The eight-year veteran has spent his entire MLB career with the Angels as a backup at the corner infield and outfield positions. He has a .276/.322/.401 career line, but fell off to .121/.171/.182 last year and the Angels released him.

• The Phillies have signed longtime Angel Robb Quinlan to a minor league deal, according to Mike DiGiovanna of the LA Times (on Twitter).
• The Philadelphia Inquirer's Matt Gelb tweets that the Phils have released Jesus Sanchez and Yohan Flande to clear some space on their 40-man roster.
• MLB.com's Joe Frisaro has a list of non-roster invitees for the Marlins, including lefties Darin Downs and Victor Garate, right-hander Frank Mata, former Met Ruben Gotay, infielder Tim Torres,and outfielders Josh Kroeger and Chris Lubanski. As Frisaro points out, the Fish have struck gold in the past with non-roster invitees such as Jorge Cantu, Clay Hensley, and Kiko Calero.

Quinlan drew interest from the Twins, Rockies and Dodgers last winter, before signing with the Angels in February. As usual, he played all four corner positions in 2010. Earlier today, the Angels released another veteran role player, Brian Stokes.

The Rockies, Twins and Dodgers had some interest in Quinlan this offseason.

• Larry Stone of the Seattle Times looks at some of the free agents left on the market and wonders if the Mariners will be enticed to make one more move this winter.  Neither Stone nor MLB.com's Jim Street think an Erik Bedard return is likely. 
• Chris Haft of MLB.com covers a number of Giants-related topics in a mailbag, including how outfielder Fred Lewis "appears to have fallen out of favor with the organization" and "probably needs a change of scenery."
• Tim Wakefield tells CSNNE.com's Art Martone that he intends "on being one of the five starters" in the Boston rotation next season.
• SI.com's Jon Heyman reports that the Chuck Greenberg/Nolan Ryan-led ownership group paid a cool $570MM for the Rangers.
• Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel was told by Brewers GM Doug Melvin that he is "working on one other thing….It would be a minor-league deal."  Haudricourt speculates that Milwaukee is looking for a left-handed reserve outfielder and former Brewer Gabe Gross could be an option.
• The Dodgers are another team looking for a lefty backup outfielder, tweets MLB.com's Ken Gurnick.
• MLB.com's Mark Bowman says that a recent Chipper Jones comment about Atlanta possibly bringing back Javier Vazquez after 2010 is "wishful thinking" on the part of the Braves superstar.  Bowman discusses a few other topics in the mailbag piece, including the wisdom of the Braves buying out the arbitration years of Jair Jurrjens and/or Tommy Hanson.
  
• Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports (via Twitter) says that Robb Quinlan was a reserve option for the Twins if they hadn't signed Jim Thome.  The right-handed Quinlan might have fit into the Minnesota bench a bit better than Thome, but if you had to pick between the two, I think most people would give Thome the nod.
  

• Three or four teams are interested in Padres closer Heath Bell, but the team isn't really looking to move him.  Rosenthal sees Bell getting just $3-4MM in his second arbitration year; that seems light to me.
• Rosenthal reminds us that the Rockies are eyeing Robb Quinlan and Fernando Tatis as bench candidates.  He wonders, though, if the Rockies, Cardinals, A's, and Cubs could find starting infielders at bargain prices as the offseason wears on.  Rosenthal says Miguel Tejada is looking for two years and $16MM; I can't think of a team that would come close to that.
• The Cardinals believed Scott Boras might've taken Matt Holliday elsewhere on a one-year deal, though a rival executive believes that was unlikely.
• The Pirates' interest in Rick Ankiel is obvious – Frank Coonelly has said as much in multiple chats with fans.  A couple of Rosenthal sources were divided on the Bucs' chances of signing Ankiel, who would play right field for them.  The only other known suitor is the Royals.

