old righty slugger has shown tremendous improvement over last year and absolutely annihilated Double-A so far this season. His .311 batting average entering Sunday matches his on-base percentage from Jacksonville in 2009; his .441 OBP and .726 slugging percentage for the season are also each well over 100 points higher than his marks from '09. To date, he's mashed 21 home runs and walked 44 times in 238 plate appearances, versus 53 strikeouts.

Heading into the season, Baseball America ranked Stanton as the game's third-best prospect, behind only Jason Heyward and Stephen Strasburg.

• The Tigers announced tonight they've demoted Max Scherzer and Scott Sizemore to Triple A, with Armando Galarraga and Danny Worth getting the call.  Both Scherzer and Edwin Jackson have disappointed since changing teams in December's big deal.
• Hank Blalock comes to Tampa Bay determined to be a more well-rounded player, according to MLB.com's Adam Berry and Bill Chastain.
• The Marlins could make a 40-man roster move soon to bring back Mike Lamb, tweets MLB.com's Joe Frisaro. Lamb was designated for assignment last week and is currently in Triple A.
• Despite Adam LaRoche's successful 2009 stint in Atlanta (.325/.401/.557 in 57 games), the Braves didn't approach him about returning, writes Chris Vivlamore of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
• Alan Schwarz of the New York Times takes an in-depth look at the likely first overall pick in next month's draft, Bryce Harper.
• Nats manager Jim Riggleman says that the club will have to consider making a roster move with reliever Brian Bruney, writes Adam Kilgore of the Washington Post (via Twitter).
• Mets pitcher Oliver Perez won't accept a demotion to Triple-A if asked, tweets David Lennon of Newsday.  Perez has been bumped out of the starting rotation and placed in the bullpen.
• Tyler Kepner of the New York Times writes that Eric Byrnes and Morgan Ensberg are making the most of life-after-baseball.
• Brewers pitching prospect Jeremy Jeffress will have to wait a little bit longer to return to the mound once he is reinstated, writes MLB.com's Adam McCalvy.  Jeffress, the 18th overall pick in the 2006 draft, has tested positive for a "drug of abuse" on three separate occasions.

May 6th: The Marlins have designated Mike Lamb for assignment, tweets Clark Spencer of the Miami Herald.  Outfielder Bryan Petersen has been called up from Triple-A New Orleans and will join the team effective tomorrow.

Lamb has had just 18 plate appearances in 17 games this season for Florida.  The corner infielder spent 2009 in the Mets' farm system and was signed by the Fish to a minor league deal in February.  Soon after he signed, it was reported that the Marlins were still on the lookout for a lefty bat off of the bench.  It appears that they have found that lefty bat in-house.

The 34-year-old had a less-than-stellar stint in Triple-A Buffalo last season, posting an OPS of .669 in 119 games.

• Jordan Bastian of MLB.com provides his list of the top 10 prospects in Toronto's system and answers other Jays-related questions in a reader mailbag.
• MLB.com's Mark Sheldon writes that the holding pattern between Jonny Gomes and the Reds is continuing.  Sheldon says that Gomes might make his decision once one of the other second-tier outfielders – guys like Garret Anderson, Cliff Floyd, Endy Chavez, or Marlon Anderson – sign with a club.
• Susan Slusser of The San Francisco Chronicle says that Tim Lincecum's contract with the Giants will have future ramifications because it'll help keep his salary down after it expires. Lincecum will still have two more years of arbitration eligibility left when this new deal expires.
• The Yankees will be serious bidders for Cuban shortstop Adeiny Hechevarria once he is "unblocked" by the Office of Foreign Assets Control, reports George A. King III of The New York Post.
• Despite signing Mike Lamb to a minor league deal, the Marlins are still on the lookout for a lefty bat off the bench, tweets MLB.com's Joe Frisaro. 
• In a separate tweet, Frisaro says that the chances of the team bringing Kiko Calero back are slim, even on a minor league deal. They have concerns about his shoulder.
• Jim McLennan of AZ Snakepit posted Part Two if his interview with Diamondbacks' GM Josh Byrnes.
• John Tomase of The Boston Herald says that the Red Sox don't look like a team in transition, despite GM Theo Epstein's comments earlier this offseason.
• Here are the latest minor league transactions, courtesy of Baseball America's Matt Eddy. The Marlins signed outfielder Jason Lane to a minor league deal.

