• The Nationals have inked righty Mitch Lively to a minor league deal with a spring training invite, the club announced on Twitter. Washington also made several other previously-reported signings official. Lively, 29, had pitched exclusively in relief as a professional before converting to the rotation in 2013. He joined the Nationals in the middle of last year after opting out of his deal with the Giants.
• Former Marlins right-hander Rick VandenHurk has signed with the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks of Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball, the team announced (Japanese link). Though VandenHurk’s big league career never took off, the Dutch hurler has a solid Triple-A track record and even more impressive numbers from a recent stint in the hitter-friendly Korea Baseball Organization. The 29-year-old VandenHurk has pitched to a 3.55 ERA with 9.6 K/9 and 2.8 BB/9 in 296 1/3 innings with KBO’s Samsung Lions over the past two seasons. He led the KBO with a 3.18 ERA in 2014, averaging 10.6 strikeouts per nine innings.

• If the Diamondbacks don't move one of their outfielders, look for Adam Eaton to open the season at Triple-A, according to MLB.com's Steve Gilbert. "That's not in a perfect world what we want to have happen," GM Kevin Towers told Gilbert. "But we're not going to move an outfielder in a lousy deal just to move an outfielder."
• Within the same piece, Towers says discussions have been held with the Diamondbacks' six arbitration eligible players and he expects those negotiations to go down to the wire. You can follow the Diamondbacks' arbitration cases and those of MLB's other 29 teams with MLBTR's Arbitration Tracker.
• Acknowledging it sounds crazy and doesn't really think it's going to happen, Adam Kilgore of the Washington Post urges the Nationals to sign free agent closer Rafael Soriano. Kilgore sees agent Scott Boras convincing owner Ted Lerner the franchise has a finite window of competing for titles and Soriano is the final, missing piece. 
• Earlier today, ESPN.com's Buster Olney suggested the Giants should look into signing Buster Posey to a Joey Votto-type extension. Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle, however, would be surprised by such a deal because the Giants have been burned by long-term contracts given to Barry Zito and Aaron Rowand. Schulman tweeted a good starting point in Posey talks would be the $53.5MM given to Tim Lincecum during his four-years of arbitration eligibility.  
• The Marlins are sifting through the batch of unsigned free agent relievers and are able to sign an inexpensive arm or two with the salary relief leftover from trading Yunel Escobar, according to the Miami Herald's Clark Spencer.
• Rick VandenHurk, released yesterday by the Pirates, will sign with the Samsung Lions of the Korean Baseball Organization, according to Naver, a Korean news service, confirming a report first tweeted by Dan Kurtz of MyKBO.net.

• The Pirates have released Rick VandenHurk so he can sign with a foreign club, the team announced (on Twitter). The 27-year-old right-hander pitched to a 3.06 ERA with 8.2 K/9 and 2.5 BB/9 in 129 1/3 innings last season, almost all with Pittsburgh's Triple-A affiliate.  VandenHurk is represented by Beverly Hills Sports Council.

Cleveland had designated the out of options 26-year-old for assignment after claiming him off of waivers from the Blue Jays. Toronto had signed him to a Major League contract in February, soon after the Orioles released him.

VandenHurk spent most of the 2011 season as a starter at Triple-A, where he posted a 4.43 ERA with 6.3 K/9 and 2.3 BB/9 in 154 1/3 innings. The native of the Netherlands has MLB experience in five seasons, but he appeared in just four games for last year's Orioles team.

It's been a busy couple of months for VandenHurk. The Orioles released the native of the Netherlands in February, the Blue Jays signed him to a Major League contract soon afterwards. The Indians then claimed him off of waivers only to designate his contract and outright him to the minor leagues.

VandenHurk spent most of the 2011 season as a starter at Triple-A, where he posted a 4.43 ERA with 6.3 K/9 and 2.3 BB/9 in 154 1/3 innings. He has MLB experience in five seasons, but he appeared in just four games for last year's Orioles team. He has a 5.97 ERA with 8.8 K/9, 4.7 BB/9 and a 27.9% ground ball rate in 181 career innings with the Marlins and Orioles.

