Minor Moves: Mock, Burke, Maier, Slowey, Ford

Here are Wednesday's minor moves...

• The Diamondbacks have signed Garrett Mock to a minor league deal with an invite to Spring Training, reports Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (on Twitter). The 29-year-old right-hander posted a 3.79 ERA in 61 2/3 relief innings in Triple-A this season.
• The Mets have signed right-hander Greg Burke to a minor league contract with an invite to Spring Training, the team announced (on Twitter). Burke, 30, pitched to a 1.53 ERA in 64 2/3 relief innings in Triple-A this year.
• Indians right-hander Kevin Slowey has elected free agency, according to Matt Eddy of Baseball America.  The 28-year-old spent 2012 with Cleveland's Triple-A affiliate.
• The Red Sox have signed Mitch Maier to a minor league deal, reports Baseball America's Matt Eddy (on Twitter). The 30-year-old outfielder hit .172/.260/.313 in 74 plate appearances for the Royals this year.
• The Pirates have signed Darren Ford to a minor league pact, reports Rob Biertempfel of The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. The 27-year-old outfielder hit .273/.326/.385 with 26 steals in 329 Triple-A plate appearances this year.
• The Pirates have signed infielder Jared Goedert to a minor league deal, reports Rosenthal (on Twitter). The 27-year-old hit .311/.373/.502 with 19 homers in 504 plate appearances split between Double-A and Triple-A this season.
• The Royals have agreed to re-sign catcher Manny Pina to a minor league contract, reports Bob Dutton of The Kansas City Star (on Twitter). Pina, 25, hit .278/.415/.417 in 183 minor league plate appearances this summer. Dutton notes that he will be exposed in next month's Rule 5 Draft.

Padres Sign Greg Burke To Minor League Deal

The Padres have signed righty reliever Greg Burke to a minor league contract with an invitation to Spring Training according to a press release. 

The 28-year-old Burke has been with the Padres' organization since signing as an undrafted free agent in 2006, spending the entire 2010 season with their Triple-A affiliate. He posted a 5.68 ERA with 7.1 K/9 and 3.2 BB/9 in 58 2/3 innings last season. Burke got a taste of the big leagues in 2009, when he put up a 4.14 ERA with 6.5 K/9 and 4.5 BB/9 in 45 2/3 innings for San Diego.

Odds & Ends: Cardinals, Burnett, Chapman, Reyes

Links for Thursday...

• GM John Mozeliak and manager Tony LaRussa both mentioned to MLB.com's Matthew Leach that the Cardinals are not in a rush to add an infielder despite Brendan Ryan's recent wrist surgery. 
• Rangers GM Jon Daniels knows that it's far from a foregone conclusion that his team will win 87 games again, according to ESPNDallas.com reporter Richard Durrett.
• Reds GM Walt Jocketty tells MLB.com's Mark Sheldon that Aroldis Chapman has looked "very impressive" so far. 
• Jose Reyes tells Kevin Kernan of the New York Post that he wants to finish his career with the Mets. Reyes says he's not thinking about the $11MM option the Mets have for his services in 2011.
• The Nats outrighted Doug Slaten to Triple A, according to the team's Twitter. They designated him for assignment two days ago. 
• The Rockies and Mariners offered Mark McGwire hitting coach positions, according to Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. The Mariners made their offer in 2003; the Rockies made theirs a few years ago.
• Victor Martinez tells Alex Speier of WEEI.com that he'd "obviously" like to stay in Boston. The catcher says the negotiations are now under the team's control.
• Carlos Zambrano tells Bruce Miles of the Daily Herald that he would have vetoed a trade had the Cubs approached him about one this offseason. 
• Andrew Friedman says he and his front office have assembled "the most talented team in Rays history," according to the Tampa Tribune (via Twitter).
• USA Today's Peter Barzilai looks back at some historically good free agent signings. 
• Greg Burke cleared waivers, tweets Dan Hayes of the North County Times. The club placed Burke on unconditional waivers ten days ago.
• Dodgers GM Ned Colletti tells ESPN.com's Buster Olney that the club find its fifth starter outside of the organization. "We'd love to have a bona fide No. 5 starter," Colletti said.
• Mariano Rivera tells MLB.com's Brian Hoch that he doesn't know how long he's going to continue playing (Twitter link). 
• Rockies manager Jim Tracy told Denver Post readers that he helps Dan O'Dowd make personnel decisions when the GM is looking for input. 
• In anticipation of the club's scheduled arbitration hearing with Ryan Theriot, Cubs GM Jim Hendry tells Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times that the arbitration process is sometimes unavoidable. 
• The Braves signed 17-year-old infield prospect Alejandro Sanchez Martinez to a seven-year contract out of Spain earlier in the winter, according to David Menayo of Marca.com. Thanks to Nick Collias for the translation. 

Padres Place Greg Burke On Unconditional Waivers

The Padres have placed righty Greg Burke on unconditional waivers to free up a roster spot for Yorvit Torrealba, tweets Dan Hayes of The North County Times. Burke will become a free agent if he goes unclaimed, but he also has the right to refuse any claims so he can hit the open market.

The 27-year-old reached the majors for the first time in 2009, posting a 4.14 ERA with a 1.43 K/BB ratio in 45.2 innings of relief. Burke had surgery to repair a debridement in his throwing shoulder in early October, and it's unclear if he'll be healthy for Spring Training.