• The Reds announced that they’ve signed right-handed reliever Ben Rowen to a minor league contract and invited him to Major League Spring Training. The 29-year-old Rowen has just 11 2/3 MLB innings under his belt (none since 2016), but the sidearmer has a lengthy track record of success in Triple-A. While Rowen had a down season in 2017, working to a 4.41 ERA in 63 1/3 innings, his struggles came in a hitters’ paradise — the Mets’ Triple-A affiliate in Las Vegas. Overall, Rowen has a career 2.81 ERA with 6.9 K/9 against 1.8 BB/9 in parts of five Triple-A campaigns, and he has routinely racked up ground-ball rates north of 60 percent thanks in large part to his unorthodox delivery.
• The Dodgers have inked former Cubs/Rockies outfielder Tyler Colvin to a minor league deal, tweets SB Nation’s Chris Cotillo. Now 32 years old, Colvin hasn’t been in the Majors since 2014 and hasn’t been affiliated with a big league organization since a 2015 stint with the White Sox’ Triple-A club. He spent the 2016 season with the Long Island Ducks of the independent Atlantic League and struggled to a .218/.264/.339 slash through 277 plate appearances, and he didn’t play professionally in 2017. Colvin had success in the Majors back in 2010 (113 OPS+) and 2012 (114 OPS+), but his overall .239/.287/.446 slash through 1309 MLB PAs is reflective of the fact that he’s had more struggles than success in the big leagues.

Colvin was in camp with the Marlins before opting out of his minor league deal in April. The 29-year-old outfielder spent 2014 with the Giants slashing .223/.268/.381 in 149 plate appearances before being outrighted in August. Colvin was the Cubs’ first-round choice and the 13th overall selection in the 2006 draft, but has struggled in the Majors batting .239/.287/.446 during his six-year career with the Cubs, Rockies, and Giants.

Mitchell was the 23rd overall pick in the 2009 draft and also has failed to live up to his billing. The 26-year-old outfielder has scuffled at the Triple-A level posting a line of just .205/.328/.327 over the course of four seasons at Charlotte, including a mark of .050/.174/.100 in 46 plate appearances this year.

Formerly the 13th overall pick in the 2006 draft (by the Cubs) and the No. 75 prospect in all of baseball (per Baseball America prior to the ’09 season), Colvin has never developed the way many expected him to, but he’s seen a good chunk of Major League action in each of the past five seasons.

Last year, Colvin totaled 149 plate appearances with the Giants, slashing .223/.268/.381 — again showing plus power but difficulty getting on base. That’s been the story of Colvin’s career, as the outfielder/first baseman boasts an impressive .207 isolated power mark but has managed an overall batting line of .239/.287/.446.

Defensive metrics have never loved Colvin’s work, but he doesn’t rate horribly at any of the three outfield positions per Defensive Runs Saved. Ultimate Zone Rating considers him adequate on the corners and below-average in center (-12.4 per 150 games). Of course, while Colvin has 650 innings or more at all three outfield positions, all of his defensive sample sizes are still small enough that they should still be taken with a grain of salt.

Colvin likely hoped to crack the Marlins’ roster as a fourth outfielder and part-time first baseman, however when he signed, Miami had yet to add Ichiro Suzuki to its ranks. The Marlins’ outfield picture looks to be a difficult one to crack, so the 29-year-old Colvin will presumably hope to find a new Minor League deal with a team that presents a clearer path to a Major League roster spot.

• The Red Sox have signed lefty Matt Hoffman, Chris Cotillo of MLB Daily Dish tweets. Hoffman, 26, pitched in the high minors in the Phillies and Twins organizations in 2014, posting a 3.75 ERA with 9.4 K/9 and 3.6 BB/9 in 48 innings of relief. He’d spent the previous six years in the Tigers organization, working his way up to Triple-A Toledo.
• The Marlins signed 29-year-old outfielder Tyler Colvin.  In 2014, he posted a .223/.268/.381 slash line with two homers over 149 PA for the Giants.  Colvin elected free agency in October, allowing him to pursue opportunities elsewhere.  Over parts of six seasons at the big league level with the Cubs, Rockies, and Giants, Colvin has a career line of .239/.287/.446.
• The Cubs re-signed second baseman Chris Valaika. The 29-year-old slashed .231/.282/.339 across 131 plate appearances for the Cubs last season, which is more or less consistent with his career .238/.282/.351 slash line over parts of four seasons. At Triple-A Iowa, Valaika hit .278/.344/.423 in 397 PAs.
• The Tigers signed Josh Wilson to a minor league pact. The 33-year-old infielder hit .239/.271/.299 in 72 PAs for the Rangers in 2014, though he spent the bulk of the year in Triple-A Round Rock.
• The Orioles signed left-hander Cesar Cabral. The 25-year-old pitched in four games for the Yankees last year allowing three runs, four hits, three hit batsmen, and a pair of walks in only one inning of work. Cabral spent the rest of the season splitting his time between Double-A and Triple-A posting a 6.28 ERA, 10.2 K/9, and 7.9 BB/9 in 32 relief appearances totalling 38 2/3 innings.

