12:36pm: According to ESPN.com’s Jerry Crasnick, the Rays have agreed to a minor league contract with Morgan Ensberg. He can earn $650K if he makes the team out of Spring Training.

Ensberg’s production has declined since 2005, when he hit 36 home runs, but he’d be a backup for the Rays, who already have Evan Longoria and Carlos Pena on the corners.

As Crasnick points out, DRaysBay was on this signing Friday.

There have been talks about a minor-league deal with Ensberg, an eight-year major-league veteran.

Ensberg, 33, played a little bit for the Yankees as well as the Indians’ Triple A team in ’08 without success.

• MLBTR live chat, today at 2pm CST.  Right after I finish my corned beef sandwich.
• RotoAuthority takes a look at the fantasy value of Randy Wolf.
• On Sunday I joined the guys from Drunk Jays Fans for part of their podcast.  A button to listen to the show can be found here.
• Paul Hoynes says the Indians’ Mark Shapiro will need "at least a month to narrow the field of suitors for players such as C.C. Sabathia and Paul Byrd to see if he really wants to trade them."
• RotoWorld says the Yankees have released Morgan Ensberg.

With Joba Chamberlain moving to the starting rotation on Tuesday, bullpen help was needed.  In 80 plate appearances, Ensberg put up a .203/.263/.243 line.

• Indians top prospect Adam Miller is pretty much done for the season.
• ’09 free agent shortstop Orlando Cabrera and manager Ozzie Guillen are not getting along.
• Peter Bendix explains the savings the Reds get by waiting to promote Jay Bruce.
• Morgan Ensberg is a DFA candidate, while LaTroy Hawkins may be getting there.
• Bret Boone’s comeback attempt has ended.
• Jeff Weaver (6.69 ERA in Triple A) can ask for his release if not called up by June 15th.
• Hank Blalock may not be in the Rangers’ long-term plans.
• The Indians designated Jorge Julio for assignment.

This could impact roster decisions Los Angeles will make on Monday, when they decide whether they can afford to carry twelve pitchers with so much uncertainty around their infield.

Ned Colletti, meanwhile, says he expects Monday to mark an uptick in trade chatter—but also that he’s content, for now, to fill his third base hole from within. It’s worth noting that  Ensberg’s spot on the opening day roster is still not guaranteed, and that Matsui is expected to return in two to three weeks, perhaps freeing up Loretta. 

Sarah Green writes for the Boston Metro and UmpBump.com. She can be reached here.

• Rosenthal adds Mark Loretta as a possible third base acquisition for the Dodgers.  Given their desire for a relatively affordable guy who can also handle second, Rosenthal has linked them to Ron Belliard and Esteban German previously.  Loretta shouldn’t be too hard to pry away from the Astros.  Though he can’t play second, Morgan Ensberg could be an option if the Yankees let him leave.
• The Nats are shopping Felipe Lopez, who’s said he wouldn’t be content on the bench.  Rosenthal says the Nationals have their eye on awful shortstop Angel Berroa as a possible replacement, which is strange on multiple levels.  Not only is Berroa not a Major Leaguer at this point, but the Nats plan to use Cristian Guzman at short.
• Royce Ring is said to be "perhaps the most available of the Braves’ out of options relievers."  Who needs a lefty?

Ensberg, 32, hit .231/.320/.404 for the Astros and Padres in ’07.  He earned $4.35MM, and the Padres non-tendered him in December.  The Astros had designated him for assignment in July after acquiring Ty Wigginton.  Ensberg has not been the same since seriously bruising his shoulder in June of ’06.

He hasn’t manned the hot corner regularly since college, but his performance in just under 300 plate appearances last year has earned him a legitimate shot at the starting gig. He played third base for 55 innings last year. Most of his time was spent at second base, which figures to be occupied by Ray Durham in 2008.

Frandsen is a better option than Feliz, but the Giants still might bring in veteran competition in the form of Morgan Ensberg or Joe Crede.  Baggarly’s club source said there’s a "good chance" of acquiring Crede if his back is healthy this spring.  Noah Lowry would be too much; Brad Hennessey maybe?

