Freel, 34, played with the Reds, Royals, Cubs, Orioles and Blue Jays in his eight-year MLB career. The utilityman posted a career line of .268/.354/.369 and stole 143 bases in 191 career attempts. Freel made a name for himself in Cincinnati, where he spent six seasons and averaged 37 steals and a .370 on base percentage between 2004-06. He has earned about $11.5MM in his career.

The 34-year-old Freel played for three teams in 2009, hitting .193/.290/.216 in 101 plate appearances. He's been going downhill ever since hitting .274/.368/.384 for the Reds from 2003-2006, but at least he can play all three outfield spots plus second and third bases. 

• Besides sifting through the remaining free agents, the Yankees are exploring the trade market for left field, writes Frankie Piliere of Fanhouse (via Twitter).  Piliere heard unconfirmed whispers that one of those inquiries was made on Nelson Cruz. 
• Oregon State left-hander Josh Osich will miss the 2010 season due to Tommy John surgery, writes Jason Churchill. The 20-year-old southpaw had been described as a "lock for the mid- to late first round" by Keith Law.
• Steve Melewski takes a look at the arguments for and against Miguel Tejada's return to Baltimore, and also suggests slotting Miggy into the cleanup spot to start the season.
• White Sox VP Scott Reifert passes along a quote (via Twitter) from scouting director Doug Laumann, saying the south-siders will likely focus on pitching in the next draft.
• Rany Jazayerli has mixed feelings about the Royals' acquisition of Rick Ankiel, but says the outfielder is a better fit than Mike Jacobs was a year ago.
• Tigers GM Dave Dombrowski repeated that he's not going to sign a hitter who can't play the field, writes John Lowe of the Detroit Free Press. 
• Tyler Kepner of the New York Times doesn't expect Johnny Damon to return to the Yankees in 2010. 
• Fernando Tatis and Ryan Freel are options for the Rockies, according to Troy Renck of the Denver Post. 
• Derrick Turnbow is still on the Rockies' radar, writes Renck.
• Tom Robson heads Bob Elliott's list of Canadians eligible for the 2010 draft at the Canadian Baseball Network. 

Freel picked up limited at bats for the Orioles, Cubs and Royals this year without posting an OPS over .600 for any of the three teams. He remains as versatile as ever, though; Freel has played every outfield position, second and third this year.

Freel is joining his fifth organization in the last ten months.

• Chris DeLuca of the Chicago Sun-Times gathered a quote from Cubs GM Jim Hendry on the possibility of his club making a move: "We have a pretty good team,and if our guys all play like their capable … you don’t have to do a whole lot."
• MLB.com's Corey Brock reports the Padres aren't "getting many hits" from other teams on Kevin Kouzmanoff, but believes that might change soon.
• According to MLB.com's Mark Sheldon, the Reds have signed four Venezuelan amateurs.
• Baseball America's Matt Eddy has a rundown of team-by-team minor league transactions from late June.  It's interesting reading for prospect buffs.
• Will the Marlins be leaving their payroll issues behind when they move into their spanking new facility in 2012?  Carl Hiaasen of the Miami Herald doesn't seem to think so.  He questions whether the club will be able to fill their $634MM, 37,000-seat stadium once the luster wears off.
• Tommy Rancel of DRaysBay.com has more on Venezuelan third baseman Cesar Perez, who was signed this afternoon by Tampa Bay for $1MM.
• Bob Dutton of the Kansas City Star reviews the Ryan Freel trade, noting that the Royals must be labeled as "buyers" as of July 6.  Of course, that could change by the time the July 31 trade deadline rolls around.
• Remember to tune in for the weekly MLBTR live chat tomorrow at 2pm CST.

The Cubs designated Freel for assignment Thursday after a disappointing 14-game tenure with the club. They traded Joey Gathright for Freel two months ago.

11:27am: ESPN.com's Bruce Levine reports that the Rockies receive right-hander Alberto Alburquerque, who was pitching in A ball for the Cubs. The 23-year-old has struck out 44 and allowed 40 baserunners in nearly 35 innings pitched this year.

8:41am: The Cubs acquired Jeff Baker from the Rockies, according to Yahoo Sports. It's unclear what the Rockies will receive in exchange for the infielder. Baker, 28, has played in just 12 games this year for Colorado, but he posted a respectable .791 OPS in over 100 games last year. He's played all four corner positions in his five-year career, but he's played mostly at second base.

"We know the tool he has," MacPhail said of the newly acquired Gathright.  "He's 28 years old and he's got great speed.  A career .260 hitter without much power.  I think people have a pretty good understanding.  But he really creates more of an inventory for us at a position that is still somewhat up in the air."

4:44pm: According to Bruce Miles of the Daily Herald the Orioles will pay the difference between the two players' salaries. Basically the teams are paying the same amount as they would have had they not made the deal.

4:22pm: Paul Sullivan of the Chicago Tribune reports that the Orioles will continue to pay part of the $3.3MM Freel will make before the end of the season.