• Indians outfielder Thomas Neal, who was designated for assignment yesterday, has cleared waivers, according to Jordan Bastian of MLB.com (Twitter link). The Indians outrighted him to Triple-A.
• The Padres announced that right-hander Erik Hamren cleared outright waivers. The Padres have assigned him to Double-A and now have an open spot on their 40-man roster.
• The Orioles announced that they outrighted left-hander Dana Eveland to Triple-A after he cleared waivers. They had designated him for assignment last week.
• The Mets outrighted Armando Rodriguez to Binghamton after he cleared outright waivers. The right-hander pitched at Class A in 2011, posting a 3.96 ERA in 16 starts. 
• The Cubs outrighted Frankie De La Cruz to Triple-A Iowa. They had claimed the 28-year-old right-hander off of waivers from the Brewers less than a month ago. De La Cruz spent most of last year as a starter at Triple-A, where he had a 3.88 ERA with 8.3 K/9 and 4.1 BB/9 in 137 innings.
• The Indians outrighted Rick VandenHurk to Triple-A. They had designated him for assignment soon after claiming him on waivers.

VandenHurk has bounced around considerably in 2012. The Orioles released the native of the Netherlands in February, the Blue Jays signed him to a Major League contract soon afterwards and the Indians claimed him off of waivers eight days ago.

VandenHurk has MLB experience in five seasons, but he appeared in just four games for the 2011 Orioles. He spent most of the season as a starter at Triple-A, where he posted a 4.43 ERA with 6.3 K/9 and 2.3 BB/9 in 154 1/3 innings. The 6'5" 26-year-old has a 5.97 ERA with 8.8 K/9, 4.7 BB/9 and a 27.9% ground ball rate in 181 career innings with the Marlins and Orioles.

VandenHurk, who is out of options, has experience in five big league seasons, but he appeared in just four games for the 2011 Orioles. He spent most of the season as a starter at Triple-A, where he posted a 4.43 ERA with 6.3 K/9 and 2.3 BB/9 in 154 1/3 innings. The 6'5" 26-year-old has a 5.97 ERA with 8.8 K/9, 4.7 BB/9 and a 27.9% ground ball rate in 181 career innings with the Marlins and Orioles.

VandenHurk, 26, has experience in five big league seasons, but he appeared in just four games for the 2011 Orioles. He spent most of the season as a starter at Triple-A, where he posted a 4.43 ERA with 6.3 K/9 and 2.3 BB/9 in 154 1/3 innings. The 6'5" native of the Netherlands has a 5.97 ERA with 8.8 K/9, 4.7 BB/9 and a 27.9% ground ball rate in 181 career innings with the Marlins and Orioles. 

The Blue Jays created 40-man roster space for VandenHurk by placing right-hander Alan Farina on the 60-day DL.

THURSDAY: The Orioles have placed Rick VandenHurk on release waivers, Steve Melewski of MASNsports.com reports (Twitter links). The right-hander, who was designated for assignment last week, could be claimed by another team before his release becomes official tomorrow.

VandenHurk, 26, has experience in five big league seasons, but he appeared in just four games for the 2011 Orioles. He spent most of the season as a starter at Triple-A, where he posted a 4.43 ERA with 6.3 K/9 and 2.3 BB/9 in 154 1/3 innings. The 6'5" native of the Netherlands has a 5.97 ERA with 8.8 K/9, 4.7 BB/9 and a 27.9% ground ball rate in 181 career innings with the Marlins and Orioles.

VandenHurk, 26, has experience in five big league seasons, but he appeared in just four games for the 2011 Orioles. He spent most of the season as a starter at Triple-A, where he posted a 4.43 ERA with 6.3 K/9 and 2.3 BB/9 in 154 1/3 innings. The 6'5" native of the Netherlands has a 5.97 ERA with 8.8 K/9, 4.7 BB/9 and a 27.9% ground ball rate in 181 career innings with the Marlins and Orioles.

