The Texas Rangers have agreed to a Minor League deal with Nick Tropeano with an invitation to Major League spring training.

The 31-year-old pitcher has seen Major League action in seven of the last eight seasons. He had a 2.25 ERA over five relief appearances with the San Francisco Giants and the New York Mets last year.

The Washington Nationals have signed Rusney Castillo to a Minor League contract.

The 34-year-old was considered a top prospect earlier in his career with the Boston Red Sox.

Castillo was granted free agency by Major League Baseball during the summer of 2014 after several attempts to defect from Cuba. He agreed to a seven-year pact with the Red Sox that August, with the contract guaranteeing him $72 million.

Brandon Gomes, a former major league pitcher just six years removed from his playing days, has been named general manager of the Los Angeles Dodgers, a position left vacant since Farhan Zaidi's departure to the San Francisco Giants.

Gomes, 37, has a long history with Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman, who originally traded for Gomes when he served as GM of the Tampa Bay Rays in December 2010.

The Uni-President Lions of Taiwan's Chinese Professional Baseball League have signed veteran catcher Wilin Rosario.

The soon-to-be 33-year-old is best known for a multi-year run with the Colorado Rockies.

Over 447 career games, Rosario hit .273/.306/.473 with 71 home runs.

Brad Ausmus, former manager of the Detroit Tigers and the Los Angeles Angels, has been hired as bench coach for the Oakland Athletics, providing some much-needed experience to the coaching staff of rookie manager Mark Kotsay.

The A's finalized Kotsay's coaching staff on Friday, also announcing the promotion of Tommy Everidge to major league hitting coach and the hiring of Chris Cron as an assistant hitting coach.

The Kansas City Royals have signed right-hander Arodys Vizcaino to a Minor League contract.

The 31-year-old reliever has seven years of Major League experience.

He spent last season in the New York Mets organization but was limited to just 7 2/3 innings -- allowing two runs in that span -- because of injuries.

The San Francisco Giants have signed a trio of players to Minor League contracts.

Corey Oswalt, Luis Gonzalez and Joe Palumbo were all Minor League free agents, thus eligible to be signed during the lockout.

Gonzalez and Palumbo were both claimed off waivers in 2021, making this their second stint with the Giants.

Oswalt opted for free agency after the New York Mets outrighted him off their 40-man roster in October.

Two-time Olympic silver medalist Eddy Alvarez has signed a contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Due to the lockout, Alvarez's contract must be of the Minor League variety.

An infielder, Alvarez has won Olympic medals in baseball and speedskating.

Alvarez, who will turn 32 later this month, has appeared in 36 Major League games with the Miami Marlins over the past two seasons.

Tyler Chatwood is expected to sign with the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks of the Nippon Professional Baseball league, according to a report.

Chatwood, 32, made 32 appearances last season, which was split between the Toronto Blue Jays and San Francisco Giants. He had a 5.63 ERA and a 1.81 strikeout-to-walk ratio.