• MLB.com's Lyle Spencer tweets of the Dodgers' interest in Robb Quinlan for a fourth outfielder role.  The Rockies and Twins are other known suitors.
• Red Sox GM Theo Epstein appeared on the Toucher and Rich show this morning.  He spoke about the team's offense, Adrian Gonzalez, Mike Lowell, and the "bridge period" comment; MLB.com's Ian Browne provides the transcript.
• MASN's Steve Melewski says the Red Sox rescinded the contract given to reliever Bob McCrory after he failed his physical.
• Tommy Rancel of DRays Bay looks at the team-friendly deals signed by Paul Cohen clients.
• Cardinals manager Tony La Russa told Cam Inman of The Contra Costa Times there's a non-zero chance the team adds Mark McGwire to the player roster on August 31st.
• There is currently no timetable for the Cardinals to sit down with Albert Pujols' agents, GM John Mozeliak told Joe Strauss of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.  The Cards are ready to talk when Pujols is.
• Maury Brown of The Biz of Baseball is beta-testing an MLB salary database.  Also of note: Cot's Baseball Contracts has joined the Baseball Prospectus family.
• ESPN's Buster Olney wrote yesterday that Khalil Greene is working hard and seeks a big league deal.  Greene can play shortstop or third base, and Olney sees Oakland as a potential match.
• The Pirates aren't far apart with Zach Duke on his 2010 salary, writes Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.  Kovacevic believes Duke's $2.2MM salary could double in his second arbitration year.  A multiyear deal is not in the works.
• Murray Chass chronicles the blank contract Andre Dawson gave to the Cubs in the spring of '87.
• Joe Pawlikowski of River Ave. Blues looks at Nick Johnson's injury history in detail.
• A December 30th tweet from SI's Melissa Segura notes that Dominican lefty Victor Payano signed with the Rangers.  Payano had a deal with the Red Sox in July for $900K that was voided due to shoulder concerns.  Here's a video of the 16-year-old courtesy of Kiley McDaniel.

• Phils GM Ruben Amaro Jr. tells Andy Martino of the Philadelphia Inquirer that he is not interested in Aroldis Chapman.
• It doesn't look like the Reds will be spending big on a shortstop like Orlando Cabrera or Miguel Tejada, according to MLB.com's Mark Sheldon.
• The Nationals see John Smoltz as a starter, according to MLB.com's Bill Ladson. Ken Rosenthal says Smoltz could return to St. Louis.
• John Lackey, Joel Pineiro, Jason Marquis, Jon Garland and Doug Davis all have the Mets' attention, according to Joel Sherman of the New York Post.
• The D'Backs will look to add a position player and solidify their bullpen now, according to MLB.com's Steve Gilbert.
• The Red Sox discussed a Curtis Granderson trade with the Tigers, according to Amalie Benjamin of the Boston Globe. Apparently, the Tigers wanted Clay Buchholz and Jacoby Ellsbury (Michael Silverman reporting).
• The Dodgers were interested in Jackson, but didn't want to meet the Tigers' asking price, according to Dylan Hernandez of the LA Times.
• The Dodgers like Paul Maholm, according to Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports.
• La Velle E. Neal III of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune reports that the Twins and Robb Quinlan may be a fit for one another. The Rockies are interested, too.
• Yankees GM Brian Cashman told Marc Carig of the Star Ledger that he only has interest in Hideki Matsui as a DH.
• Bobby Seay, Dusty Ryan and Jeff Larish are all available in trades, according to Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports.

