The latest minor moves from around MLB via Matt Eddy of Baseball America...

• The Braves have signed 14 players to minor league contracts according to a press release, including righty reliever Adam Russell, utility man Drew Sutton, lefty reliever Dusty Hughes, and infielder Josh Wilson. The full list can be found here.
• The Mets signed outfielder Adam Loewen, according to Eddy. Loewen, the fourth overall selection in the 2002 draft, successfully completed the transition from left-handed pitcher to outfielder in 2011. He posted a .306/.377/.508 line with 46 doubles at Triple-A before appearing in 14 games with the Blue Jays. The Blue Jays removed the Surrey, British Columbia native from their roster after the regular season, but maintained some interest in him.
• The Mariners signed left-hander Steve Garrison, according to Eddy. Garrison, 25, appeared in one game for the Yankees this past season and posted a 5.58 ERA with 5.6 K/9 and 2.3 BB/9 as a starter in the minors.
• The Red Sox signed right-hander Will Inman and left-hander Justin Thomas for bullpen depth, according to Eddy.
• The Twins re-signed left-hander Phil Dumatrait, according to Eddy.

Today is the deadline for teams to add players to the 40-man roster to protect them from next month's Rule 5 draft. Here's more on which players need to be protected and here are the details on which players have had their contracts selected to the 40-man roster:

• The Giants added Hector Correa, Charlie Culberson, Tyler Graham, Roger Kieschnick, Dan Otero and Angel Villalona to their 40-man roster, reports Andrew Baggarly of the San Jose Mercury News (Twitter links).  Baggarly suspects Villalona's inclusion may be a "procedural move," since Villalona still needs a new visa to play in the United States.
• The Dodgers have added Michael Antonini, Alex Castellanos, Stephen Fife, Josh Wall and Chris Withrow to their 40-man roster, according to Bill Shaikin of the L.A. Times (Twitter link).
• The Pirates have announced the additions of Matt Hague, Starling Marte, Jordy Mercer, Rudy Owens, Duke Welker and Justin Wilson to their 40-man roster.  Pittsburgh's 40-man roster is now full.
• The Mariners added Chih-Hsien Chang, Francisco Martinez and Carlos Triunfel to the 40-man roster, reports Shannon Drayer of 710 ESPN Radio Seattle (via Twitter).
• The Angels added Johnny Hellweg, Fabio Martinez, Ariel Pena and Jean Segura to their 40-man roster, according to MLB.com's T.R. Sullivan.
• The Red Sox announced that Drake Britton, Che-Hsuan Lin and Will Middlebrooks were added to the club's 40-man roster.
• The Rangers added pitchers Jacob Brigham, Roman Mendez, Justin Miller, Martin Perez, Neil Ramirez and Matt West to their 40-man roster, reports Anthony Andro of FOX Sports Southwest (via Twitter).
• The Indians announced that Scott Barnes, Juan Diaz and Danny Salazar were added to the team's 40-man roster.  The Tribe's roster now has a full complement of 40 players.
• The Cubs announced that Jeff Beliveau, Junior Lake, Matt Szczur and Josh Vitters have been added to the club's 40-man roster.

