• The Astros have outrighted outfielder Trevor Crowe and pitcher Jorge De Leon, according to a team press release. Crowe, a former first-round pick of the Indians, hit .218/.287/.291 in 181 plate appearances with the Astros in 2013. With Crowe's departure, the only Astro remaining who is eligible for arbitration is Jason Castro. De Leon pitched ten innings of relief for Houston after spending much of the year with Double-A Corpus Christi and Triple-A Oklahoma City.
• The Mets have outrighted relievers Greg Burke and Sean Henn, Adam Rubin of ESPN New York tweets. Burke, 31, pitched 31 2/3 innings for New York in 2013, posting a 5.68 ERA with 8.0 K/9 and 4.3 BB/9. He also made 31 appearances for Triple-A Las Vegas. Before 2013, Burke had not appeared in the Majors since 2009, when he was with the Padres. Henn appeared in four games with the Mets in 2013, pitching most of the season in Las Vegas.
• The Phillies outrighted four players to Triple-A Lehigh Valley: outfielders Casper Wells and Roger Bernadina, left-hander Cesar Jimenez, and right-hander J.C. Ramirez.  Wells, who also spent time with the White Sox and Mariners in 2013, had a dismal .126/.186/.147 combined slash line in 102 plate apparances.  Ramirez posted a 7.50 ERA with 6.0 K/9 and 5.6 BB/9 in 18 relief appearances but posted stronger numbers at Lehigh Valley.  Bernadina hit .291/.372/.405 for the Nats in 2012 but he had an OPS of just .545 in '13.
• Correcting an earlier item, the Phillies did not re-sign Michael Martinez. We regret the error.

Charlie Wilmoth contributed to this post.

• Infielder Sean Burroughs has signed a minor league deal with the Dodgers, according to Matt Eddy of Baseball America (on Twitter). Burroughs last appeared in the Majors with the Twins in 2012 but was designated for assignment after just 18 plate appearances. The former top prospect returned to baseball in 2011.
• Within that same tweet, Eddy notes that the Mets have signed left-hander Sean Henn to a minor league deal. The 31-year-old Henn's last big league action was split between the Twins and Orioles in 2009. He has a 7.56 ERA in 81 career innings with more walks (64) than strikeouts (62).
• Still from Eddy's jam-packed tweet, the Padres have inked first baseman Brandon Allen to a minor league contract. The 27-year-old has a career .203/.290/.375 Major League batting line in 389 plate appearances.
• The Blue Jays announced that right-hander Edgar Gonzalez has cleared waivers and been outrighted to Triple-A Buffalo in order to make room for Casper Wells on the 40-man roster. Toronto claimed the 30-year-old Gonzalez off waivers just five days ago.
• Suspended right-hander Mark Hamburger has signed with the independent league St. Paul Saints, writes Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN (at the bottom of the article). The 26-year-old tested positive for an undisclosed drug last season. He has appeared in eight Major League innings for the Rangers with a 4.50 ERA and was once traded for Eddie Guardado.

• The Braves acquired utility player Ruben Gotay from the Blue Jays for cash considerations, according to the transactions page at CBSSports.com. Gotay, 29, posted a .346/.435/.385 line at Triple-A Las Vegas before the trade. He played for Atlanta's top affiliate last year and has MLB experience with the Braves, Mets and Royals.
• Left-hander Sean Henn signed with Korea’s Hanwha Eagles, Tacoma Rainiers broadcaster Mike Curto reported (on Twitter via Dan Kurtz of MyKBO.net). The Mariners signed Henn in December and assigned him to Triple-A Tacoma, where he posted a 3.64 ERA with 8.8 K/9 and 3.3 BB/9 in 29 2/3 innings of relief. The 31-year-old has MLB experience with the Yankees, Twins, Padres and Orioles.

