• Rays lefty Everett Teaford has accepted an assignment to Triple-A after clearing waivers, MLBTR’s Steve Adams tweets. Teaford could have elected free agency as he has previously been outrighted. The southpaw made only one appearance during his stint with the big league club this year, but will serve as a useful depth piece for the organization as it works to bring back a host of arms off of the DL.
• The Cardinals have selected the contract of left-hander Tim Cooney, the team announced.  In corresponding moves, Adam Wainwright was moved to the 60-day disabled list and catcher Cody Stanley was optioned to Triple-A to create room for Cooney on the 40-man and 25-man rosters, respectively.  Cooney, 24, was a third-round pick in the 2012 draft and he has a career 3.50 ERA, 3.95 K/BB rate and 7.6 K/9 over 385 1/3 minor league innings.  The southpaw is ranked by MLB.com as the tenth-best prospect in the St. Louis farm system, and he’ll make his Major League debut today when he starts for the Cardinals against the Phillies.
• Infielder Tony Abreu and outfielder Greg Golson have signed with the Mexican League’s Veracruz Red Eagles, according to the team’s official Twitter feed.  Abreu elected to become a free agent last fall after appearing in 56 games for the Giants in 2013-14.  Abreu has a career .254/.283/.373 slash line over 615 plate appearances with the Giants, Royals, D’Backs and Dodgers since 2007.  Golson, who has 42 MLB plate appearances to his name between 2008-11, has spent the last three seasons playing in the minors, the independent Atlantic League and the Mexican Pacific Winter League.

• Jesus Guzman elected free agency rather than accept a Triple-A assignment from the Astros, Union Radio’s Pascual Artiles reports (Twitter link).  Houston outrighted Guzman off its 40-man roster earlier this month.  Guzman was acquired from the Padres last December and hit .188/.272/.248 in 184 plate appearances in 2014.
• Second baseman Tony Abreu has elected to become a free agent, leaving the Giants organization.  Abreu has been with the Giants for the last two seasons, appearing in three games with the team in 2014 and 53 in 2013.  Abreu has 615 PA to his name since debuting in the majors in 2007, posting a career .254/.283/.373 line for the Giants, Royals, Diamondbacks and Dodgers.
• Second baseman Cord Phelps has elected free agency.  Phelps played for the Orioles in 2014, appearing in three Major League games and hitting .259/.361/.388 over 403 PA at Triple-A Norfolk.
• The Dodgers re-signed left-hander Robert Carson.  The southpaw posted a 5.74 ERA over 62 2/3 IP in the minors with the Angels and Dodgers in 2014, getting released by L.A.’s red team in May and signing with L.A.’s blue team a week later.  Carson threw 33 innings for the Mets in 2012-13, posting a 6.82 ERA in his brief time in the Show.
• Left-hander Pedro Hernandez has elected to become a free agent, leaving the Rockies.  Hernandez posted a 6.42 ERA in 88 1/3 IP for Triple-A Colorado Springs in 2014, and made one start for the Rockies in July.  The southpaw has a career 7.33 ERA over 66 1/3 IP with the Rockies, Twins and White Sox since 2012.
• The Rockies released and then re-signed right-hander Simon Castro, according to the club’s official transactions page.  He first signed with Colorado in April but didn’t pitch at all in 2014 due to injury.  Castro was ranked as the game’s 58th-best prospect by Baseball America prior to the 2011 season while in the Padres farm system, and was dealt to the White Sox as part of the Carlos Quentin trade package in the 2011-12 offseason.  His Major League experience consists of 6 2/3 IP with Chicago in 2013.
• Left-hander Cesar Cabral, most recently of the Yankees organization, has elected to become a free agent, Examiner.com’s Dan Pfeiffer reports (Twitter link).  Cabral appeared in four games for the Yankees in 2014, totaling one inning pitched and allowing three earned runs.  His Major League resume also includes 3 2/3 IP for New York in 2013.  The southpaw has a 4.01 ERA, 2.58 K/BB rate and 420 strikeouts over 422 1/3 career minor league innings.

