• The Tigers inked right-hander Shawn Hill to a minor league deal today, as James Wagner of the Toledo Blade reports on Twitter. Hill, 33, has seen mostly scattered MLB action since taking 28 starts for the Nationals over the 2007-08 seasons. He has a 4.87 ERA through 105 1/3 innings (4.7 K/9 against 2.2 BB/9) in the upper minors this year with the White Sox and Blue Jays organizations.
• The Phillies have outrighted Sean O’Sullivan to Triple-A, according to the International League transactions page. The righty accepted a previous outright assignment earlier this year, but will once again have the right to elect free agency instead.
• Rays prospect Josh Sale has been hit with a 50-game suspension for recreational drug use, MLB announced today. This is hardly the first brush with trouble for the 23-year-old former first-round pick, who came into the 2013 season rated Tampa’s 24th-best prospect by Baseball America. After a previous drug-related suspension, Sale missed all of last year when the team banned him for inappropriate conduct. He had slashed .238/.313/.344 over 361 plate appearances on the year at the High-A level.
• After reporting earlier today that Matt Daley has accepted an outright assignment from the Yankees, MLB Daily Dish’s Chris Cotillo tweets that Daley has actually been optioned by the club. The righty still occupies a 40-man spot.
• Catcher Chris Gimenez has accepted an outright assignment from the Rangers rather than electing free agency, tweets John Blake, the club’s executive VP of communications. The 31-year-old was designated for assignment five days ago, and apparently has not found a better opportunity with another organization.
• The Phillies have released outfielder Clete Thomas, Cotillo tweets. The 30-year-old has seen 794 MLB plate appearances in parts of four seasons, but had not been elevated by Philadelphia this season. Over 226 minor league plate appearances, he carries a .247/.345/.335 slash.

Earlier Updates

Baseball America’s Matt Eddy has posted his weekly look at minor league transactions from around the league from the past seven days. We’ll highlight a couple of the (relatively) notable names that were missed in the past week:

• Eddy reports that the Cardinals have released southpaw Pedro Feliciano from his minor league deal. The 37-year-old, once an excellent setup man with the Mets, pitched to a 5.57 ERA with 8.1 K/9 and 3.4 BB/9 in 21 frames with Triple-A Memphis this season.
• The Reds have released left-hander Scott Maine, Eddy reports. The former Cub was inked to a minor league deal in June after pitching well for the independent Atlantic League’s Bridgeport Bluefish, but he posted a 6.10 ERA in 10 1/3 innings with the Reds organization.
• The Athletics have released first baseman/third baseman B.A. Vollmuth, tweets Eddy. Vollmuth, a third-rounder as recently as 2011, batted just .207/.278/.341 this season at Class A Beloit. The 24-year-old has yet to move above the Class-A Advanced level and a has a .702 OPS in his pro career.

• The Brewers have outrighted infielder Irving Falu, according to MLB.com’s transactions page. They claimed him last month from the Padres, who had previously claimed him from Milwaukee, so that the Brewers finally got him through to the minors must represent a small victory. The 31-year-old has hit .289/.342/.333 in 230 plate appearances for Triple-A Nashville this season.
• The Blue Jays have announced that they’ve selected the contract of lefty Brad Mills and optioned infielder Ryan Goins to Triple-A Buffalo. The Jays outrighted Mills in late July. He’s posted a 1.81 ERA with 9.0 K/9 and 1.9 BB/9 at Triple-A this season.
• The Mets have released outfielder Bobby Abreu, according to MiLB.com. The 40-year-old was designated for assignment last week after hitting .238/.331/.336 in 142 plate appearances in his first big-league action since 2012.
• The Cubs have outrighted outfielder Ryan Kalish to Triple-A Iowa, per the team’s transactions page. The 26-year-old was designated for assignment Friday after posting a slash of .242/.303/.330 in 100 plate appearances.
• The Indians have released right-hander Frank Herrmann from their Triple-A affiliate, tweets MLB.com’s Jordan Bastian. The 30-year-old, the longest-tenured player in the Cleveland organization, has struggled in 28 relief outings for Columbus to the tune of a 6.37 ERA, 9.1 K/9, and 5.8 BB/9 in 29 2/3 innings. Herrmann hasn’t pitched in a MLB contest since 2012 when he recorded a 2.33 ERA, 6.5 K/9, and 1.9 BB/9 over 19 1/3 innings (15 games) for the Indians.
• The White Sox have released right-hander Shawn Hill from Triple-A Charlotte, according to the International League transactions page. The veteran 33-year-old pitched to a 4.81 ERA with 4.2 K/9 and 1.4 BB/9 in 58 innings for the Knights after being acquired in a minor trade with the Blue Jays back in June. Hill last saw the bigs in 2012 with Toronto, and he has a lifetime 4.69 ERA with 5.6 K/9 and 2.8 BB/9 in 242 Major League innings.
• Jason Pridie has accepted his outright assignment by the Rockies to Triple-A, tweets Chris Cotillo of MLBDailyDish.com. The 30-year-old outfielder, who was designated for assignment Wednesday, had the option to become a free agent since he had been outrighted previously, but chose to remain at Colorado Springs where he has hit .275/.341/.426 in 378 plate appearances.
• Cotillo also tweets Andy Marte has accepted his outright assignment with the Diamondbacks rather than electing free agency. Marte, who batted .332/.385/.513 at Triple-A this season, will return to Reno in pursuit of the Pacific Coast League batting title, Cotillo adds. Marte was DFA’ed last week and sent outright to Reno last night, but, like Pridie, had been outrighted in the past and had the option to elect free agency.
• With the Dodgers and Phillies designating Colt Hynes and Sean O’Sullivan, respectively, for assignment today, a total of six players are now in DFA limbo. As can be seen in MLBTR’s DFA Tracker, in addition to Hynes and O’Sullivan, the following players have yet to have their DFA situation resolved: Chris Young (Mets), Ernesto Frieri (Pirates), Nate Schierholtz (Cubs) and Chone Figgins (Dodgers).

