Odds & Ends: Reds, Giants, Harper, Dodgers, Prior

Links for Saturday, as J.P. Arencibia homers on the first pitch he sees in the majors….

• John Fay of the Cincinnati Enquirer tweets that he has not seen a year in which the Reds have faced so many difficult roster decisions in the last decade.
• Jim Callis of Baseball America (via Twitter) expects the Giants to eventually sign their first-round pick, center fielder Gary Brown.
• Barry Shlachter of the Dallas Morning News examines whether the group headed by Chuck Greenberg and Nolan Ryan overpaid for the Rangers.
• Jim Callis of Baseball America passes on news of a pair of draft picks signing for over-slot deals: The Blue Jays signed their second-round pick, while the Pirates locked up their fourth-rounder.
• Tigers owner Mike Ilitch acknowledged to Bob Wojnowski of the Detroit News that he'd signed off on some bad contracts in the past, but said that won't stop him from spending money in the future.
• MLB.com's Bill Ladson hears that negotiations between the Nationals and Bryce Harper could "heat up" by Tuesday. The first overall pick in this year's draft enrolled for classes at the College of Southern Nevada, but that doesn't mean he won't end up signing with the Nats.
• The Dodgers still seem to be buyers, leading Steve Dilbeck of the Los Angeles Times to wonder if they put a waiver claim on Adam Dunn.
• Although he's pitching for the Orange County Flyers now, Mark Prior hopes to make his way back to the bigs, according to MLB.com's Rhett Bollinger.