• The Nationals signed infielder Ryan Jackson to a minor league contract.  Jackson appeared in 42 Major League games with the Cardinals and Angels between 2012-15 and has since bounced around with a few different organizations.  This is Jackson’s third minors deal of 2017 alone, as he previously inked deals with the Marlins and Mariners (plus a stint with the independent Sugar Land Skeeters).  Jackson is a career .269/.344/.354 hitter over 3336 minor league plate appearances, and he’ll provide more minor league infield depth for Washington in the wake of Trea Turner’s injury.
• The Cardinals recalled right-hander Luke Weaver from Triple-A yesterday, and Weaver made his season debut for St. Louis with a scoreless inning in last night’s victory over the Marlins.  Weaver, ranked by Baseball America as the second-best prospect in the Cards’ system and as the 50th-best prospect in the game, made his big league debut in 2016, posting a 5.70 ERA over 36 1/3 IP.  Weaver owns a 1.93 ERA and sterling peripherals over 56 Triple-A innings this season as a starter, though Cardinals manager Mike Matheny told MLB.com’s Jenifer Langosch and other media that Weaver will be used in a variety of bullpen roles with the major league club.
• The Rays outrighted Danny Farquhar to Triple-A, less than a week after designating the right-hander for assignment.  Farquhar has a 4.11 ERA, 8.5 K/9 and 1.5 K/BB rate over 35 relief innings for Tampa Bay this year, numbers that could’ve made him a candidate to be claimed off waivers during his DFA period, though he’ll remain in the Rays organization.

Latest transactions

• The White Sox released left-hander Giovanni Soto, according to the official Twitter feed of their Triple-A affiliate in Charlotte.  Soto struggled to a 5.33 ERA over 25 1/3 relief innings in Charlotte, thanks to some uncharacteristic problems with the long ball — he allowed four homers over his 25 1/3 IP this year after giving up just 28 homers in his previous 514 career innings in the minors.  It has been a busy 14 months for Soto, who has been property of five different organizations since April 2016.
• Right-hander Mike Bolsinger has cleared waivers and accepted an assignment to the Blue Jays’ Triple-A affiliate, the team announced.  Bolsinger was designated for assignment earlier this week.  The 29-year-old posted a 5.61 ERA, 7.4 K/9 and 1.11 K/BB rate over 25 2/3 IP for Toronto this season, making five starts as a fill-in for the many injury absences on the Jays’ staff.

Earlier today

• Right-hander Miguel Socolovich was outrighted to the Cardinals’ Triple-A after clearing waivers. St. Louis designated the 30-year-old for assignment in late May after he allowed 18 runs in 18 2/3 innings of work. The well-traveled righty has a 4.25 ERA over the life of 82 2/3 Major League innings, and he’s averaged 7.5 K/9 against 3.0 BB/9 in that time. Socolovich could’ve elected free agency but instead accepted his assignment and will hope for another crack at the Majors later in 2017.
• The Mariners have added shortstop Ryan Jackson on a minor league contract. The 29-year-old last saw Major League work with the Angels in 2015 and has struggled in his limited exposure to the big leagues, going just 2-for-33 in 39 plate appearances. He’s long been a solid performer at the Triple-A level, though, where he’s posted a collective .273/.352/.352 batting line across parts of six seasons.
• Former Giants righty Mike Broadway was cut loose by the Nationals after yielding 20 earned runs in 17 1/3 innings for Triple-A Syracuse. The 30-year-old entered the season with a career 2.96 ERA in 127 2/3 innings at the Triple-A level but has been uncharacteristically hittable. Broadway has just 22 2/3 innings of Major League experience, all coming with the 2015-16 Giants. While the resulting 6.75 ERA isn’t pretty, he does have a track record of missing bats and limiting walks in Triple-A.

Shortstop Ryan Jackson, righty Scott Copeland, and southpaw Kelvin Marte have all inked minor-league deals with the Fish. That trio will take aim at MLB roster spots or (perhaps more likely) minor-league depth roles over the course of Spring Training.

Jackson, 28, has seen three brief stints in the majors but never earned an extended look. He split his time last year between the Triple-A affiliates of the Angels and Phillies, posting a combined .248/.350/.286 batting line over 343 plate appearances.

The 29-year-old Copeland cracked the bigs with the Blue Jays in 2015 but pitched to a 6.46 ERA over 15 1/3 frames. In 2016, he struggled in a 13-start stint with the KBO’s LG Twins but did have nine productive outings at Triple-A for the Jays.

