Mets Sign Rhyne Hughes

We'll keep track of tonight's minor moves right here...

• The Mets have signed long-time Orioles farm-hand Rhyne Hughes to a minor league deal, the first baseman announced via his Twitter account (hat tip: Steve Melewski of MASNsports). Hughes has a career .267/.328/.457 batting line at Triple-A. He made his big league debut with the O's back in 2010, appearing in 14 games but posting just a .530 OPS in 51 trips to the plate.

Minor League Transactions

Here's a look at some notable names involved in minor transactions between November 16-21, as compiled by Baseball America's Matt Eddy...

• Left-hander Scott Rice signed with the Cubs.  Rice was picked 44th overall by Baltimore in the 1999 amateur draft, but has yet to get a cup of coffee in the majors after appearing in 377 minor league games.
• Right-hander Jon Huber re-signed with the Dodgers.  Huber last pitched in the majors in 2007 with Seattle.
• Veteran right-hander Scott Patterson re-signed with the Mariners.  Patterson has four major league games to his name, with the Padres and Yankees in 2008.
• The Marlins re-signed Vinny Rottino, and also signed relievers Victor Garate and Frank Mata.  The Fish also removed right-hander Brett Sinkbeil from their 40-man roster.  Sinkbeil was Florida's first-round pick (19th overall) in the 2006 draft, drafted ahead of such notables as Daniel Bard, Joba Chamberlain and Chris Perez.
• Former Tigers outfielder Jeff Frazier signed with the Nationals.  Frazier made his major league debut with Detroit last season, posting a .511 OPS in 24 plate appearances.
• The Orioles removed right-hander Armando Gabino and first baseman Rhyne Hughes from their 40-man roster, and Gabino elected free agency.  Gabino has a 15.12 ERA in 8 1/3 major league innings with Baltimore and Minnesota.  Hughes posted a .530 OPS in 51 plate appearances for the O's last season.
• Pittsburgh released a number of minor leaguers, including a few notable international players.  Taiwanese prospects Sheng-Cin Hong and Chih-Wei Hsu, both signed by the Pirates at the start of the 2009 international signing period, have been let go by the club.  Also released was Dinesh Patel, signed by Pittsburgh in 2008 after being a finalist on the Indian reality show "Million Dollar Arm." Patel, a cricket player, had never pitched or even picked up a baseball before appearing on the show.
• The Rangers reinstated Nathan Haynes from the inactive list and released the outfielder.  Haynes hasn't actually played since 2008.  Drafted 32nd overall by Oakland in the 1997 amateur draft, Haynes never caught on in the bigs, managing 95 career plate appearances with the Angels and Rays in 2007-08.
• Right-hander Chad Reineke, best known for being traded straight-up for Randy Wolf in 2008, has re-signed with the Reds.
• The Tigers outrighted Fu-Te Ni to Triple-A and removed the Taiwanese southpaw from their 40-man roster.  Ni had an impressive 2.61 ERA in 36 outings in his 2009 rookie season, but his ERA ballooned to 6.65 in 22 games with Detroit last year.

Odds & Ends: Rangers, Red Sox, Wilson, Dodgers

Links for Saturday..

• Evan Grant of The Dallas Morning News notes all of the roster turnover the Rangers have already experienced this season.
• Ian Browne of MLB.com (via Twitter) says that outfielder Jonathan Van Every is being placed on the 40-man roster so that Josh Reddick can get more at-bats in the minors.
• Angels catcher Bobby Wilson was on the receiving end of a violent collision at the plate on Friday, writes Mark Saxon of ESPNLosAngeles.com.  With Wilson and Jeff Mathis sidelined, the Angels likely won't be able to move one of their catchers anytime soon.
• Ramon Ortiz was essentially auditioning to keep his job with the Dodgers on Friday night, says Steve Dilbeck of the Los Angeles Times.
• Dan Connolly of The Baltimore Sun writes that the promotion of Rhyne Hughes could mean a reduced role for starting first baseman Garrett Atkins.

Hughes Sent To O's, Completes Zaun Deal

According to Marc Lancaster of the Tampa Tribune, the Rays have sent 25-year-old first baseman Rhyne Hughes to Baltimore to complete last week's trade for veteran catcher Gregg Zaun.

Hughes is batting .282/.350/.516 with 22 home runs and 72 RBI this season in 440 at-bats between Triple-A Durham and Double-A Montgomery.  He has also struck out 149 times.  Zaun, 38, is 5-for-15 with two doubles and a solo home run in his short time with Rays.