• The Rays have released Erik Bedard and Juan Carlos Oviedo, according to MiLB.com. The Rays had designated both pitchers for assignment earlier in the week.
• The Phillies have announced that they’ve re-signed OF Tony Gwynn Jr. to a minor league deal. He will report to Triple-A Lehigh Valley. Gwynn hit .163/.281/.204 in 119 plate appearances for the Phillies this season. They released him last week.
• Instead of electing free agency, infielder Tony Abreu has accepted his outright assignment to Triple-A by Giants, tweets Chris Cotillo of MLBDailyDish.com. Abreu was designated for assignment Tuesday after appearing in only four games. The 29-year-old owns a .280/.329/.428 slash line in 259 plate appearances this season for Triple-A Fresno.
• The Giants announced infielder Nick Noonan has cleared waivers and will be outrighted to Triple-A Fresno. The 25-year-old was designated for assignment July 25. Noonan, the 32nd overall selection in the 2007 draft, made his MLB debut last season slashing .219/.261/.238 in 111 plate appearances, but has struggled this year with a .239/.281/.302 line in 340 plate appearances between Triple-A Fresno and Class-A Advanced San Jose. 
• The Marlins tweeted left-hander Donnie Joseph has been outrighted to Triple-A New Orleans. The 26-year-old was designated for assignment Thursday after the Marlins acquired Jarred Cosart from the Astros. Joseph was picked up from the Royals for cash considerations June 30 and has spent his entire time in the Marlin organization at Triple-A posting an 11.05 ERA, 6.1 K/9, and 9.8 BB/9 in six relief outings covering 7 1/3 innings.
• The Diamondbacks have acquired outfielder Blake Tekotte from the White Sox for cash, per the MLB.com transactions page. Tekotte, who made 36 plate appearances for the White Sox in 2013 good for a slash of .226/.306/.355, will report to Triple-A Reno. The 27-year-old posted a .251/.324/.438 line in 318 plate appearances for the White Sox’s Triple-A affiliate.
• The Padres have released right-hander Billy Buckner from their Triple-A affiliate, according to the Pacific Coast League’s transactions page. The 30-year-old made one spot start for the Padres on May 24 allowing three runs on six hits in 5 2/3 innings. In 15 appearances (14 starts) for Triple-A El Paso, Buckner has posted a 5.80 ERA, 6.2 K/9, and 4.7 BB/9 in 63 2/3 innings.
• Also from the PCL transactions page, the Angels have released catcher Luis Martinez from their Triple-A affiliate. The 29-year-old, whose last MLB action was with the Rangers in 2012, hit .262/.329/.403 in 212 plate appearances for Salt Lake this season.
• Martinez didn’t stay unemployed very long as he was signed by the A’s and assigned to Triple-A Sacramento. The roster causality is catcher Luis Exposito, despite producing at a .303/.410/.394 clip since Oakland signed him June 26 after being released by the Tigers.
• Ten players find themselves in DFA limbo, as tracked by MLBTR’s DFA Tracker: Dan Uggla and Tyler Colvin (Giants), Jeff Francis and Brian Roberts (Yankees), Josh Wall and Dean Anna (Pirates), Ryan Feierabend (Rangers), David Carpenter (Angels), Nick Christiani (Reds), and Pedro Hernandez (Rockies).

Charlie Wilmoth contributed to this post.

• Scott Elbert of the Dodgers has cleared waivers and been outrighted to Triple-A, tweets Ken Gurnick of MLB.com. The lefty was designated for assignment on Tuesday. He has been trying to work back to form after not throwing a big league pitch over the last two seasons. Elbert had the right to refuse the assignment, but will stay with the organization, tweets Mark Saxon of ESPNLosAngeles.com.
• The Padres have outrighted lefty Jason Lane, according to the MLB transactions page. Lane had an outstanding first big league start, but will serve as depth at Triple-A if he accepts his assignment.
• Tony Abreu has also been outrighted by the Giants, per the PCL transactions page. The second baseman received only four plate appearances during his brief call-up. He will have the option of electing free agency.

Abreu appeared to be on his way to the open market recently when he opted out of his deal with the Giants, but the team worked things out and called him up recently alongside Dan Uggla. But the 29-year-old received only four trips to the plate in the four games for which he was active. Abreu owns a .278/.325/.430 slash line in 253 Triple-A plate appearances on the year.

Abreu, primarily a second baseman, has had a solid campaign with the Fresno Grizzlies this year, hitting .281/.329/.434 with six homers and 15 doubles in 250 plate appearances, though it’s worth noting that those stats came in the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League. The Giants earlier today signed Dan Uggla to a minor league deal, and with Uggla reporting to Fresno, it’s possible that Abreu’s playing time stood to diminish.

The 29-year-old Abreu spent a fair amount of time the Giants’ Major League club last season, hitting .268/.301/.442 with a pair of homers, 12 doubles and three triples in 147 plate appearances over 53 games. The Scott Boras client is a career .256/.285/.376 hitter in the Majors and also has experience at third base and shortstop.

SUNDAY, 9:05pm: The release of Abreu brings the competition for the Giants' last backup infield spot down to rookie Ehire Adrianza and non-roster invitee Brandon Hicks, reports Chris Haft of MLB.com.  The Giants risk losing Adrianza if he doesn't make the team, as he's out of minor league options.

12:42pm: The Giants have requested release waivers on infielder Tony Abreu, tweets John Shea of the San Francisco Chronicle. The Giants cleared a 40-man roster spot with the move and are only responsible for one-quarter of Abreu's $745K salary, which was agreed to in January to avoid arbitration.