Marte, also 29, provides another lefty depth option for Miami. He made a brief MLB debut in 2016 for the Pirates but spend most of the year at Triple-A. Converting to a nearly full-time relief role, he provided 73 2/3 innings of 3.67 ERA ball with 7.0 K/9 and 2.6 BB/9.

Additionally, the Marlins announced the following MLB spring participants:

• First baseman Tyler Moore
• Outfielders Brandon Barnes, Matt den Dekker, Isaac Galloway, and Moises Sierra
• Catcher Carlos Paulino
• Righties Juan Benitez, Stephen Fife, and Javy Guerra
• Lefties Kyle Lobstein and Caleb Thielbar

• The Orioles have released right-hander Sam Deduno, reports FanGraphs’ Brad Johnson, who adds that the 33-year-old is now healthy after rehabbing from a hip injury (Twitter links). Deduno, whom the Orioles signed to a minor league deal in February, hasn’t gotten past Rookie ball this year because of his hip ailment. That issue limited Deduno to just 22 combined innings with the Astros and their Triple-A affiliate in 2015.  Prior to posting a 6.86 ERA in 21 major league frames last season, Deduno combined for 287 2/3 innings between the Twins and Astros from 2012-14. In that time, he logged a 4.22 ERA with 6.5 K/9, 4.4 BB/9 and an excellent 57.2 percent ground-ball rate.
• The Braves have signed free agent left-hander Brian Moran to a minor league contract, per a team announcement. Moran’s entire pitching resume with major league organizations has come as a member of the Mariners, though the Blue Jays selected the reliever in the fifth round of the 2013 Rule 5 draft and then traded him to the Angels for an international bonus slot. However, the Halos returned Moran to the Mariners a few months later after learning that he needed Tommy John surgery. Moran missed all of 2014 while recovering from the procedure, but he returned last year to log a total of 33 1/3 minor league innings with the Mariners. Most of those innings (30 1/3) came at the Double-A level, where Moran recorded a 3.56 ERA, 8.6 K/9 and 5.04 BB/9. The 27-year-old (and the brother of Astros third baseman Colin Moran) has pitched this season with the Bridgeport Bluefish of the independent Atlantic League.
• The Angels have announced the release of shortstop Ryan Jackson, who has divided his season between their Triple-A affiliate and Philadelphia’s. Jackson, a Cardinals fifth-round pick in 2009, debuted briefly in the majors with St. Louis in 2012 and reentered the big leagues last year with the Angels. The 28-year-old garnered just 39 combined plate appearances in those two call-ups, however. In 1,809 Triple-A PAs, Jackson has hit .274/.352/.356.

• Southpaw Phil Coke has been outrighted by the Yankees after he was designated for assignment on Tuesday, Chad Jennings of the LoHud Yankees Blog tweets. Coke wasn’t effective in his six innings over three appearances on the year, though he did show that he’s still capable of delivering his fastball at around 93 mph. The veteran bounced around last year after a five-year run with the Tigers ended followiing the 2014 season. He’ll accept the assignment, Chris Cotillo of SB Nation tweets.
• The Indians released righty Felipe Paulino so that he can pursue an opportunity in Japan, the club announced. A six-year MLB veteran who last appeared in the majors in 2014 with the White Sox, Paulino had converted to full-time relief work with Cleveland. Over his 13 frames, he allowed just four earned runs and five hits, though his 10:5 K/BB ratio was somewhat less promising.
• The Angels have acquired infielder Ryan Jackson from the Phillies in exchange for cash considerations, the Phillies announced. Bill Shaikin of the L.A. Times tweets that Jackson will be assigned to Triple-A Salt Lake. Jackson, 28, returns to the Angels organization after pending the majority of the 2015 season playing for their Triple-A affiliate (he also went hitless in 14 plate appearances for their big league club last season). Jackson split last season between the Royals and Angels organizations and hit a combined .294/.372/.374 in 362 plate appearances. He’ll give the Halos some depth at shortstop with both Andrelton Simmons and Cliff Pennington on the disabled list — a pair of injuries that has forced the club to acquire Brendan Ryan from the Nationals and bring Gregorio Petit up from Salt Lake. Jackson was not on the 40-man roster, so no corresponding move is necessary for the Halos.