• 1B Daric Barton (Athletics), OF Tyler Colvin (Giants), OF Justin Maxwell (Royals), SP Jair Jurrjens (Rockies), RP Wilton Lopez (Rockies) and R Troy Patton (Padres) have all elected free agency, Baseball America’s Matt Eddy tweets.
• Seven former Blue Jays have elected free agency, Eddy tweets. Among them is first baseman Dan Johnson, who the Jays outrighted earlier this week. Johnson collected 48 plate appearances in Toronto this season, but spent most of the year with Triple-A Buffalo, hitting .232/.381/.434 in 459 plate appearances there. The others who elected free agency are shortstop Jonathan Diaz, outfielders Cole Gillespie and Darin Mastroianni, and pitchers Bobby Korecky, Brad Mills and Raul Valdes.

• Outfielder Tyler Colvin has accepted his outright assignment to the Giants’ Triple-A affiliate, MLB Daily Dish’s Chris Cotillo reports (Twitter link).  Colvin had the option of becoming a free agent when San Francisco outrighted him earlier this week.  The 28-year-old has a .223/.268/.381 slash line and two homers over 149 PA with the Giants this season.

AUG. 4: Uggla has declined to go to Triple-A, Pavlovic tweets, and it is “hard to see him back with [the] Giants at any point.”  As for Colvin, Giants assistant GM Bobby Evans told Hank Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle (Twitter link) that the outfielder has been informed that the Giants would like to keep him at Triple-A if he clears waivers.  Colvin has the option of becoming a free agent.

AUG. 1: The Giants have designated Uggla and Colvin for assignment, tweets Alex Pavlovic of the Mercury News.

JULY 30, 9:21pm: The Giants have actually optioned Colvin to Triple-A, and have yet to formally make a move regarding Uggla, tweets Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle. The club has not confirmed that Uggla has or will be released, tweets Andrew Baggarly of CSNBayArea.com.

8:46pm: The Giants have released second baseman Dan Uggla and outfielder Tyler Colvin, reports MLB.com’s Chris Haft. San Francisco is expected to undertake several roster moves, possibly including new additions as well as the activation of several regulars from the DL.

While the club has been rumored to be pursuing several possible options at second base, nothing has reportedly come to fruition at this point. The Giants need roster space regardless, as Angel Pagan, Brandon Belt, and Hector Sanchez are all expected to be activated in relatively short order.

Uggla struggled mightily in his short time in San Francisco, failing to register a hit in 12 plate appearances while striking out six times (to go with three errors in the field). Of course, that is a continuation of his difficult time this year and last in Atlanta. Since the start of 2013, the 34-year-old has slashed .171/.291/.326 over 694 plate appearances, racking up 217 strikeouts along the way.

Colvin, meanwhile, owns a meager .225/.270/.384 line in 148 plate appearances on the season. He joined the Giants on a minor league deal after spending the prior two seasons with the Rockies. Once a well-regarded prospect, the 28-year-old had a strong 2012 campaign but has not produced at the MLB level since.

