• Blue Jays outfielder Ryan Langerhans elected free agency earlier this month, according to the MLB.com transactions page.  Langerhans, 33, posted a .748 OPS in 248 PA with Triple-A Buffalo this season between two minor league stints in Toronto's sytem.  The outfielder also spent some time playing for the independent Sugar Land Skeeters, hitting .287/.420/.500.
• The Marlins outrighted outfielder Alfredo Silverio to Triple-A New Orleans, according to the MLB.com page.  Silverio was plucked from the Dodgers in the 2012 Rule 5 draft but hasn't played since 2011 after being badly injured in a car accident and undergoing two Tommy John surgeries.  The 26-year-old hit .306/.340/.542 in 572 Double-A plate appearances in '11.

• The Blue Jays purchased the contract of Ryan Langerhans and added him to the 40-man roster, the team announced.  Langerhans has had two separate stints in the Jays' minor league system this season, with his most recent deal signed in August.  He posted a .748 OPS in 248 PA with Triple-A Buffalo this season and is appearing in his first Major League game of 2013 tonight.  Brett Cecil was transferred to the 60-day DL in a corresponding move.
• Rays right-hander J.D. Martin cleared waivers and accepted an outright assignment to Triple-A Durham after being designated for assignment over the weekend, according to Chris Cotillo of MLBDailyDish.com (on Twitter). Martin, 30, was named the Triple-A International League's Most Valuable Pitcher this season after totaling 160 1/3 innings with a 2.75 ERA, 6.5 K/9 and 1.5 BB/9.
• Cotillo also tweets that Blake Lalli has been outrighted off the Brewers' 40-man roster after clearing waivers. Lalli, 30, was designated for assignment to make room on the 40-man roster for right-hander Josh Ravin, who was claimed off waivers from the Reds. Lalli went 3-for-24 for the Brew Crew this season and is a lifetime .268/.312/.420 at Triple-A.

• The Reds selected the contract of right-hander Nick Christiani and added him to the 40-man roster, the club announced via Twitter.  Christiani will replace Jonathan Broxton (placed on the 15-day DL for season-ending forearm surgery) on the 25-man roster and Johnny Cueto was moved to the 60-day DL to free up a 40-man roster spot.  Christiani, 26, was a 13th-round pick of the Reds in the 2009 draft and he owns a 3.66 ERA in 255 2/3 minor league innings, all out of the bullpen.  The Vanderbilt product wasn't ranked as one of Cincinnati's top 30 prospects by Baseball America before the season and he has a 4.05 ERA, 8.1 K/9 and 3.2 K/BB in 53 1/3 Triple A innings this year.
• The Blue Jays have signed outfielder Ryan Langerhans to a minor league deal, according to a press release from Triple-A Buffalo.  Langerhans was cut loose by Toronto earlier this summer and spent some time with the Sugar Land Skeeters of the Atlantic League, where he hit .283/.415/.496 in 142 plate appearances.  The 33-year-old is a client of the ACES agency, according to the MLBTR Agency Database.  

• The Blue Jays have released outfielder Ryan Langerhans, Matt Eddy of Baseball America tweeted yesterday. Langerhans, whom the club acquired on a minor league deal over the offseason, was carrying a .220/.338/.435 triple-slash over 199 plate appearances at Triple-A Buffalo. The 33-year-old last saw substantial big league action in 2011, when he played nineteen games for the Mariners and registered a .173/.317/.346 line over 64 plate appearances. Over his ten big league seasons — only three of which included more than 200 plate appearances — Langerhans owns a career .226/.332/.372 line.