• The White Sox have signed outfielder Scott Hairston to a minor league deal, Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports reports on Twitter. Hairston, 35, sat out the 2015 season but figures to have a chance at cracking a Chicago roster that appears to be in need of several position players. The eleven-year MLB veteran owns a lifetime .242/.296/.442 slash with 106 home runs, with most of that damage coming against left-handed pitching.
• Righty Jim Miller signed a minor league pact with the Brewers, MLB.com’s Adam McCalvy reports. He won’t receive an invite to major league camp, per McCalvy, but chose Milwaukee over three other interested teams because of his relationship with assistant GM Matt Arnold (who just came over from the Rays). The 33-year-old has never played in the big leagues with Tampa Bay, but put up good numbers at Triple-A for the organization last year. Miller has thrown 67 1/3 MLB innings over parts of five seasons, most of them coming in a productive 2012 with the Athletics.
• Infielder Hernan Perez has also signed on to return to the Brewers, per the MLB.com transactions page. The 24-year-old got an extended look with Milwaukee last year, slashing .270/.281/.365 over 238 plate appearances, but lost his roster spot and elected free agency earlier this fall.
• The Angels have inked lefty Lucas Luetge to a minor league deal with a spring invite, MLB.com’s Alden Gonzalez reports on Twitter. Luetge, 28, provides a potential southpaw pen piece for the Halos. He’s spent parts of each of the last four seasons in the majors, but his innings have dropped in every year. All told, Luetge owns a 4.35 ERA with 7.5 K/9 against 4.8 BB/9 in the bigs.
• There are five new non-roster invitees heading to Phillies camp, per a club announcement. Infielders Emmanuel Burriss and Ryan Jackson have both joined Philadelphia, as have righties Frank Herrmann, Chris Leroux, and Reinier Roibal. The infielders both come with MLB experience and could represent utility options for the rebuilding club. As for the pitchers, Herrmann and Leroux are both looking for a return to the bigs after having previously spent time in major league pens. And Roibal is a 26-year-old Cuban who put up good numbers — 1.64 ERA, 8.7 K/9 vs. 1.8 BB/9 — at the High-A and Double-A levels last year in the Phillies organization.

• The Astros announced (on Twitter) that they’ve outrighted Sam Deduno off the 40-man roster. The right-hander can opt for free agency based on his service time, which seems to be the likeliest outcome. The 32-year-old Deduno struggled to a 6.86 ERA in 21 innings this year in a season that was cut short by a back strain. Deduno logged a more respectable 4.26 ERA in 279 innings across parts of three seasons with the Twins from 2012-14, though control has never been his strong suit.
• Infielder Ryan Jackson was outrighted by the Angels yesterday and elected free agency as well, as MLB.com’s Alden Gonzalez tweeted. The 27-year-old has limited experience in the Majors, with just two hits in 39 plate appearances between the Cardinals and Halos. However, Jackson has had better success at the Triple-A level and can play shortstop, second base and third base, so he’ll probably latch on with a club in need of infield depth.
• Yesterday, Baseball America’s Matt Eddy published another round-up of minor league signings from around the league, with some of the notable moves including former first-round pick Chris Marrero re-signing with the Red Sox on a minor league deal, a trio of Reds electing free agency (Sam LeCure, Brennan Boesch, Collin Balester) and a series of Brewers moves (re-signing Hiram Burgos, Jaye Chapman and Ben Guez, plus lefty Cesar Jimenez electing free agency).

• The Braves purchased the contract of right-hander Peter Moylan from Triple-A Gwinnett prior to today’s game, and the Australian tossed two-thirds of an inning in the 2-1 win over the Diamondbacks.  This was Moylan’s first Major League outing since 2013; the 36-year-old has been plagued by injuries over the last five years, most notably missing all of 2014 recovering from Tommy John surgery.  Moylan signed a minor league deal with Atlanta this past March and he’s posted a 3.14 ERA over 28 2/3 Triple-A innings.
• Amidst a flurry of call-ups and DL placements today, the Angels purchased the contract of shortstop Ryan Jackson from Triple-A.  To create a 40-man roster spot, C.J. Wilson was transferred to the 60-day disabled list.  Jackson joined the Angels organization in May after being dealt from Kansas City for Drew Butera, and he has hit .293/.371/.373 in 363 plate appearances for Triple-A Salt Lake City.  Jackson’s big league experience consists of 25 PA with the Cardinals in 2012-13.
• Right-hander Taylor Thompson has cleared waivers and been outrighted to the Athletics’ Triple-A affiliate, MLB.com’s Jane Lee reports (Twitter link).  Thompson, who’s been limited to just 8 2/3 minor league innings this season due to a shoulder injury, was designated for assignment on Friday.
• While Thompson is now out of “DFA Limbo,” nine players are still awaiting their next assignment.  Check out the MLB Trade Rumors DFA Tracker to keep track of their status.

