David Cooper has opted out of his Triple-A contract with the Cleveland Indians.

The first baseman is now a free agent.

Cooper, 26, was the 17th pick in the 2008 draft out of the University of California-Berkeley.

The Pittsburgh Pirates have acquired Justin Morneau from the Minnesota Twins in exchange for outfielder Alex Presley and a player to be named later.

Pittsburgh entered Saturday tied with the St. Louis Cardinals for first place in the National League Central.

Morneau, who is in the final year of his contract and has spent his entire 11-year career with the Twins, is hitting .259/.315/.426 with 17 home runs and 74 RBI.

Baseball has enjoyed nearly two decades of labor peace, but a battle may be on the horizon as Major League teams have thought about pushing for non-guaranteed contracts.

Contracts in Major League Baseball heavily favor the players, but the MLBPA has grown concerned over some guarantee language in recent deals that may be looking to steal some of the power.

Some teams have tried to implement a conversion clause that allows them to make a guaranteed contract non-guaranteed in certain situations.

Much of this relates to performance-enhancing drugs, but it also deals with legal woes.

Josh Willingham is glad the Minnesota Twins decided to pull him back off waivers without trading him.

The Twins were unable to work out a deal with the Baltimore Orioles before Friday's deadline.

Willingham will now remain with Minnesota through at least the end of this season. He is under contract for 2014 at $7 million.

"I'm just glad it's over," he said. "Now I know where I'm going to be."

Willingham said he knew a trade wasn't completed when he didn't hear anything from the Twins or his agent on Friday.

"I'm comfortable here so I'd like to stay here," Willingham said. " The bottom line is I didn't have any control so I didn't worry myself with it."

The Philadelphia Phillies have officially signed Miguel Alfredo Gonzalez more than a month after reportedly agreeing to terms on a deal.

It was previously reported that Gonzalez would receive a six-year, $48 million deal, but the official terms are $12 million over three seasons. The deal also includes an undisclosed signing bonus and performance incentives.

The initial agreement reportedly broke down over concerns about Gonzalez's elbow.

While the Seattle Mariners have been interested in signing him to an extension, Kendrys Morales appears headed for free agency this winter.

The Mariners contacted Scott Boras shortly before the July 31 non-waiver trade deadline about an extension, but the call never led to serious negotiations. Morales is all but certain to become a free agent.

Morales had told people he was interested in remaining with Seattle long-term, but the Mariners balked at the numbers floated about.

The Philadelphia Phillies didn't place Cliff Lee on revocable trade waivers this week, according to sources.

He can not be traded in time to become eligible for a postseason roster.

The Phillies demonstrated prior to the July 31 deadline that they had little interest in trading Lee, who was placed on waivers and claimed by the Los Angeles Dodgers last summer. Philadelphia ended up pulling him back.

The St. Louis Cardinals have acquired John Axford from the Milwaukee Brewers for a player to be named later.

Axford is expected to join his new team on Friday night when they begin an important series with the Pittsburgh Pirates.

"John is a reliever that offers experience as both a setup man and closer," John Mozeliak said. "He's also a pitcher who brings familiarity with the N.L. Central, pennant race baseball and the postseason."

Axford is 6-7 this season with a 4.45 ERA.

The Baltimore Orioles have acquired Michael Morse from the Seattle Mariners in exchange for minor league outfielder Xavier Avery.

The Orioles claimed Morse on trade waivers on Wednesday. He will be a free agent after the season and Baltimore will pick up the remaining $1.25 million on his contract.

Morse is hitting .226/.283/.410 with 13 home runs and 27 RBIs this season.

The San Diego Padres pulled Chase Headley off waivers after he was claimed, according to sources.

Headley will now remain with the Padres through the remainder of the season.

The team is expected to try to sign Headley to a multiyear contract this winter. San Diego could field trade offers if they aren't able to extend his deal.