• The Brewers have agreed to a $50K contract with Dominican outfielder Geraldy Martinez, according to the Dominican Prospect League.  Martinez, 17, hits from the right side of the plate and "hits the ball hard gap to gap with true power from [his] pull side," according to the DPL website.
• The Yankees announced that they have outrighted left-hander Josh Spence to Triple-A after Spence cleared waivers.  Spence was claimed off waivers from San Diego earlier this month and designated for assignment by New York earlier this week to create 40-man roster space for Kevin Youkilis.
• The White Sox announced that they have requested unconditional release waivers on Charlie Shirek so that the right-hander can pursue opportunities in Asia. The 27-year-old spent this past season at Triple-A Charlotte, where he posted a 3.65 ERA with 6.2 K/9 and 1.5 BB/9 in 170 1/3 innings as a starter. Shirek, who does not have any MLB experience, will pitch in Korea, MLB.com’s Scott Merkin reports (on Twitter). Chicago’s 40-man roster now has 38 players.
• The Blue Jays announced that they signed right-hander Ramon Ortiz and outfielder Ryan Langerhans to minor league deals that include invitations to MLB Spring Training. The 39-year-old Ortiz spent the 2012 season with the Yankees' Triple-A affiliate, posting a 3.45 ERA in 27 starts. Langerhans, 32, spent most of this past season with the Angels' Triple-A affiliate, but he did appear in two games at the MLB level. He posted a .250/.369/.446 batting line in 401 Triple-A plate appearances.
• The Blue Jays also signed minor league infielder Lance Zawadzki to a minor-league deal, Shi Davidi of Sportsnet.ca reports (on Twitter).

• Infielders: Brian Bixler (Astros), Sean Burroughs (Twins), Blake DeWitt (Cubs), Alberto Gonzalez (Rangers), Angel Sanchez (Astros), Nate Spears (Red Sox), Drew Sutton (Pirates)
• Outfielders: Travis Buck (Astros), Ryan Langerhans (Angels), Mitch Maier (Royals), Darnell McDonald (Yankees), Jai Miller (Orioles), Trent Oeltjen (Dodgers), Jason Pridie (Phillies), Mike Wilson (Mariners)
• Right-handed Pitchers: Roman Colon (Royals), Mike Ekstrom (Rockies), Jack Egbert (Mets), Ryota Igarashi (Yankees), Evan Meek (Pirates), Scott Richmond (Blue Jays), Kip Wells (Padres), Randy Wells (Cubs), Dan Wheeler (Indians)
• Left-handed Pitchers: Alex Hinshaw (Cubs), Cesar Jimenez (Mariners), Zach Kroenke (Diamondbacks), Garrett Olson (Mets)

Langerhans, 32 in February, hit just .173/.317/.346 in 64 plate appearances for Seattle in 2011. He did post a monstrous .311/.437/.573 batting line in 426 plate appearances split between the Mariners' and Diamondbacks' Triple-A affiliates, however. The left-handed hitter has always been adept at drawing walks (13.0% of his career plate appearances), and the advanced metrics generally like his glovework.

Hurley, 26, returned to the mound in 2011 after missing all of 2009 and 2010 due to major shoulder surgery. The former Rangers' top prospect pitched to a 5.55 ERA with 4.9 K/9 and 3.8 BB/9 in 84 1/3 innings across 16 starts for Texas' Triple-A affiliate this past season. Hurley made five starts for the Rangers in 2008, allowing 15 runs in 24 2/3 innings.

Diaz, 28, also spent last season in Texas' minor league system. The backstop hit .318/.352/.444 in 211 plate appearances while throwing out just ten of 51 attempted basestealers (19.6%). Diaz hasn't appeared in the majors since 2009, and he's perhaps most famous for being the guy the Blue Jays traded to the Pirates for Jose Bautista back in 2008.

Langerhans, a nine-year Major League veteran, hit .173/.317/.346 in 64 plate appearances with the Mariners this year and has a .226/.333/.372 line over the course of his career. The 31-year-old was hitting well in Tacoma, where he had a .313/.416/.584 line in 255 plate appearances.

• Ryan Langerhans cleared waivers and accepted his assignment to Triple-A Tacoma, according to Larry Stone of the Seattle Times (on Twitter). Seattle designated him for assignment Monday.
• Stone reflects on the trade that sent Erik Bedard to Seattle for Chris Tillman, Adam Jones, George Sherrill, Kam Mickolio and others. Stone's conclusion three years later: a bad Mariners trade isn't quite as bad as it once seemed.
• Earlier tonight, ESPN.com's Jayson Stark noted that Bedard could be a trade chip again this summer (though the return would be considerably less impressive this time).
• Rangers GM Jon Daniels told Richard Durrett of ESPNDallas.com that though Texas is "not playing real well," he doesn't want to make an irrational knee-jerk move. The Rangers believe in their team, but are considering ways of making it better, including possible call ups, according to Daniels.