Edward Creech and Charlie Wilmoth contributed to this post.

• ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick reports that the Blue Jays have released left-hander Ryan Rowland-Smith from Triple-A Buffalo (Twitter link). The Australian lefty worked his way back to the Majors earlier this season with the D’Backs — his first big league action since 2010. After being released by Arizona, Rowland-Smith caught on with the Jays and allowed eight runs in 14 innings with a solid 11-to-3 K/BB ratio.
• The White Sox have acquired righty Shawn Hill from the Blue Jays, according to the International League transactions page. Hill, 33, has seen time in seven MLB seasons, working to a 4.69 ERA in 242 innings, almost entirely as a starter. He last reached the majors in 2012 with the Jays, when he made his first and only relief appearance. Hill made three starts for the Expos back in 2004, and had his best season with the Nationals in 2007, when he worked to a 3.42 ERA in 97 1/3 frames.
• Reliever Carlos Marmol has been placed on the restricted list by the Reds after leaving the club without permission, according to Jamie Ramsey, the club’s Assistant Director of Media Relations (Twitter link). Marmol came to Cincinnati recently on a minor league deal after he was released by the Marlins, and had allowed three earned runs (with six walks and six strikeouts) through just 3 2/3 frames at Triple-A.
• The Tigers have acquired catcher Manny Pina from the Mariners in exchange for a player to be named later, according to the MLB transactions page. Detroit has released fellow backstop Luis Exposito in a corresponding move, via the International League transactions page. Pina, 27, has had two brief MLB stints with the Royals. He is hitting .267/.337/.413 through 83 plate appearances at Triple-A Tacoma. Exposito is also a 27-year-old with minimal MLB experience under his belt; he owns a .177/.252/.313 line in 107 plate appearances for Toledo.
• Brian Barden will continue his career with the indy league Somerset Patriots, reports ESPN.com’s Jerry Crasnick (via Twitter). The 33-year-old infielder has seen action in four MLB campaigns with the Cardinals, Diamondbacks, and Marlins, most recently in 2010. He spent last year at Triple-A for the Dodgers before moving to the Mexican League at the start of 2014.
• MLBTR’s DFA Tracker shows six players in limbo: Jordan Pacheco (Rockies), David Huff (Giants), Jason Kubel (Twins), Trevor Cahill (Diamondbacks), and Wilton Lopez (Rockies).

• Outfielder Trent Oeltjen tweets (via Rotoworld) that he has signed with the Diamondbacks. Oeltjen, 31, has not appeared in the big leagues since 2011 with the Dodgers, but he has hit well at the Triple-A level, putting up a line of .255/.345/.483 for the Angels' Triple-A Salt Lake affiliate last season.
• The Orioles have released lefty Aaron Laffey, MASNsports.com's Steve Melewski tweets. Laffey pitched just 12 2/3 innings in the big leagues in 2013, spending most of it struggling at Triple-A, but he pitched 100 2/3 innings for the Blue Jays in 2012.
• The Rockies have released pitcher Bobby Cassevah, MLB Daily Dish's Chris Cotillo tweets. Cassevah, who accumulated a 3.20 ERA with 4.7 K/9 and 4.6 BB/9 from 2010-2012 in the Angels bullpen, is currently rehabbing an injury.
• Veteran lefty Randy Wolf has requested, and received, his release from the Mariners, MLB.com's Greg Johns tweets. Wolf was attempting a comeback after missing the entire 2013 season. He last appeared in the big leagues in 2012, when he pitched for the Brewers and Orioles. The Mariners told Wolf he had made the team, but he did not want to sign a 45-day advance consent release, Johns notes.
• The Blue Jays have signed pitcher Shawn Hill from the York Revolution of the Atlantic League, MLive.com's Chris Iott tweets. Hill, 32, last appeared in the big leagues in 2012 with the Jays. He posted a 5.51 ERA with 5.0 K/9 and 2.8 BB/9 in 150 1/3 innings with the Tigers' Triple-A Toledo affiliate in 2013.
• The Padres have acquired catcher Adam Moore from the Royals in exchange for cash considerations, tweets Andy McCullough of the Kansas City Star. The 29-year-old has seen bit action at the MLB level in each of the last five years. In his longest stint, a 2010 run with the Mariners, Moore managed only a .513 OPS in 218 plate appearances.