3:38pm: The Orioles have traded Freel to the Cubs for Gathright, according to Dan Connolly of the Baltimore Sun. Gathright has already cleared waivers and will be assigned to Triple-A Norfolk.

12:54pm: Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports reports that the Cubs are talking to the Orioles about a trade for Ryan Freel. As Rosenthal points out, the Cubs have more oufield depth than expected, thanks to Micah Hoffpauir and Kosuke Fukudome. Joey Gathright, who has batted only 14 times this year, is expendable. The Orioles are talking to other clubs about Freel, who has about $3.3MM remaining on this year's contract.

THURSDAY: According to Peter Schmuck of the Baltimore Sun, Orioles baseball operations president Andy MacPhail has been calling around to gauge interest in utility man Ryan Freel.  Freel is done with his rehab assignment, and Schmuck says he's probably the odd man out.  One small problem: Freel is still owed $3.3MM this year.

Freel made it clear in late April that he'd weclome a trade.

"I think change is good for people. I think the expectations were for me to come here and perform in a different way than I did. I don't think I met the expectations the way I in spring training. There is nothing wrong with change. I don't think I fit here. I can't control what they do with me. It's putting a damper on my career."

You may recall that Freel met with Andy MacPhail on April 15th over playing time concerns.  It seems that the O's acquired Freel for Ramon Hernandez in December mainly just to free up cash (they saved $3.5MM) and a catching spot for Matt Wieters.

4:34pm: MLB.com’s Mark Sheldon adds that the Orioles will receive prospects Brandon Waring and Justin Turner and will send $1MM to the Reds.

2:39pm: Rosenthal says an agreement has been reached to send Hernandez to Cincy for Freel and two prospects.  The Orioles are sending over $1MM, so the deal requires approval of the commissioner’s office.  I can see how this might work out for both clubs; each player had worn out his welcome.

By the way, Tom Haudricourt rejects the idea that the Brewers were interested.

2:29pm: The Orioles would send cash to Cincy to offset Hernandez’s salary.  This deal might be announced soon.  Walt Jocketty said "we’ll have something" later when questioned.

1:56pm: John Perrotto believes a Hernandez for Freel deal will be announced today.

TUESDAY, 12:30pm: Seems that a deal for Hernandez is close, though Roch Kubatko says the Brewers jumped into the mix.  Kubatko still thinks Hernandez will be traded to the Reds.

MONDAY, 9:37pm: Walt Jocketty slyly lifted his eyebrows when asked about this rumor, according to MLB.com’s Mark Sheldon.

7:11pm: Rosenthal says the Reds would also kick in a prospect in this deal, but want the O’s to pay a significant portion of Hernandez’s salary.

6:01pm: John Fay of the Cincy Enquirer says he’s heard the Hernandez for Freel rumor from both sides.

12:21pm: According to Roch Kubatko of MASN Online, one of the teams interested in catcher Ramon Hernandez would like to swap contracts.  The team would send the Orioles a utility guy who can play the infield and outfield.

Kubatko goes on to note that the Reds and Astros are looking for catching. Connecting the dots, Kubatko may have been talking about Ryan Freel above.  Hernandez has $9MM left on his contract, while Freel has $4MM.

With Ryan Freel done for the year, the Reds currently have four healthy outfielders on the roster. That means if they traded Adam Dunn or Ken Griffey Jr. right now, you’re looking at Corey Patterson playing every day. That might blow up this blog.

This makes no sense to me. The Reds would only trade Dunn if they were prepared to give up on the season. And since they’re four games under .500 and 11 games back of the Cubs, it’s probably about time to give up on the season. So, if you’re looking ahead to next season, who cares if Patterson is playing everyday in August and September?

Coley Ward writes for Umpbump.com and can be reached here.

• Stark runs through a laundry list of candidates for the Mariners’ and Mets’ manager and GM vacancies.
• The Indians will not be giving a negotiation window for a team hoping to sign C.C. Sabathia while acquiring him.
• Erik Bedard is "now officially on the market."  Bedard’s value has diminished since the Mariners acquired him, however.
• The Phillies have already inquired on Sabathia, A.J. Burnett, Bronson Arroyo, and Jarrod Washburn.  Stark sees Bedard joining that group, but believes it’d require Carlos Carrasco and Antonio Bastardo.
• Ryan Freel is drawing strong interest; Stark names the Phillies, Braves, Mets, and Marlins as suitors.
• Ken Griffey Jr. apparently still wants to finish his career in Seattle.
• Stark agrees with Ken Rosenthal – Mark Teixeira is not available.  Nor is Ben Sheets, by the way.
• The Marlins are looking for center field, catcher, and bullpen help.  Stark believes they’d be willing to give up a near-arb Josh Willingham type for players with less service time.
• The Yankees seem open to bringing back Jason Giambi next year, after they buy out his option.  Giambi is currently third in the AL in OPS at .979.