Lamb also received an invite to spring training, but will need to hit better than he did in 2009 to make the club. He spent the year with Triple-A Buffalo, posting just a .261/.299/.370 line in 466 plate appearances.

TUESDAY: According to Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel, the Brewers cut third baseman Mike Lamb today.  Lamb can either head to Triple A or become a free agent.  Based on his comments, Lamb isn't interested in Triple A.  The Brewers have instead decided to go with Casey McGehee in a backup infield role.  It's not a big financial loss for the Brewers, as the Twins are on the hook for most of Lamb's salary.

TUESDAY, 10:58am: Tom Haudricourt says Lamb’s signing will be announced today.  Haudricourt rejects the Rosenthal/Price report about the Lamb signing paving the way for a Hall trade.

MONDAY, 8:07pm: Rosenthal and Ed Price say the Lamb signing could prompt the Brewers to trade Bill Hall.  Hall interests the Yankees, but he has almost $16MM left on his deal.  Rosenthal notes that Yankees targets Hall and Mike Cameron are friends of C.C. Sabathia.

4:52pm: According to MLB.com’s Adam McCalvy, the Brewers are "closing in on a deal to re-sign free agent third baseman Mike Lamb."  GM Doug Melvin will continue discussions with Lamb’s agent later today.

• The injury-plagued Red Sox acquired Mark Kotsay to help compensate for their injuries. In exchange, the Braves received minor league outfielder Luis Sumoza. Nice acquisition by the Red Sox; Kotsay has been swinging a solid bat this season.
• The Twins acquired Eddie Guardado from Texas in exchange for minor league pitcher Mark Hamburger. Guardado has spent the majority of his career with Minnesota and provides a solid arm to the bullpen. To make room for him, they DFA’d Mike Lamb. Nice move by the Twins, with the added benefit of being able to see "Rangers trade Guardado for Hamburger" in the news. Now that’s a headline!
• The Phillies added a veteran player as well, when they acquired Matt Stairs from Toronto in exchange for minor league lefty Fabio Castro. Stairs should be a decent option off the bench, and he’s still perfectly capable of hitting the ball out of the park.
• Scott Boras continues to find ways to create controversy. He’s now claiming that Pittsburgh’s top pick Pedro Alvarez verbally agreed to his $6MM signing bonus after the midnight deadline, and is trying to demand that the contract be renegotiated for a higher number. The Players Association has filed a grievance on his behalf. Alvarez could wind up back in the 2009 draft pool. Here’s a look at some baseball blogs’ opinions on the matter.
• Minor moves: The Diamondbacks claimed Wil Ledezma off waivers from San Diego, the Braves signed Elmer Dessens to a minor-league contract, and the Astros gave one-year extensions to both Brian Moehler and Darin Erstad.

• Stark sees the Mets picking up Carlos Delgado’s $12MM option for ’09, taking them out of the Mark Teixeira sweepstakes.  He sees the Yankees in the mix for Tex.  Will Teixeira top the $140MM the Rangers offered him?
• The Yanks will also pursue a top flight starting pitcher, with C.C. Sabathia and Ben Sheets as Plans A and B.
• Stark does not see the Braves diving into megadeals for Sabathia, Sheets, or A.J. Burnett.  They’ll have payroll room, but could pursue trades or mid-tier free agents.
• Stark says friends of Tom Glavine and John Smoltz indicate they both want another go at it in ’09.  They’re hoping the Braves will offer low-base incentivized deals.  If the Braves spurn Glavine, I wonder if he’ll sign with the Nationals.
• Mike Lamb and the Phillies have mutual interest.  A trade might make more sense than awaiting his release, so that he’d be eligible for the postseason roster.
• A friend of Raul Ibanez says the Mariners are unlikely to convince him to re-sign.  They’ll snag a couple of draft picks if they offer arbitration and he signs elsewhere.  The prospect of losing a draft pick makes Ibanez less attractive to other teams though.
• The Dodgers are considering re-signing Casey Blake and moving Blake DeWitt to second base.

MONDAY: According to Joe Christensen of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune, third baseman Mike Lamb was designated for assignment today to make room for Eddie Guardado.   Manager Ron Gardenhire questioned Lamb’s energy level.

Lamb is owed another $690K this year plus $3MM in ’09 and a $100K buyout for ’10.  Several moves and near-moves made by the Twins in recent months have shown a willingness to spend some dough midseason.

Lamb’s move back to the AL didn’t work out; he hit just .233/.276/.322 in 261 plate appearances.  Maybe he can help out in a utility role for a team like the Phillies.