The 29-year-old split the 2013 season between the Giants and Triple-A Fresno. Abreu saw most of his action at second base for San Francisco slashing .268/.301/.442 in 147 plate appearances covering 53 games. Before his June callup, Abreu posted a .338/.366/.523 line at Fresno in 71 plate appearances covering 22 games.

Abreu has a MLB career line of .256/.285/.376 across five seasons with the Dodgers, Diamondbacks, Royals, and Giants. 

Today's noon CT deadline to exchange arb figures has passed, but negotiations to avoid an arbitration hearing can continue into February. The Braves are the only strict "file and trial" team that did not agree to terms with all of its arb-eligible players, meaning they could be headed for several hearings. The Nats and Indians have also shown a willingness to go to a trial and still have some players unsigned. On to today's contract agreements…

• After exchanging numbers, the Mets and pitcher Dillon Gee have agreed to settle at the midpoint of $3.625MM, tweets Adam Rubin of ESPNNewYork.com. Swartz projected Gee to earn $3.4MM.
• The Cubs have avoided arbitration with reliever Pedro Strop, president Theo Epstein told Mark Gonzales of the Chicago Tribune (Twitter link). He will earn $1.325MM next year, according to a tweet from Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times. It is not immediately apparent whether the deal was reached before the sides exchanged terms.
• The Angels have reached agreement on a $3.8MM deal with reliever Ernesto Frieri, reports Alden Gonzalez of MLB.com (on Twitter). 
• Mike Minor has agreed to terms on a $3.85MM deal with the Braves to avoid arbitration, reports Mark Bowman of MLB.com (Twitter links). The deal came before figures were exchanged, Bowman notes.
• Chris Cotillo of MLB Daily Dish reports that the D-Backs and lefty Joe Thatcher have avoided arb with a one-year, $2.375MM deal (Twitter link).
• Nicholson-Smith tweets that the Angels and Fernando Salas reached an agreement to avoid arbitration. Salas is the first Halos player to avoid arb. Mike DiGiovanna of the L.A. Times tweets that Salas will earn $870K, which beats out his $700K projection.
• MLB.com's Jason Beck reports (via Twitter) that the Tigers and righty Al Alburquerque have reached agreement on a deal to avoid arb. The hard-throwing righty will earn $837.5K in 2014, tweets Beck.
• Sherman tweets that the Yankees and Ivan Nova avoided arbitration with a one-year, $3.3MM deal.
• The Pirates and Vin Mazzaro inked a one-year, $950K deal in lieu of an arbitration hearing, tweets Rob Biertempfel of the Pittsburgh Tribune.
• The Royals announced that they've avoided arbitration with infielder Emilio Bonifacio. Heyman tweets that Bonifacio will earn $3.5MM in 2014.
• Sherman reports that the Rays avoided arbitration with Jeremy Hellickson and Sean Rodriguez (Twitter link). Hellickson landed a $3.625MM payday with a $25K bonus if he hits 195 innings pitched. Rodriguez will get $1.475MM with a $25K bump for hitting 300 plate appearances.
• Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com tweets that Brian Matusz avoided arb with the Orioles. Sherman adds that he'll earn $2.4MM in 2014.
• MLB.com's Brian McTaggart tweets that Jason Castro and the Astros have avoided arbitration. McTaggart adds in a second tweet that Jesus Guzman avoided arb as well. Heyman reports that Castro will be paid $2.45MM, while Sherman tweets that Guzman will make $1.3MM.
• The Indians tweeted that they've avoided arb with lefty Marc Rzepczynski, and MLB.com's Jordan Bastian tweets that he'll earn $1.375MM in 2014. Bastian adds that Scrabble will earn an additional $25K for appearing in 55 games and another $25K for 60 games.
• The Giants avoided arbitration with Yusmeiro Petit, according to MLBTR's Steve Adams (on Twitter).  He'll earn $845K, according to Sportsnet's Ben Nicholson-Smith (via Twitter).

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Abreu, 28, appeared in 22 games for the Royals last year, playing second base, third base and shortstop. He spent most of the season at Triple-A Omaha and posted a .322/.347/.492 batting line with 36 doubles in 453 plate appearances. Abreu has a .252/.280/.355 batting line in 464 plate appearances over the course of four MLB seasons.

Abreu, 28, appeared in 22 games for the Royals last year, playing second base, third base and shortstop. He spent most of the season at Triple-A Omaha and posted a .322/.347/.492 batting line with 36 doubles in 453 plate appearances.