Charlie Wilmoth contributed to this post.

• The Rangers have signed left-hander Neal Cotts, catcher Juan Apodaca, right-hander Yonata Ortega, and outfielders Jim Adduci and Aaron Cunningham to minor league deals, according to Anthony Andro of FOX Sports Southwest. Cotts and Cunningham both have extensive Major League experience.
• Outfielder Jason Bourgeois has cleared waivers and can now elect free agency, Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com reports (on Twitter). Bourgeois, 30, appeared in 30 games for the Royals this past season, playing left and center field.
• The Tigers signed right-hander Shawn Hill to a minor league contract, James Schmehl of MLive.com reports. Hill elected free agency last month after the Blue Jays removed him from the 40-man roster. The 31-year-old appeared in one game for the Blue Jays this past season, pitching three scoreless innings. He spent most of the 2012 season at Triple-A where he posted a 4.52 ERA with 5.2 K/9 and 2.2 BB/9 in 89 2/3 innings.

Left-hander Aaron Laffey and right-handers Shawn Hill, Bobby Korecky and Scott Richmond also elected free agency, Matt Eddy of Baseball America reports (on Twitter). The Blue Jays had outrighted Hill, Korecky and Laffey last week.

Litsch missed the entire 2012 season due to injuries. He experienced a "career threatening" shoulder infection early in the year and underwent biceps surgery in June. The 27-year-old pitched 75 innings in 2011, posting a 4.44 ERA with 7.9 K/9 and 3.4 BB/9. In five MLB seasons he has a 4.16 ERA with 5.2 K/9 and 2.6 BB/9. Litsch earned $975K in 2012 and would have been under team control through 2013.

• The Blue Jays announced that they have outrighted left-hander Aaron Laffey, right-hander Shawn Hill, and right-hander Bobby Korecky off of the 40-man roster.  The move leaves Toronto with 37 players on the 40-man roster.  Laffey, 27, would have been arbitration-eligible this offseason.  That leaves Colby Rasmus, Jesse Litsch, J.A. Happ, and Rajai Davis (if his club option is declined) as the remaining arb eligible cases in Toronto.

The 31-year-old Hill made his Major League debut with the Expos in 2004, and also appeared for the Nationals, Padres, and Blue Jays from 2006-2010. The Ontario-born right-hander has a 4.74 ERA, 5.7 K/9, 2.8 BB/9 and 48.9% groundball rate in 239 big league innings. Stats such as FIP (4.02) and SIERA (4.45) suggest that Hill has pitched better than his ERA would indicate.

This season, in 29 2/3 innings for the Revolution, Hill has totaled a 2.93 ERA and a 21:9 strikeout-to-walk ratio. More impressively, he finished his time in independent ball by firing off 27 2/3 scoreless innings. The Blue Jays are hurting for pitching depth after placing Brandon Morrow and Drew Hutchison on the disabled list and losing Kyle Drabek to Tommy John surgery recently. Beyond that, both Jesse Litsch and Dustin McGowan are on the 60-day disabled list.

Hill, 29, broke into the majors with Montreal in 2004 and most recently made four starts for Toronto last season.  The Jays released Hill to make room for Rajai Davis in November.  Hill has a career 4.74 ERA and a 2.04 K/BB ratio in 44 Major League starts and has undergone two Tommy John surgeries in his young career.  Hill pitched well in both the majors and minors for the Jays last year, and if he stays healthy, could be a nice high-upside addition to Florida's staff.

Davis, 30, became more expendable for Oakland after they acquired David DeJesus from the Royals.  Davis slipped to .284/.320/.377 this year in 561 plate appearances for the A's, playing all three outfield positions but mainly center.  It's not clear how the Jays will employ him, but capable center fielders are a rare commodity.  We named him as a trade candidate back on October 25th.  Davis is arbitration eligible for the second time this winter and potentially under team control through 2013.