• The Cardinals added Chuckie Fick, Samuel Freeman and Adam Ottavino to their 40-man roster, according to B.J. Rains of FOXSportsMidwest.com (on Twitter).
• The Rockies added Edwar Cabrera and Christian Friedrich to their roster, according to Troy Renck of the Denver Post (on Twitter).
• The Padres announced that they selected the contracts of right-hander Nick Vincent, left-handers Jose De Paula, Pedro Hernandez and Juan Oramas, infielder Edinson Rincon and outfielder Rymer Liriano.
• The Nationals announced that they selected the contracts of Tyler Moore, Derek Norris, Eury Perez and Jhonatan Solano. Their 40-man roster now includes 37 players.
• The A's announced that they added outfielder Jermaine Mitchell to the 40-man roster (Twitter link). They now have one empty spot on the roster.
• The Mets added Robert Carson, Jeurys Familia, Wilmer Flores, Reese Havens, Juan Lagares, Kirk Nieuwenhuis and Cesar Puello to the 40-man roster, according to ESPNNewYork,com's Adam Rubin (on Twitter).
• The Orioles will add Oliver Drake to the roster in anticipation of tonight's deadline, according to Dan Connolly of the Baltimore Sun (on Twitter).
• The Twins announced that they added outfielder Oswaldo Arcia, right-hander Carlos Gutierrez and left-hander Tyler Robertson to the roster.
• The Rays added right-handers Alex Colome and Wilking Rodriguez and catcher Stephen Vogt to the 40-man roster, according to the Tampa Tribune (on Twitter). Tampa Bay's 40-man roster now has 38 players.
• The Blue Jays announced that they added catcher Travis d'Arnaud, first baseman Michael McDade, right-hander Nestor Molina and left-hander Evan Crawford to the 40-man roster. They have two empty spots on their 40-man.
• The Reds added infielders Didi Gregorius, Donald Lutz, Henry Rodriguez and Neftali Soto and right-handers Kyle Lotzkar and Pedro Villarreal to their roster, according to John Fay of the Cincinnati Enquirer (on Twitter). Their 40-man roster is full.
• The Royals announced that they added Ryan Verdugo, who came over in the Jonathan Sanchez trade, to the 40-man roster. Kansas City now has 39 players on its 40-man roster.
• The Yankees added infielders David Adams and Corban Joseph, outfielder Zoilo Almonte and right-handers D.J. Mitchell and David Phelps to their 40-man roster, according to Mark Feinsand of the New York Daily News (on Twitter).
• The Marlins added Ramon Benjamin, Dan Jennings, Tom Koehler and Kevin Mattison to the 40-man roster, according to Joe Capozzi of the Palm Beach Post (on Twitter). The Marlins' 40-man roster now has 39 players.
• The Tigers announced that they added lefthander Matt Hoffman, righthander Tyler Stohr, lefthander Casey Crosby, outfielder Avisail Garcia and infielder Hernan Perez to the 40-man roster.
• The Brewers announced that they added outfielder Caleb Gindl, first baseman Brock Kjeldgaard, right-hander Santo Manzanillo and third baseman Zelous Wheeler to the 40-man roster. They now have 35 players on their 40-man roster.
• The Astros announced that they added right-hander Paul Clemens to the 40-man roster. Their roster now includes 38 players.
• The Phillies announced that they selected the contracts of right-hander Phillippe Aumont, left-hander Jacob Diekman, catcher Sebastian Valle and outfielder Tyson Gillies. The Phillies acquired Gillies and Aumont when they sent Cliff Lee to the Mariners two years ago. Philadelphia's 40-man roster now includes 39 players. 
• The White Sox announced that they purchsed the contracts of right-hander Deunte Heath and left-hander Charlie Leesman. Chicago now has 36 players on its 40-man roster.

Today's minor moves...