• Dutton projects the Royals' payroll to be in neighborhood of $83MM and it's hard for him to see it go much higher (via Twitter). The Royals could free up some salary by moving Luke Hochevar or Bruce Chen, but Dutton doesn't sense any urgency from the club to move either one. Another possibility, although less likely, is Chris Getz (Twitter links).
• The Mariners have contacted the Marlins about Giancarlo Stanton, tweets Jon Paul Morosi of FOXSports.com. However, one source Morosi spoke with doubts a trade will occur. 
• Baseball America's Jim Callis has updated the 2013 amateur draft order. There are four potential compensation free agents remaining on the market (Michael Bourn, Adam LaRoche, Kyle Lohse, and Rafael Soriano). If they change addresses, their former club will get a pick at the end of the first round and their new team will forfeit their top choice (unless it's one of the top 10 overall).
• Within the same piece, Callis remains surprised the Mets were able to obtain Noah Syndergaard from the Blue Jays in the R.A. Dickey trade. By adding Travis d'Arnaud and Syndergaard, which Callis projects as the Mets' second and third best prospects, the club has boosted their farm system into the top 20.
• Adam Kilgore of the Washington Post listed the Nationals posting the best record in baseball as the club's top storyline in 2012.

Betancourt rejoined the Royals this past offseason after being included in the Zack Greinke trade to the Brewers after the 2010 season. The infielder was hitting .232/.260/.408 in 56 games with Kansas City this year. 

• The Rays signed righty Jhonny Nunez to a minor league deal, tweets Baseball America's Matt Eddy.
• The Padres signed right-hander Matt Palmer to a minor league deal, reports MLB.com's Corey Brock (Twitter link).
• The Brewers signed outfielder Miguel Velazquez to a minor league deal, according to Kevin Goldstein of Baseball Prospectus (all links go to Twitter).
• The A’s signed outfielder Brandon Moss to a minor league deal, according to Goldstein.
• The Padres signed left-hander Alex Hinshaw to a minor league deal, according to Goldstein.
• The Blue Jays signed former Nationals prospect Garrett Mock to a minor league deal, according to Goldstein.
• The Royals announced that they signed right-hander Zach Miner, infielders Jamie Romak, Eric Duncan, Sharlon Schoop and Tony Abreu and left-handers Marlon Arias and Tommy Hottovy to minor league contracts. Miner, Abreu and Hottovy have big league experience, though only Hottovy appeared in the Major Leagues this past season. Duncan, once a highly-regarded prospect, posted a .849 OPS at Double-A as a utility player in 2011. Romak posted an .803 OPS for the Royals in 2011 and even pitched on two occasions.

• D'Backs manager Kirk Gibson told Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic that Tony Abreu cleared waivers and is going to Triple-A (Twitter link).
• The Royals told Bob Dutton of the Kansas City Star that Gregor Blanco cleared waivers and will be outrighted to Triple-A (Twitter link).
• Outfielder Nick Evans cleared waivers yesterday, GM Sandy Alderson told Adam Rubin of ESPNNewYork.com (on Twitter). The Mets outrighted Evans when he didn't make the Opening Day roster.
• Another Mets player, Luis Hernandez cleared waivers, reports MLB.com's Anthony DiComo. He's unsure whether he'll accept a minor league assignment.
• Cubs catcher Max Ramirez cleared waivers and was outrighted to minor league camp, tweets MLB.com's Carrie Muskat.
• The Tigers outrighted infielder Audy Ciriaco to create a 40-man spot for reliever Enrique Gonzalez, tweets MLB.com's Jason Beck.
• Retired reliever Billy Wagner was removed from the Braves' 40-man roster today, tweets David O'Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.   Wagner has no plans to come out of retirement, but if he did he'd have to play for the Braves in 2011.  The AP has details.
• Orioles righty Rick Vandenhurk cleared waivers, tweets Jeff Zrebiec of the Baltimore Sun.
• Mets reliever Jason Isringhausen, who didn't make the club out of Spring Training, agreed to spend two weeks in Port St. Lucie.  According to ESPN's Adam Rubin, one condition of the extended Spring Training agreement is that "if another team approaches Isringhausen in the interim about a major league opportunity, the Mets must either call up Izzy or let him depart."  The Mets chose Blaine Boyer over Isringhausen for the Opening Day roster, which so far has allowed them to retain both relievers.
• Outfielder Brandon Boggs, outrighted by the Brewers yesterday, accepted his Triple-A assignment according to Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel.

• One scout tells Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports that every team is kicking the tires on bullpen help, back-of-the-rotation starters, utility players and backup catchers (Twitter link).
• Scouts break down former Padres, current Padres, and other West Coast teams for Tom Krasovic of Inside the Padres. One scout says there's "no doubt" that Cameron Maybin can play center field in spacious Petco park.
• Top Pirates prospects Stetson Allie, Jameson Taillon and Tony Sanchez have little in common off of the field, but are looking forward to making an impact in Pittsburgh, writes Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
• MLB.com's T.R. Sullivan reports that the Rangers are looking for a shortstop for Triple-A and suggests Luis Cruz, Tony Abreu and Juan Castro are options.