The Washington Nationals have released Jose Valverde.

Valverde had an opt-out clause in his deal.

The reliever was never promoted to the Major Leagues. Over 26 1/3 innings with Triple-A, Valverde owns a 2.39 ERA with 7.2 K/9 against just 1.0 BB/9.

Jonathan Lucroy says he was turned down by the Milwaukee Brewers when his representatives raised the possibility of a second extension last offseason.

The catcher, 29, mentioned that "a little bit of talk earlier in Spring Training … really didn't go anywhere" in an appearance on 105.7 The Fan.

Expanding on those comments later, Lucroy said that he came to the team with "a proposal that would have kept me here for the rest of my career, most likely." He was informed that the team was not "interested in doing anything at this point in time."

The Toronto Blue Jays have signed Joba Chamberlain to a Minor League contract.

Chamberlain, 29, was released by the Detroit Tigers on July 10.

In 30 games with the Tigers this season, the right-hander was 0-2 with a 4.09 ERA. He had 15 strikeouts in 22 innings.

The Minnesota Twins are keeping an eye on the market for catchers as the non-waiver trade deadline approaches.

The Twins are looking at A.J. Pierzynski, Derek Norris, Jonathan Lucroy and Alex Avila.

The Pittsburgh Pirates have expressed interest in acquiring Ben Zobrist, Clint Barmes and Cliff Pennington with Josh Harrison and Jordy Mercer sidelined.

Since coming off the disabled list on May 26, Zobrist is hitting .264/.358/.429 in 190 plate appearances for the Oakland Athletics.

Zobrist, Barmes and Pennington will all hit the free agent market after the season.

Barmes spent time with the Pirates from 2012 to 2014.

The Baltimore Orioles signed the first prospect from one of Major League Baseball's China development centers on Monday, something the league hopes becomes a trend.

Xu Guiyuan, a 19-year-old outfielder/first baseman, signed a Minor League contract tied to next season.

"Xu has been working hard at the MLB Development Center, and we hope he'll be the first of many future major league players from China," Dan Duquette said. "He has excellent balance at the plate and very good left-handed power, which we think will play well at Oriole Park at Camden Yards."

The Los Angeles Dodgers are the favorite to retain Zack Greinke this winter, but another team could emerge as an option.

Greinke may only opt out of his contract at the end of the season to negotiate a higher guarantee with management, which currently owes him $71 million over the next three years.

The right-hander turns 32 in October and perhaps the analytical Dodgers would be reluctant to splurge on him.

The San Francisco Giants will have $50 million in payroll coming off the books and if Greinke does leave the Dodgers he is expected to desire a competitive team.

"Greinke recently told USA Today that he admired the Giants players and couldn’t decide whether to root for San Francisco or his original team, Kansas City, in last year’s World Series," writes Ken Rosenthal.

The Texas Rangers have requested unconditional release waivers for Ross Detwiler after he rejected an outright assignment.

As a player with more than five years of big league service, Detwiler has earned the right to reject his minor league assignment without having to forfeit the remaining $1.55 million of his salary.

Neftali Feliz won't accept an outright assignment to the minor leagues, making him a free agent.

The Texas Rangers designated the reliever for assignment on July 3.

Texas was unable to trade Feliz, and he cleared waivers. As a five-year veteran, he had the right to refuse a minor league assignment.

The Atlanta Braves will sign Vin Mazzaro to a Minor League contract.

Mazzaro will head to Triple-A upon signing his contract.

The 28-year-old threw 12 innings for the Miami Marlins earlier this season.