Now that Michael Pineda has been traded to the New York Yankees, the Seattle Mariners have a hole in their rotation. The team reportedly now has a body to fill the space in the form of Kevin Millwood.

MLB.com reports that the M's have signed Millwood to a minor-league deal with an invitation to spring training.

Since entering the league in 1997, the 37-year-old Millwood has pitched for the Atlanta Braves, Philadelphia Phillies, Cleveland Indians, Texas Rangers, Baltimore Orioles, and Colorado Rockies. He's gone 163-140 with a 4.10 ERA and 1,976 strikeouts in that time. Last season, he went 4-3 with a 3.98 ERA and 36 strikeouts in 54.1 innings pitched.

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Washington Nationals third baseman Ryan Zimmerman is only 27 years old, but he already knows that he would like to play for the Nats for the rest of his career, MLB.com reports. With two years and $26 million left on his current contract, Zimmerman, a Gold Glove winner and All-Star back in 2009, is working on an extension with the team, the site notes.

"The Nationals and agent Brodie Van Wagenen were discussing an extension for Zimmerman," MLB.com reports, though it isn't known how the discussions have gone.

"I said from the beginning that I want to be here my entire career," Zimmerman said back in December, according to the site. "It's a place where I've obviously grown up. I've learned a lot of things here. I've had a lot of great memories here. I've been here through the times when it wasn't nice to be a National, when people didn't want to come to D.C. Now, I'm here [when] we are starting to become a viable team and people are starting to consider coming here every year. I want to

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When Boston Red Sox left fielder Carl Crawford started increasing his hitting activity right around New Year's, he experienced soreness in his left wrist, Sox GM Ben Cherington said, according to MLB.com. It wasn't' going away and has been there in the past so Crawford opted for surgery on Tuesday, which may keep him from being with the team on opening day in April, the site notes.

Cherington is optimistic that Crawford will be with the team for "the bulk of the season," according to the site. "We're not going to put an exact timeline on it," Cherington said. "We expect him to be hitting at some point during spring training and then expect him to be in position to return to play at some point very early in the season."

There were high expectations for Crawford last year when he joined the Sox after nine seasons with the Tampa Bay Rays. After batting .307 with 19 homers and 47 stolen bases for the Rays in 2010, Crawford batted .255 with 11 homers and 18 stolen bases last year.

Don't for

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There's been some talk this offseason that the Texas Rangers could be signing both Japanese hurler Yu Darvish, who won 18 games in his homeland last season, and free-agent first baseman Prince Fielder, who slugged 38 homers last year. The Rangers have until 5 p.m. ET Wednesday to sign Darvish to a deal and MLB.com reports that the team expects a deal to get done, though it could go totally down to the wire.

If Darvish can be signed, the site reports that the team is "not expecting to sign free-agent first baseman Prince Fielder."

The team did meet with Fielder and his agent, Scott Boras, on Friday in a "preliminary meeting," the site notes, just in case the Darvish deal fell through. Another part of the Rangers' backup plan if Darvish doesn't sign, the site notes, is Roy Oswalt.

"The team has made it clear that its focus is on pitching, and it expects to sign Darvish by Wednesday," the site notes. If Darvish does sign, the Rangers' payroll may be pushed up to $120 million or over, MLB.

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When the closer carousel finally came to a rest this offseason, veteran Francisco Cordero remained unsigned.

MLB.com reports, though, that the Los Angeles Angels have checked in with his agent, Bean Stringfellow, to see about his availability recently. However, "they may only be in the periphery right now," a source informed the site.

The source noted that Cordero still has three or four teams interested in him. News came recently that his former employer, the Cincinnati Reds, weren't planning to offer Cordero more than one year.

The 36-year-old three-time All-Star has saved 327 games since joining the league in 2000. He has a career record of 44-45 and ERA of 3.17 along with 765 strikeouts in 785.1 innings pitched. Last season, he went 5-3 with 37 saves and a 2.45 ERA for the Reds.

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