Joe would like to remind you, just this once, that he writes for River Ave. Blues, a Peter Gammons-approved Yanks blog.  Tim also contributed to this post.

• Amaro admits that the Phils are still considering upgrading at third base.  They’ve had discussions about Pedro Feliz as one such option, while Morgan Ensberg is not on the radar.
• It’s unlikely that the Phillies re-sign Jose Mesa.
• Also unlikely would be a Bartolo Colon signing.  On the other hand, discussions with Scott Boras about Kyle Lohse are ongoing.

At any rate, the Giants don’t have much going on at first and third base.  I like the idea of going after a cheap under-30 third base upside play like Dallas McPherson.  But I wouldn’t fill the spot with a vet just to fill it.  As for first, I’ve said before I’d just toss Dan Ortmeier there for 550 ABs in lieu of adding some stopgap.  But that’s just me; here’s the latest on Brian Sabean’s corner infield pursuits:

• Tony Clark is a target, and San Francisco is a good fit for him in terms of playing time.  He’d probably get a one-year deal and be paired with Ortmeier.
• The Mariners are apparently shopping Adrian Beltre for pitching.  Doesn’t seem to be a smart move for Seattle but it may be a moot point if they are nearing a Carlos Silva signing.
• No doubt Joe Crede can be had.  Paul Konerko, not so much.  Crede makes sense for the Giants in that they might be able to flip him if he has a good April-May.
• Morgan Ensberg is a free agent who would probably play for $3MM and jump at a full-time chance.
• Pedro Feliz remains on the radar, but apparently still wants three years.  C’mon now.
• The Giants have "moved in opposing directions" with McPherson, a Scott Boras client.

FROM 12-14-07 at 8:47am:

Reliever Akinori Otsuka hit the free agent market on Wednesday; he turns 36 in January.  With a career ERA of 2.44 in 232 innings, it’s surprising the Rangers chose to non-tender him.  Otsuka earned $3MM in 2007, and even with a raise he’d have been a decent play on a one-year deal.

Unless, of course, the Rangers believes something is still wrong with Otsuka’s elbow.  I think that has to be the case, despite a trickle of positive reports recently.  The Phillies are the latest team to express interest in Otsuka.  Also, Tom Krasovic suggested a few days ago that the Padres might look to bring him back.

Back to the Phillies for a moment – Steve King notes that they have no interest in free agent Morgan Ensberg.  Also, they’re still planning to watch Kris Benson throw next week.

These guys are the officials as of now:

• As expected, the Marlins non-tendered catcher Miguel Olivo.  Johnny Estrada was another casualty; these two make up the market for starting catchers.
• The Blue Jays non-tendered Josh Towers, a surprising move.  Some NL team could offer him two years and get league average work out of him.
• Mark Prior has been non-tendered.  Honestly if I were the Cubs, I would’ve tossed the $3.5MM his way just to see.
• Aaron Miles is now a free agent.
• The A’s cut Kiko Calero loose.
• The Padres have non-tendered four: Morgan Ensberg, Jason Lane, and pitchers Jack Cassell and Ryan Ketchner. RotoWorld speculates that the latter two, not arbitration eligible, could be offered minor league deals.
• The Royals cut the cord on Emil Brown.  He turns 33 soon; he hit an ugly .257/.300/.347 in 2007.  Brown earned $3.45MM in ’07.
• The Tigers non-tendered Chad Durbin, toss him into the free agent pool.  Guess those trade talks with the Bucs didn’t work out.
• The Twins have let go Jason Tyner.
• The Nats have cut bait with Nook Logan and LHP Michael O’Connor.
• The Dodgers wave goodbye to Mark Hendrickson.
• The White Sox have non-tendered Andy Gonzalez and LHP Heath Phillips. Joe Crede sticks with the Pale Hose for now.
• Adam Everett has lost his job with the Astros. It’d be kind of funny if the Orioles signed him.
• Per RotoWorld, the Angels have non-tendered Dallas McPherson. He’s full of potential, but he’s never come through. He’s only 27, though, so he could still catch on somewhere. Unless, RotoWorld notes, he has an agreement in place with the Angels.
• The Braves have non-tendered Willie Harris, though he had already been DFA’d.

–Joe and Tim