• D'Backs manager Kirk Gibson told Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic that Tony Abreu cleared waivers and is going to Triple-A (Twitter link).
• The Royals told Bob Dutton of the Kansas City Star that Gregor Blanco cleared waivers and will be outrighted to Triple-A (Twitter link).
• Outfielder Nick Evans cleared waivers yesterday, GM Sandy Alderson told Adam Rubin of ESPNNewYork.com (on Twitter). The Mets outrighted Evans when he didn't make the Opening Day roster.
• Another Mets player, Luis Hernandez cleared waivers, reports MLB.com's Anthony DiComo. He's unsure whether he'll accept a minor league assignment.
• Cubs catcher Max Ramirez cleared waivers and was outrighted to minor league camp, tweets MLB.com's Carrie Muskat.
• The Tigers outrighted infielder Audy Ciriaco to create a 40-man spot for reliever Enrique Gonzalez, tweets MLB.com's Jason Beck.
• Retired reliever Billy Wagner was removed from the Braves' 40-man roster today, tweets David O'Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.   Wagner has no plans to come out of retirement, but if he did he'd have to play for the Braves in 2011.  The AP has details.
• Orioles righty Rick Vandenhurk cleared waivers, tweets Jeff Zrebiec of the Baltimore Sun.
• Mets reliever Jason Isringhausen, who didn't make the club out of Spring Training, agreed to spend two weeks in Port St. Lucie.  According to ESPN's Adam Rubin, one condition of the extended Spring Training agreement is that "if another team approaches Isringhausen in the interim about a major league opportunity, the Mets must either call up Izzy or let him depart."  The Mets chose Blaine Boyer over Isringhausen for the Opening Day roster, which so far has allowed them to retain both relievers.
• Outfielder Brandon Boggs, outrighted by the Brewers yesterday, accepted his Triple-A assignment according to Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel.

• Lefty Mark Hendrickson is among the team's cuts, tweets MLB.com's Brittany Ghiroli.  Hendrickson can opt out rather than report to the minors.  Given his success against lefties, he should be able to find work in the big leagues.
• Reliever David Riske is also one of today's cuts, reports Ghiroli.  She says Riske left camp for personal reasons, and the team isn't sure whether he'll join them in Triple-A.  He too has the ability to opt out. 
• Righty Rick VandenHurk has been cut, reports Ghiroli.  Since the Dutchman is out of options, he'll have to clear waivers to remain with the organization.  The O's snagged VandenHurk at last year's trade deadline in the Will Ohman deal.

Ohman, 33 in August, has a 3.30 ERA, 8.7 K/9, and 5.4 BB/9 in 30 innings this year with three home runs allowed.  He came a long way since signing a minor league deal in February, even spending a few days as the Orioles' closer.  He hasn't displayed any special ability to retire lefties since the '08 season.

Vanden Hurk seems an acceptable return for two months of Ohman.  This year at Triple A he posted a 4.68 ERA, 8.0 K/9, and 3.7 BB/9 in 98 innings, allowing 11 home runs.  He's had multiple stints at that level and also has 155.6 big league innings under his belt.  Strikeouts have been there, but everything else has been an issue (including health).  Baseball America ranked Vanden Hurk 13th among Marlins prospects before the '07 season, noting that he was signed at 17 out of the team's Dutch academy.  Did you know the Marlins had a Dutch academy?  BA described Vanden Hurk as "smart and coachable."

Dan Connolly of the Baltimore Sun first tweeted that Ohman was traded, and Juan C. Rodriguez of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel tweeted that Vanden Hurk was the return.

• No surprise here, but the Marlins won't be players for any reputable free agents. In fact, were you aware that over the past three offseasons, the most the Marlins have spent on any one free agent was the $2MM they gave Luis Gonzalez in 2007? Needless to say, Matt Holliday and Jason Bay aren't headed to South Florida.
• The Giants have been one of the most outspoken suitors for Dan Uggla, but the Marlins have asked for Madison Bumgarner in any deal for Uggla. The Giants top pitching prospect is a hefty price to pay, and could lead the Giants to pursue other avenues to add some thunder.
• As we've heard before, Renyel Pinto and Matt Lindstrom could very well be moved at the Winter Meetings.
• Even if Pinto and Lindstrom stay put, the Marlins will be on the lookout for affordable bullpen help now that Kiko Calero and Brendan Donnelly have departed.
• The Marlins will turn to internal options such as Gaby Sanchez and Logan Morrison to replace departed free agent Nick Johnson and his monstrous OBP.
• Josh Johnson and Ricky Nolasco are the team's two locks for the starting rotation. From there, a combination of Anibal Sanchez, Andrew Miller, Sean West, Rick VandenHurk, Chris Volstad, and Hayden Penn will fill out the final three spots.

Spencer closes, quoting Marlins president of baseball operations Larry Beinfest: "We'll definitely be active… There's no reason to go there and not do anything. Whether that leads to anything is anyone's guess."