Langerhans, 31, hit .173/.317/.346 in 64 plate appearances for the Mariners this year after re-signing on a minor league deal in December.  Langerhans is no stranger to the DFA, as this is the third time in his career.  Other candidates to be removed from the roster, such as Milton Bradley and Chris Ray, live to see another day.

Divish ran through players who could be removed from the 40-man, and came up with minor leaguers Edward Paredes and Yoervis Medina as well as Mariners Chris Ray, Milton Bradley, and Ryan Langerhans.  It's time to end the Bradley experiment, writes Dave Cameron of U.S.S. Mariner.  In the opinion of Geoff Baker of the Seattle Times, it will down to Ray or Langerhans.

Releasing Bradley would require eating the remainder of his contract.  He has just under $9.5MM remaining on the deal he signed with the Cubs in January of '09.  Bradley has a .209/.298/.351 line in 393 plate appearances for the Mariners since the beginning of the 2010 season.

Langerhans, 31 in February, hit .207/.328/.351 in 254 plate appearances over the last two seasons with the Mariners, playing mostly left field.  He was non-tendered by the Mariners a year ago, re-signed shortly thereafter, designated for assignment in April, and outrighted in November.

Bautista, 28, posted a 3.74 ERA, 11.8 K/9, 7.2 BB/9, 1.1 HR/9, and 33.3% groundball rate in 33 2/3 innings for the Giants this year.  He averaged almost 95 mph on his fastball, but clearly had control issues.  In a 22 2/3 inning Triple-A stint, his walk rate was down at 3.6 per nine.     

Gimenez, 28 later this month, has 197 big league plate appearances with the Indians to his name.  This year at Triple-A, he hit .276/.341/.464 in 219 plate appearances while spending time at catcher and the outfield corners.  He can also handle the infield corners.

Ring, 30 later this month, posted a 1.93 ERA, 8.4 K/9, 2.4 BB/9, and 0.4 HR/9 in 42 Triple-A innings for the Yankees' affiliate this year.  The southpaw posted a 9.8 K/9 and 2.6 BB/9 against lefty batters.

The Mariners also announced that the Diamondbacks claimed righty Brian Sweeney off of waivers. Kevin Towers’ bullpen reconstruction has begun. Sweeney, 36, pitched for the Padres in 2004 and 2006 when Towers was the GM in San Diego. More recently, the right-hander posted a 3.16 ERA with 3.4 K/9 and 1.5 BB/9 in 37 innings for the Mariners this year.

Outfielder Ryan Langerhans and catcher Guillermo Quiroz elected free agency after the Mariners outrighted them to Triple-A. The Mariners also outrighted lefty Ryan Feierabend, lefty Chris Seddon and righty Sean White to Triple-A and all three can become free agents.

The 34-year-old agreed to a one-year deal with Seattle in late January.  While Byrnes is earning $11MM in the final year of the three-year pact he signed with the D'Backs, the Mariners are responsible for just $400K of that sum.

Seattle has also made a trio of in-house adjustments, sending Matt Tuiasosopo to Triple-A while promoting Ryan Langerhans and Josh Wilson.  All four roster moves have been confirmed by a team press release. 

Shannon Drayer of ESPN Radio Seattle (via Twitter) points out that Langerhans and Wilson were not on the 40-man roster, meaning that another move is on the horizon.  She later tweeted that the move will not be shifting a player to the 60-day DL and it will likely not involve a player on the 25-man roster (also via Twitter).

Earlier this evening, both Dave Cameron of U.S.S. Mariner and Larry Stone of The Seattle Times predicted that Byrnes' days in Seattle were numbered.

THURSDAY, 2:14pm: The Mariners designated outfielder Ryan Langerhans for assignment to make room for reliever Jesus Colome, tweets ESPN's Shannon Drayer.  This ends the Mariners' six-man bullpen experiment.  U.S.S. Mariner's Dave Cameron wrote yesterday that while he feels a six-man pen can work, he's not sure the Mariners are presently built for one.  Talking to Geoff Baker of the Seattle Times, Ms GM Jack Zduriencik explained why Langerhans was cut instead of Mike Sweeney.

Langerhans, 30, hit .218/.311/.386 in 122 big league plate appearances last year.  He hit .278/.371/.488 at Triple A.  Langerhans was non-tendered by the Mariners in December but re-signed a week later.