• The Mariners have signed right-hander Josh Kinney to a minor league deal with an invite to Spring Training, reports MLB.com's Greg Johns (on Twitter). The 32-year-old allowed 13 runs in 17 2/3 innings for the White Sox last season, though he did strike out 20 and get a ground ball nearly 60% of the time. It was Kinney's first big league action since 2009.  The Mariners also announced ten other minor league signings: infielder Luis Rodriguez, righties Jeff Marquez, Matt Fox, Jarrett Grube, and Scott Patterson, lefties Steve Garrison, Sean Henn, and Philippe Valiquette, outfielder Darren Ford, and catcher Guillermo Quiroz.  Rodriguez, Marquez, Garrison, and Ford logged time in the Majors this year.
• The Royals announced that they signed right-hander Juan Gutierrez, left-hander Francisley Bueno, catcher Max Ramirez and outfielder Greg Golson to minor league deals. Golson appeared in nine games with the Yankees in 2011, but they released him last week. Ramirez didn't play in the Major Leagues in 2011, but he has MLB experience with the Rangers.
• The Diamondbacks have signed Jonathan Albaladejo, according to Joel Sherman of the New York Post (Twitter links). The 29-year-old right-hander spent the 2011 season in Japan after posting a 4.15 ERA with 6.6 K/9 and 3.9 BB/9 in four seasons with the Nationals and Yankees. The Mets were a finalist for Albaladejo.

• Pirates catcher Eric Fryer cleared waivers, according to Jenifer Langosch of MLB.com. The 26-year-old had been designated for assignment last week. Fryer appeared in ten games for the 2011 Pirates, but has spent the vast majority of his five professional seasons in the minor leagues, where he has a .799 OPS.
• The Mariners signed infielder Luis Rodriguez to a minor league deal, according to MLB.com's Greg Johns. Seattle also signed right-handers Jarrett Grube and Jeff Marquez and left-hander Sean Henn to minor league deals. Rodriguez had been a non-tender candidate until the Mariners outrighted him off of their roster earlier this month.

• Left-hander Sean Henn re-signed with Toronto, a week after the Blue Jays granted him free agency.  Henn spent his 2010 season pitching for the Jays' Triple-A affiliate in Las Vegas, posting a 4.73 ERA in 38 games (nine of them starts).
• The Dodgers re-signed a number of players with major league experience, such as J.D. Closser, Tim Corcoran and Travis Denker.  Los Angeles also re-signed 11-year veteran Corey Smith, who has yet to get a cup of coffee in the bigs after being drafted 26th overall by Cleveland in the 2000 amateur draft.
• Luis Mendoza re-signed with Kansas City.  The right-hander has an 8.43 ERA in 36 career major league appearances, 14 of which were starts, with the Rangers and Royals.
• Houston re-signed Brian Esposito and Wladimir Sutil, both of whom were recently removed from the club's 40-man roster.  In addition, the Astros re-signed Oswaldo Navarro, who picked up 25 plate appearances for Houston last season.

Tankersley, the Marlins' first round pick in the 2004 draft, succeeded early in his career, but has since struggled. Still just 27, Tankersley brings a career 8.8 K/9 to the free agent market and could become a lefty specialist. He missed all of 2009 with a stress fracture in his elbow, but it wouldn't be surprising to see a team like the Diamondbacks take a flier on the former prospect.

Bautista, who turns 28 this weekend, is another interesting arm. He posted a 3.74 ERA with the Giants this year and struck out (11.8 K/9) and walked (7.2 BB/9) tons of batters in 33.2 innings. The right-hander has always walked lots of hitters, but his mid-90s fastball and ability to induce strikeouts may tempt teams looking to buy low on live arms.

"The Yankees gave Damaso Marte a three-year $12MM deal, we can't.  If we have to claim 10 arms and click on the 10th, it's a good investment with a huge upside."

The Jays designated Michael Barrett for assignment to clear space for Henn on the 40-man roster.