• The Royals have signed pitcher Roman Colon, outfielder Brandon Jacobs and third baseman Alex Liddi, and they’ve re-signed outfielder Mitch Maier, Baseball America’s Matt Eddy tweets. The 26-year-old Liddi, who appeared with the Mariners in the 2011 through 2013 seasons, is perhaps the most interesting of those, although he’s coming off a .207/.286/.355 season at Double-A and Triple-A in the Dodgers and White Sox systems.
• The Royals also outrighted infielder Ryan Jackson to Triple-A Omaha, per the Pacific Coast League transactions page. Kansas City had previously designated Jackson for assignment to clear space for Edinson Volquez. Jackson missed most of last season (which he spent in the Padres organization) with a wrist injury. The 26-year-old has a career minor league line of .268/.338/.363.
• The Braves have signed outfielder Joe Benson and lefty reliever Leyson Septimo, Eddy tweets. Benson, 26, hit .264/.364/.410 with Double-A Jacksonville in the Marlins system in 2014. The 29-year-old Septimo, who appeared in the big leagues with the White Sox in 2012, pitched in 2014 with Southern Maryland in the Atlantic League. There, he issued ten walks in 6 2/3 innings, continuing to have the control problems that have persisted throughout his career.
• The White Sox have re-signed outfielder Michael Taylor and signed third baseman Andy LaRoche, Baseball America’s Matt Eddy tweets. Chicago acquired Taylor from the Athletics last June, and the 29-year-old hit well for Triple-A Charlotte down the stretch to finish the year with a .275/.371/.437 minor league line in 512 plate appearances. LaRoche, a former top prospect with the Dodgers and Pirates and the brother of current White Sock Adam LaRoche, spent most of the past two seasons with the Blue Jays’ Triple-A club in Buffalo, where he hit .248/.309/.396 in 2014. The White Sox also signed first baseman Chris Jacobs, a 26-year-old who played for Class A+ Rancho Cucamonga in the Dodgers system last year.
• The Red Sox have signed outfielder Blake Tekotte, Eddy tweets. The 27-year-old Tekotte, who has appeared in the big leagues in past years with the Padres and White Sox, hit .249/.320/.439 in 340 Triple-A plate appearances last season in the White Sox and Diamondbacks systems.
• The Cubs have signed righty Andres Santiago, according to Baseball America’s Minor League Free Agent Tracker (via the Tennessee Smokies’ Andrew Green on Twitter). Santiago, 25, pitched for the Dodgers’ Double-A affiliate in Chattanooga last season, posting a 4.47 ERA with 6.8 K/9 and 3.7 BB/9 in 129 innings. Green points out that Santiago no-hit the Cubs’ Smokies team last season.
• The Cubs have also added catcher Taylor Teagarden and righty Jorge De Leon, Eddy tweets. The 31-year-old Teagarden hit .303/.403/.579 in 211 plate appearances with the Mets’ hitter-friendly Triple-A affiliate in Las Vegas last season. De Leon, 27, posted a 3.01 ERA with 8.0 K/9 and 3.0 BB/9 in 68 2/3 innings in the Double-A Corpus Christi and Triple-A Oklahoma City bullpens in the Astros system in 2014, also making eight appearances in the big leagues.

It’s been a busy offseason for Jackson, who has gone from the Padres to the Dodgers to the Royals in less than two months.  He also changed addresses multiple teams last winter, when the Astros selected him off waivers from the Cardinals in November 2013 and then traded him to San Diego a month later.  Jackson, 26, made 25 plate appearances for St. Louis in 2012-13 and he has a .268/.338/.363 career slash line over 2459 minor league PA.

Jackson is one of three players currently in “DFA Limbo” according to the MLB Trade Rumors DFA Tracker, joining Keyvius Sampson (Padres) and Erisbel Arruebarrena (Dodgers).

The 26-year-old Jackson has just two hits in 25 career plate appearances in the Majors. The Dodgers claimed Jackson off waivers from the Padres, and many speculated that former San Diego GM Josh Byrnes, now working in the Dodgers’ front office, had a hand in that decision. However, the Dodgers opted to designate Jackson for assignment when they acquired right-hander Juan Nicasio — a fellow DFA victim — from the Rockies.