• Add Robb Quinlan to the list of utility men on the Rockies' radar, according to Troy E. Renck of the Denver Post.  Tracy Ringolsby of FOX Sports names Melvin Mora as another target.  MLB.com's Lyle Spencer tweets of interest from the Twins in Quinlan.
• The Mariners' deal for Chone Figgins is official, tweets the Brock & Salk show. The team press release notes it's a four-year deal with an option for 2014.
• Cardinals manager Tony La Russa acknowledged interest in Miguel Tejada, talking to Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.  By the way, Astros GM Ed Wade is certain he won't re-sign Tejada, tweets Alyson Footer.  Tejada apparently wants multiple years.
• MLB.com's T.R. Sullivan says the Rangers are considering free agent catchers such as Rod Barajas, Jason Kendall, Yorvit Torrealba, and Jose Molina.
• WEEI's Alex Speier passes along Scott Boras' comments from an XM Radio appearance.  Boras discussed Matt Holliday, Johnny Damon, Ivan Rodriguez, and Adrian Beltre. 
• The Brewers are discussing relievers Kevin Gregg and Mike Gonzalez at least internally, writes MLB.com's Adam McCalvy.  The Crew recently lost reliever Mark DiFelice for the 2010 season.  Gonzalez would cost good money and the Brewers' second-round pick (currently #50).
• Yahoo's Kevin Kaduk asks whether Twitter is helping or hurting the Winter Meetings.  My opinion: hurting.  The information crush was tolerable when reporters all got blogs a few years back, but now it's excessive.  Of course, we're not helping.
• Jamey Carroll would love to play for the Reds but hasn't received an offer yet, writes MLB.com's Mark Sheldon.
• The D'Backs offered Chris Snyder to the Rangers for C.J. Wilson and were turned down, reports MLB.com's T.R. Sullivan.  Wilson tweets that he's "borderline offended" by Arizona's offer.
• The Pirates have had further talks with free agent hurler Justin Duchscherer, says Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, but don't expect him to sign soon.  We learned yesterday that the Rockies have cooled on Duchscherer.  Kovacevic also reports that despite scouting Aroldis Chapman, the Pirates are not a player for him.  ESPN's Jorge Arangure Jr. indicates that Chapman will be showcased in Houston later this month.
• The Rays and White Sox discussed a Carlos Quentin–Carl Crawford trade, says Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times.  Manager Ozzie Guillen implies that nothing is cooking on that front though.  The two clubs also discussed closer Bobby Jenks, but the Rays did not like the asking price.
• Angels GM Tony Reagins admitted to interest in Hideki Matsui, reports Mike DiGiovanna of the L.A. Times.  Keep in mind, though that the Japanese press is apparently grilling every GM on Matsui.  Reagins also said he hasn't ruled out re-signing Vladimir Guerrero.
• Carl Pavano explained his decision to accept arbitration from the Twins, in an email to Kelsie Smith of the St. Paul Pioneer Press.  La Velle E. Neal III of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune suggests retaining Pavano makes Glen Perkins expendable.
• The Rangers are not interested in trading for Pirates catcher Ryan Doumit, reports MLB.com's Jenifer Langosch.

Though L.A. could have received two draft picks as compensation for Oliver had he turned down arbitration and signed with another club, there's also a chance that teams would be scared off by the prospect of losing a draft pick in order to sign a 39-year-old setup man.  The Angels didn't want to run the risk of Oliver accepting the offer and possibly earning a healthy raise given his career-best 2.71 ERA and 8 K/9 in 2009.

• Spencer "has his doubts" that Los Angeles will re-sign any of its big three free agents (Chone Figgins, Vladimir Guerrero and John Lackey).  He thinks the other three AL West teams would be smart to sign Guerrero given that the outfielder is "a prideful man who would have something to prove to his former employer." 
• If the Angels do dip into the free-agent market, it would be for a starting pitcher.  Spencer lists Randy Wolf and former Angel Jon Garland as possible targets, and also says the Halos could wait until midseason to pick up another arm a la their trade for Scott Kazmir last season.
• The Angels would "love to keep" free agent reliever Darren Oliver.  Spencer thinks Oliver's Type A status will give L.A. the edge in re-signing him since other teams won't want to give up a first-round draft pick for a 38-year-old setup man.
• Spencer would re-sign Kelvim Escobar to "an incentives-laden contract" because he thinks the right-hander could have a big season if healthy.
• Utilityman Robb Quinlan will likely not be back in Anaheim, and seems to be a better fit in the National League.
• Spencer shoots down two suggested trades that would send Adrian Gonzalez and Carl Crawford, respectively, to Los Angeles.  He doesn't think San Diego will move Gonzalez for attendance reasons, and thinks Tampa Bay might ask for too much in return for Crawford.
• However, a fan-suggested trade of Brandon Wood for Jeremy Guthrie might be mutually beneficial for both the Halos and Orioles.  Spencer also calls a proposed Milton Bradley-for-Gary Matthews Jr. swap "an intriguing suggestion," but notes that Matthews still provides more benefit to Los Angeles than Bradley would.