Here are some items from around the baseball world…

• Tyler Colvin has accepted his assignment to the Giants' Triple-A affiliate and will report tomorrow, CSNBayArea.com's Andrew Baggarly reports (via Twitter).  Colvin signed a minor league deal with San Francisco in February that contained an opt-out clause if he wasn't added to the team's Opening Day roster.
• While fans may worry that their teams will be hamstrung in the future by massive contracts, Sports Illustrated's Tom Verducci notes that the financial costs aren't as great as they seem given how much revenue Major League Baseball is generating and passing down to all 30 teams.  These big deals also tend to create extra revenue for teams — Verducci cites how the Mariners' huge deal with Robinson Cano helped "a brand that needed polishing," and Cano's presence will help ticket sales and TV ratings.
• High schooler Joe Dunand's streak of eight home runs in as many at-bats has raised the youngster's profile, CBSSports.com's Jon Heyman writes.  Dunand, 18, was considered by some scouting directors to be "a fringe pro prospect," but his homer streak attracted scouts from the Mariners, Angels, Royals, Orioles, Mets, Braves and Giants (among other teams) to his game on Wednesday.  Dunand has committed to North Carolina State but could turn pro depending on his draft prospects.  There's also the matter of Dunand's impressive bloodlines; his uncle is Alex Rodriguez.
• The Nationals announced that right-hander Erik Davis underwent Tommy John surgery today and will miss the entire 2014 season.  Davis made his Major League debut last season and posted a 3.12 ERA and a 12.00 K/BB rate in 8 2/3 IP for Washington.

4:34pm: Colvin himself tweets that he has "signed the dotted line."

10:37am: The Giants have agreed to terms outfielder Tyler Colvin, the Mercury News' Alex Pavlovic tweets. Colvin's contract is a minor-league deal, Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle tweets. Colvin will make $1MM if he makes the team, CBS Sports' Jon Heyman notes. Colvin is represented by Relativity Baseball.

The deal is pending a physical. Colvin had previously agreed to a big-league deal with the Orioles, but the O's backed out of the deal once Colvin took his physical with them, citing back issues.

Colvin, 28, has a career .241/.289/.454 line in 1,167 career plate appearances spread over parts of five seasons with the Cubs and Rockies. The lefty spent much of the 2013 season with Triple-A Colorado Springs, where he hit .275/.377/.480.

Here are notes on some other free agent situations around the game …

• Last we checked in with lefty Barry Zito, it was to learn that his option was being declined by the Giants. The reason, reports Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com, is that Zito has apparently not done anything to pursue a contract. Though he is not necessarily hanging up his spikes for good, says Heyman, the 36-year-old will seemingly not pitch in 2014.
• Southpaw Oliver Perez is considering offers from four clubs, tweets Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe. A decision is expected in short order.
• Swingman Chad Gaudin tweeted today that he is in line for surgery and expects to be at 100% in three months. Gaudin, was recently released by the Phillies when he failed his physical, did not disclose details of his malady.
• Outfielder Tyler Colvin could still end up with the Orioles, tweets Troy Renck of the Denver Post. Baltimore somewhat infamously blew up its contract with the 28-year-old after he failed his physical.
• A.J. Burnett was mistaken when he said that the Orioles did not express much interest in him, reports Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (via Twitter). In fact, says Rosenthal, Baltimore made multiple offers but Burnett wanted to pitch in the National League.

• The Cubs' offer to Masahiro Tanaka did not include an opt-out clause, according to Rosenthal. Knowing that they might not compete until 2016, the Cubs were wary of including a clause that would allow him to opt out shortly after their next competitive club hit the field.
• Their recent signing of Matt Garza will allow the Brewers to move trade acquisition Will Smith (received in exchange for Norichika Aoki) to the bullpen. Milwaukee could still add another reliever this offseason, but they also want to take a look at Rule 5 lefty Wei-Chung Wang.
• After missing out on a Major League deal with the Orioles due to concerns over his back, Tyler Colvin is weighing a number of minor league offers.
• The Marlins and Rockies are both interested in former Reds right-hander Nick Masset, who has missed each of the past two seasons due to shoulder injuries.

JAN. 22: A source tells ESPN.com's Jerry Crasnick (Twitter link) that the Orioles found an issue with Colvin's physical, which could be creating an obstacle to the deal.

JAN. 15: The Orioles have agreed to terms with free agent outfielder Tyler Colvin, reports Dan Connolly of the Baltimore Sun (Twitter links). Only a physical stands in the way of the deal, Connolly says, which is believed to be a guaranteed MLB contract. Colvin, 28, is represented by Relativity Baseball.

The left-handed swinging Colvin has seen MLB action in parts of five seasons. In 2012, his first year with the Rockies, Colvin posted a promising .290/.327/.531 triple-slash in 452 plate appearances. But he took a step back last year, earning only 78 MLB plate appearances and registering a meager .160/.192/.280 line in the process. He continued to hit at the Triple-A level, however, slashing .275/.377/.480 in 269 trips to the plate for Colorado Springs.