A shortstop by trade, Jackson is a career .274/.344/.369 hitter at the Triple-A level. He missed most of the 2014 season recovering from surgery on his right wrist.

The 28-year-old Nicasio has struggled as an on-and-off member of the Rockies’ rotation for the past four seasons, but he did post a handful of nice innings as a reliever for Colorado last year (3.48 ERA in 20 2/3 frames). Nicasio has averaged about 93 mph on his heater throughout his career, and a look at his velocity chart (courtesy of Fangraphs) from 2014 shows that his fastball jumped to nearly 95 mph when pitching out of the ’pen late in the season.

Overall, Nicasio has a career ERA of 5.03 with 6.9 K/9, 3.2 BB/9 and a 44.6 percent ground-ball rate in 381 innings. MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz projected the arb-eligible righty to earn $2.4MM next season, which was likely a large factor in the Rockies removing him from the 40-man roster.

The 26-year-old Jackson has just two hits in 25 career plate appearances in the Majors. He was claimed off waivers from the Padres, and many speculated that former San Diego GM Josh Byrnes, now working in the Dodgers’ front office, had a hand in that decision. A shortstop by trade, Jackson is a career .274/.344/.369 hitter at the Triple-A level. He missed most of the 2014 season recovering from surgery on his right wrist.

The moves make room for the reinstatement of right-hander Casey Kelly, left-hander Cory Luebke, first baseman Yonder Alonso and outfielder Carlos Quentin from the 60-day disabled list.

Stults, who is nearing his 35th birthday, threw 176 innings of 4.30 ERA ball last season, tallying 5.7 K/9 against 2.3 BB/9. Those numbers represent a downtick from his work over 2012-13, when Stults carried a 3.60 ERA across 302 2/3 innings. The major difference in his year-over-year results comes in the form of an increasing rate of home runs allowed. ERA estimators have generally viewed him in much the same light: as a below-average starting pitcher. Stults had been projected by MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz to earn $4.6MM through arbitration, so the move is not terribly surprising.

Roach, meanwhile, made his MLB debut this year at age 24. He posted a 4.75 ERA in 30 1/3 frames while posting an unappetizing 5.0 K/9 against 4.5 BB/9. His numbers at Triple-A were no more promising, but Roach has had success in the lower minor league levels.

As for Moore, the 30-year-old backstop has seen action in parts of six MLB seasons but has only taken more than 24 plate appearances in one of them (back in 2010 with the Mariners). Once a well-regarded prospect, Moore has a .200/.241/.309 line over 283 trips to the plate in the majors. He did, however, have an excellent campaign at Triple-A this year, slashing .305/.367/.506 and swatting 13 long balls over 354 plate appearances.

The 26-year-old Jackson will present a utility infield option for his new club. He has scant major league experience, but owns a .274/.344/.369 slash in over 1,000 plate appearances at the Triple-A level and comes with a good defensive reputation at short. Jackson missed most of 2014 after undergoing wrist surgery.

San Diego got interest in Guzman in late July, but he wound up staying put for the rest of the season.  The 29-year-old took a step back from his previous two seasons with the Padres in 2013, hitting just .226/.297/.378 in 318 plate appearances.  Prior to that, Guzman had a .277/.342/.446 slash line through 592 PAs in 2011 and 2012.

Jackson, 25, saw time in 20 big league games for the Cardinals from 2012-13 before being waived in the fall and picked up by Houston.  Jackson spent the bulk of 2013 with the Cardinals' Triple-A affiliate in Memphis.  Over the last two years in Memphis, Jackson has a .275/.343/.371 slash line with the better results coming in 2012.  The Padres put a claim in on Jackson when he was up for grabs, but the Astros were able to get him instead, Brock tweets.

Jackson, 25, went hitless in seven plate appearances for the Cardinals in 2013 and is just 2-for-24 in his brief big league career to date. However, he's posted a much stronger .275/.343/.371 batting line in 1,013 career plate appearances at Triple-A and is capable of playing second base and third base as well. It's hardly a surprise to see the Astros claim him, as GM Jeff Luhnow likely played an integral role in selecting Jackson in the fifth round of the 2009 draft when he served as the Cardinals' VP of scouting and player development.

The 26-year-old Martinez owns a career .251/.300/.387 slash line with 24 homers in 975 plate appearances. He hit the DL on two separate occasions in 2013 — once for a sprained wrist and once for a sprained knee.