• The Twins re-signed left-hander Phil Dumatrait, according to the Sosnick Cobbe Twitter page. Dumatrait appeared in 45 games for the Twins last season, posting a 3.92 ERA with 6.3 K/9 and 5.4 BB/9.
• The Blue Jays claimed right-hander Cole Kimball off of waivers from Washington, according to the Nationals' official Twitter feed.  Meanwhile, the Nats outrighted outfielder Corey Brown to Triple-A Syracuse.
• Astros catcher Carlos Corporan cleared waivers and was outrighted to Triple-A Oklahoma City, tweets Alyson Footer of the Astros.  Corporan has the right to elect free agency due to previously being outrighted.
• The Mets signed catcher/left fielder/first baseman Vinny Rottino and first baseman/DH Val Pascucci to minor league deals, reports ESPN's Adam Rubin.  Both players saw their first big league action in several years in 2011.
• Eric Duncan, drafted in the first round by the Yankees in 2003, has signed with the Royals, tweets Kevin Goldstein of Baseball Prospectus.  The 26-year-old played mostly first base, second base, and left field this year for the Cardinals' Double-A affiliate, hitting .274/.322/.527 in 385 plate appearances.
• The White Sox re-signed Leyson Septimo, tweets Goldstein.  The Sox claimed the hard-throwing 26-year-old southpaw off waivers from Arizona in June but removed him from their 40-man roster in October.
• The Giants signed center fielder Gregor Blanco, according to his agency (via Matt Eddy of Baseball America on Twitter).  The 27-year-old spent the year with the Triple-A affiliates of the Nationals and Royals, hitting .201/.350/.327 in 252 plate appearances.
• The Phillies acquired righty Adam Worthington from the Diamondbacks to complete the September Mike Zagurski trade, tweets Jim Salisbury of CSNPhilly.com.  Worthington, 24, posted a 4.48 ERA, 10.0 K/9, 4.6 BB/9, and 0.6 HR/9 in 62 1/3 High-A relief innings this year.
• The Yankees signed lefty reliever Mike O'Connor, tweets SI's Jon Heyman.  The 31-year-old appeared briefly in the Majors for the Mets this year, also posting a 5.22 ERA, 9.8 K/9, 2.8 BB/9, and 1.0 HR/9 in 60 1/3 Triple-A innings.

The Twins have signed Jamey Carroll to a two-year deal to be their everyday shortstop.  The team announced the deal today.  Carroll's contract will guarantee him $6.75MM and includes a $2MM mutual option for 2014. The option vests if Carroll makes 401 plate appearances in 2013, though he can choose to turn it down.  SI's Jon Heyman has further contract details. The Millenium Sports Management client drew interest from multiple teams this offseason before signing with the Twins, who are operating under interim GM Terry Ryan.

The 37-year-old infielder played shortstop and second base for the Dodgers in 2011, posting a .290/.359/.347 line in 510 plate appearances. He hasn't posted an on-base percentage below .355 in any of the past four seasons and he has a career mark of .356 after a decade in the Major Leagues. Carroll, who also has experience at third base and in the outfield, stole ten bases without getting caught this past season. He is not a ranked free agent and won't cost his new team a draft pick.

Carroll spoke with MLBTR's Tim Dierkes in June and you can check out the interview here.

ESPN.com's Jerry Crasnick reported the deal, with Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports, SI's Jon Heyman, La Velle E. Neal III of the Minneapolis Star Tribune, and Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports adding details.  Photo courtesy of Icon SMI.

The latest minor moves...

• The Twins signed right-hander Jared Burton to a minor league contract, reports MLB.com's Rhett Bollinger (Twitter link).  Burton, 30, has a 3.41 ERA in 164 appearances with the Reds over the last five seasons, recording 143 strikeouts in 169 Major League innings.
• The Giants re-signed left-hander Wilmin Rodriguez to a minor league deal that includes an invitation to Spring Training, according to Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports (on Twitter). The 26-year-old reliever posted a 4.34 ERA with 6.0 K/9 and 4.1 BB/9 in 64 1/3 innings in the upper minors of San Francisco's system in 2011.

The latest minor moves...