Colvin started his career with the Cubs before heading to Colorado in the Ian Stewart trade. The 13th overall choice in the 2006 draft, Baseball America considered Colvin the game's 75th-best prospect after the 2007 season.

Colvin joins a long list of outfielders that will join the O's for Spring Training. (The Sun's Eduardo Encina counts 12, on Twitter.) Other offseason outfield additions include Delmon Young, Quintin Berry, Xavier Paul, David Lough, and Francisco Peguero.

Here's some more news as we wrap up a busy Wednesday around baseball…

• The Braves only offered Eric O'Flaherty a one-year contract to remain with the team, David O'Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports (via Twitter).  Though O'Flaherty underwent Tommy John surgery last May and will miss at least part of the 2014 season, he still scored a two-year, $7MM deal from the A's earlier today.
• Yuniesky Betancourt will decide on his new club within the week, MLB Daily Dish's Chris Cotillo reports (Twitter link).  Betancourt was drawing interest from several teams, potentially even as a starter.
• Also from Cotillo, there is "strong interest" in right-hander Todd Coffey.  At least nine of the 14 teams who attended Coffey's throwing session last week want to see his second session.  Coffey is looking to return to action after missing all of 2013 recovering from Tommy John surgery.
• Much of the Indians' success at the plate last season was due to their lineup flexibility and use of bench players, a trait that MLB.com's Anthony Castrovince believes could be somewhat difficult to duplicate in 2014, though Carlos Santana's proposed attempt to play third base would be a great help in that department.
• The Twins didn't have any interest in Grady Sizemore this winter, though the club checked in on him last summer, 1500 ESPN's Darren Wolfson reports (via Twitter).
• "Another issue with a physical does nothing to enhance the Orioles' reputation in the industry, which is taking a two-fisted beating this winter," Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com writes in regards to the news that Baltimore's agreement with Tyler Colvin has been delayed due to a problem with the outfielder's physical.  Kubatko wonders if the O's could be trying to get Colvin to sign a minor league contract instead of a Major League deal, as the club did last offseason when it wasn't satisifed with Jair Jurrjens' physical.
• The Phillies liked Masahiro Tanaka and engaged in "cursory negotiations" with his representatives, but GM Ruben Amaro told Matt Gelb of the Philadelphia Inquirer that the team wasn't prepared to go beyond five years to sign the Japanese righty.  The Phillies seem likely to go into 2014 with their current pitching options, as they only would've exceeded their payroll limitations for "an exception" like Tanaka.

Colvin dealt with a disc injury in his back for the majority of the season, Renck adds, which is likely at least part of the reason for the .160/.192/.280 batting line he posted in 27 big league games this season. He opened the season by hitting .293/.396/.518 in 229 Triple-A plate appearances but struggled upon his promotion to the Majors. After being sent back to Colorado Springs, the former first-round pick hit just .200/.300/.314 in 10 games before missing the end of July and the entire month of August.

Originally drafted 13th overall by the Cubs in 2006, Colvin was acquired by Colorado prior to the 2012 season along with DJ LeMahieu in a trade that sent Ian Stewart and Casey Weathers to Chicago. His power is very real (career .203 ISO), but overall his .241/.289/.454 line and 26.3 percent strikeout rate illustrate persistent struggles to get on base at the Major League level. Colvin has struggled against left-handed pitching in particular, hitting southpaws at a .217/.255/.385 clip. He's capable of playing all three outfield positions and has experience at first base as well. Colvin could be a buy-low candidate for power-starved teams this offseason if the Rockies decide he no longer has a place in their organization.

• The Yankees acknowledge that their roster doesn’t have the same kind of depth it did in past seasons, when players such as Eric Chavez and Bartolo Colon were available to step in after others sustained injuries.
• Anything is possible for the Yankees at this point, Davidoff writes. Free agent Carlos Lee would be one option, but he hasn’t been willing to sign for a low base salary, according to Davidoff.
• Scott Rolen is available in free agency, but he hit just .244/.301/.397 in 2011-12.
• While Tyler Colvin doesn’t have a starting role with the Rockies, the Yankees and Rockies “haven’t clicked” in recent trade talks.
• GM Brian Cashman explained that he’s not at all worried about Derek Jeter’s health. “He’ll be ready when it counts,” the GM said.