Farquhar, 24 in February, posted a 3.52 ERA, 9.3 K/9, 4.9 BB/9, and 0.82 HR/9 in 76 2/3 Double-A innings this year.  Baseball America ranked him 14th among Jays prospects heading into the season, noting that he effectively uses multiple arm angles to keep hitters off balance.  The Blue Jays reportedly offered him to the Marlins as part of a deal for Dan Uggla.

Magnuson, a 25-year-old righty, posted a 2.58 ERA, 7.7 K/9, and 1.2 BB/9 with only one home run allowed in 73 1/3 Double-A innings this year.  Heading into the season BA had him 22nd among Jays prospects.

Hill, 30 in April, has undergone Tommy John surgery twice in his career but was solid in 15 pro starts this year.

Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports first tweeted the deal was close, while MLBTR added Magnuson's inclusion.

As MLB.com's Jordan Bastian notes (via Twitter) Hill had a second Tommy John surgery last year.

Neither player was a major contributor in San Diego this season. Hill started three games for the club, posting a 1-1 record and a 5.25 ERA. Floyd made 17 plate appearances in 10 games, recording just two singles and a walk.

According to Brock, Padres GM Kevin Towers said Sunday that he will not seek to acquire pitching help in a trade.

The Padres have been hit hard by injuries to their rotation, placing three starters on the disabled list in the last month. Cha Seung Baek and Walter Silva have strained forearms, and Shawn Hill was moved to the DL after leaving a game with inflammation in his elbow.

• Chico Harlan of the Washington Post says the Nationals will honor a handshake agreement Dmitri Young made with Jim Bowden, and put the first baseman back on the 40-man roster.
• Catcher Matt Wieters has been told by the Orioles that he'll be optioned to Triple A on Monday, according to Peter Schmuck of the Baltimore Sun.  Will the Orioles wait until late May to try to avoid Super Two status?
• Reds assistant GM Bob Miller talked to fans in an MLB.com Q&A.
• Check out an entertaining chat transcript with Mike DiGiovanna of the L.A. Times over at Halos Heaven.
• Sam Mellinger of the Kansas City Star interviewed Zack Greinke.
• Rangers owner Tom Hicks told Richard Durrett of the Dallas Morning News that the team has not reduced its budget for 2010.  The Rangers have yet to set next year's budget, but it's known that some big salaries will be coming off the books.  Meanwhile, MLB.com's Barry Bloom notes that Hicks intends to sell a minority share of the team.
• Rays exec Andrew Friedman said the team's demotion of David Price was entirely for baseball reasons, talking to Marc Topkin of the St. Petersburg Times.  R.J. Anderson of DRays Bay supports the decision. Bart Given agrees.
• Tom Haudricourt and Adam McCalvy write about Brewers GM Doug Melvin's irritation with the bogus Jake Peavy rumor.
• Purely speculative, but Mike Berardino of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel wonders if Dontrelle Willis could get his career back on track with the Marlins.
• Rockies infielder Jeff Baker, unaffected by the trade rumors, homered twice yesterday.
• John Moores says the Padres sale to Jeff Moorad is "awfully close," talking to MLB.com's Barry Bloom.  As you know, Sandy Alderson will step down as CEO when the deal closes (possibly today).
• Padres pitcher Shawn Hill had offers from six teams, according to MLB.com's Corey Brock.
• The Red Sox signed reliever Rocky Cherry to a minor league deal.
• MLB.com's Alyson Footer says reliever Danny Graves asked for and received his release from the Astros.

• Chat today, 2pm CST.
• The White Sox sent last year's first-round pick Gordon Beckham to Double A to play shortstop, according to Mark Gonzales of the Chicago Tribune.
• Brian McTaggart of the Houston Chronicle talked to Astros GM Ed Wade about the difference between guaranteed and non-guaranteed contracts.
• El Lefty Malo expects the Giants to trade lefty Jack Taschner and go after free agent Will Ohman.  Andrew Baggarly of the San Jose Mercury News dismissed an internet rumor about Taschner and the Tigers.  Not sure where that came from.
• Alex Speier of WEEI projects Boston's Opening Day payroll to be under $120MM, its lowest since '03.  Speier suggests this could allow midseason financial flexibility.
• Chico Harlan of the Washington Post asks whether the Nationals will try to avoid an eventual Super Two status for Jordan Zimmermann.
• Bart Given says Shawn Hill made the right decision in signing with San Diego.
• Oil Can Boyd hopes to pitch in Ottawa in the Cam-Am Baseball League.
• The Royals Authority 2009 Annual is on sale now – check it out.