• The White Sox announced that they signed left-handers Donnie Veal and Jose Quintana. Veal, 27, posted a 4.22 ERA with 8.7 K/9 and 4.2 BB/9 in the Pirates' system this past season. Quintana, 22, posted a 2.91 ERA with 7.8 K/9 and 2.5 BB/9 for the Yankees' Class A team in 2011.
• The Indians announced that they signed catcher Michel Hernandez to a minor league contract and invited him to Spring Training. The 33-year-old hit .273/.384/.381 in the upper minors of the Indians' and Orioles' systems in 2011.
• The Phillies have signed left-handed reliever Raul Valdes to a minor league deal that includes an invitation to Spring Training, according to Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports (on Twitter). Valdes pitched 12 total innings for the Yankees and Cardinals in 2011 after spending the 2010 season with the Mets. In 63 2/3 innings at Double-A and Triple-A this past season, Valdes posted a 4.38 ERA with 9.3 K/9 and 1.6 BB/9.
• The Twins re-signed Brian Dinkelman to a minor league deal, according to Morosi (on Twitter).
• The Brewers re-signed Erick Almonte, according to Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports (on Twitter). The 33-year-old utility player appeared in 16 games for the Brewers in 2011, playing first base and right field. Almonte spent most of the season at Triple-A, where he hit .303/.380/.447.
• The Mariners signed right-hander Jeff Marquez to a minor league deal, according to his agency, Sosnick Cobbe Sports (via Twitter). Marquez, a first-round pick in 2004, was granted free agency by the Yankees last week.

Terry Ryan is returning to the role of Twins GM, the team announced today.  Ryan, who has an interim tag on his title this time, replaces Bill Smith.  Said owner Jim Pohlad in a statement:

"The Twins goal is to get better in 2012 and beyond. Bill was equally motivated to achieve that goal but we differed in the scope and approach that was required. Going forward, we intend to have additional discussions with Bill about an ongoing role within the organization."

Smith spent over four years as Twins GM.  He won two division titles and nearly three in that time, but 2011 was disastrous for the club.

Ryan has been in the Twins organization for 28 years, serving as GM from 1994-2007 before assuming the role of senior advisor.  The two-time Sporting News Executive of the Year said, "We have many assets in place including a strong front office, manager, coaching staff and returning core of players. We have a lot of work to do in relation to development of our roster, but I’m optimistic in our collective abilities to ensure the future on-field success of this franchise."

3:50pm: The Reds announced that the Twins claimed Maloney off of waivers (Twitter link).

1:08pm: The Twins appear to have acquired 27-year-old lefty Matt Maloney from the Reds, as Maloney tweeted today, "Thanks for everything Reds...but i am now a Minnesota Twin!!! Looking forward to a great new opportunity!!"

Maloney spent most of the season at Triple-A, where he posted a 2.99 ERA, 5.6 K/9, 1.2 BB/9, and 0.9 HR/9 in 81 1/3 innings, missing much of the season with a cracked rib.  Baseball America ranked him eighth among Reds prospects a few years ago, noting that his ceiling was that of a back-of-the-rotation starter.

The Twins announced today that they've declined their club option on reliever Joe Nathan.  The option was worth $12.5MM, but the team will pay a $2MM buyout.  GM Bill Smith said, "I spoke with Joe and his agent this morning, and expressed our interest in re-signing Joe.  We will remain in contact with them as we move forward into the free agent process."

Nathan signed a four-year contract extension for $47MM in March of 2008, and the total remains the record for a reliever.  Nathan, 36, had been dominant as the Twins' closer from 2004-09, racking up a 1.87 ERA, 11.1 K/9, 2.6 BB/9, 0.6 HR/9, and 246 saves in 418 2/3 innings.  He had Tommy John surgery in March of 2010, returning this year to mixed results.  Further removed from the surgery, he'll be a popular free agent target on a one-year deal.

The Twins announced that they outrighted utility player Brian Dinkelman and left-hander Phil Dumatrait to Triple-A. They now have 36 players on their 40-man roster.

Dinkelman, 27, made his Major League debut this year, appearing in 23 games and getting regular playing time in September. He played second, left and right and finished the season with a .301/.346/.315 line in 78 plate appearances. In 526 Triple-A plate appearances this year, the 2006 draft pick posted a .243/.316/.324 line.

Dumatrait, 30, appeared in 45 games for the Twins this year, posting a 3.92 ERA with 6.3 K/9 and 5.4 BB/9 in 41 1/3 innings out of the bullpen. MLBTR's Steve Adams noted in early September that the success of Glen Perkins and Brian Duensing's likely move to the 'pen made Dumatrait expendable.