• The Ronnie Belliard pickup is costing Orlando Hudson some major bucks, as Dylan Hernandez of The LA Times points out. Hudson entered the week with 577 plate appearances, and he'll earn $10K for every PA between 576 and 632 according to his contract. However, Hudson has sat in favor of Belliard four times in the last 11 games.
• Jim Reeves of The Star Telegram writes that the Rangers' financial plight will probably hamstring the team, with no immediate relief in sight. Club president Nolan Ryan said he can't see the team being sold before April or May at the earliest.
• Toni Ginnetti of The Chicago Sun Times says that acquiring a "true leadoff hitter with speed and base-stealing ability" should be on the shopping list for Cubs GM Jim Hendry this winter.
• Gordon Edes of Yahoo! Sports posted his All-Overachiever and All-Underachiever teams. Is it fair to consider Pablo Sandoval and Aaron Hill overachievers?
• Tyler Kepner of The NY Times has an amusing story about Sean Henn and what he went through when he was traded from Minnesota to Baltimore earlier this month.

TUESDAY: The Orioles acquired reliever Sean Henn from the Twins today, according to Peter Schmuck of the Baltimore Sun.  The 28 year-old southpaw has yet to experience big league success in brief stints with the Yankees, Padres, and Twins, but he posted strong numbers in Triple A this year.

• Twins reliever Pat Neshek has an acute partial tear of the UCL. Yes, that’s the Tommy John ligament. He won’t throw for at least three months, so his season is essentially over. There’s no word on whether he’ll undergo surgery. I remember hearing over the winter that Neshek was having elbow problems.
• Not that we didn’t pretty much know this already, but Yovani Gallardo has confirmed that he’ll have surgery on his torn ACL. My fantasy team weeps.
• With Ramon Castro coming off the DL, the Mets have DFA Raul Casanova. The best bet is that he’ll clear waivers and head to AAA.
• The Padres have claimed LHP Sean Henn off waivers. He was DFA by the Yankees last week. He was once a highly touted prospect, reportedly hitting 100 on the gun (though I think those reports were exaggerated).
• With the return of Cliff Floyd from the DL, the Rays have no room for OF Nathan Haynes, and have designated him for assignment.

Posted by Joe Pawlikowski.

• The Yankees have an eye on big-name 1Bs like Mark Teixeira and Todd Helton.  But more realistically, they’re looking at Tampa Bay’s Carlos Pena.  He’s got the defense, so even if he regresses to a 20 HR bat it’s a nice pickup.  Healey’s source believes Tyler Clippard is too much but the Rays like Sean Henn.  The Yanks have also inquired about the versatile Ty Wigginton.
• The Reds, Rockies, and others have been scouting the Yankees’ Double A Trenton affiliate.  Joba Chamberlain, Ian Kennedy, and Brett Gardner are probably the most desirable players on that roster.  Gotham Baseball has previously connected the Yankees to Brian Fuentes and David Weathers.  Another reliever the Yankees like is Chad Bradford, though the O’s price may be too high.
• Gotham quotes an NL scout who doesn’t believe the Mets will acquire a starter by trading Lastings Milledge, Carlos Gomez, or Fernando Martinez.  That scout believes the return of Pedro will supply the needed boost.  Personally, I can see Milledge going.
• Some former Mets on the radar: Brady Clark, Jay Payton, and David Weathers.
• Healey says the Mets sent scouts to look at Randy Winn this weekend.  They must not be pleased with Moises Alou’s progress.  As I mentioned earlier, Winn is signed through 2009.  He has a full no-trade clause this year.  For 2008-09 he can block deals to ten teams.
• The Pirates have some vets to trade, and have contacted the Mets regarding Shawn Chacon and Damaso Marte.  Marte is quietly having a fine season with a 1.21 ERA and 1.03 WHIP.  Marte earns $2.45MM this year, and $2MM in ’08 with an odd $6MM club option for 2009.  He can also earn incentives based on games finished.