Reds acquire ‘big bat’ in Byrd via Phils trade … The Cincinnati Reds have acquired veteran outfielder Marlon Byrd in a trade with the Philadelphia Phillies, the teams announced Wednesday.  —  He gets $8 million next season on the final year of a two-year deal that includes an $8 million team option for 2016.

COLORADO ROCKIES / MLB  —  NICK HUNDLEY AGREES TO 2-YEAR DEAL WITH COLORADO ROCKIES, REPORT SAYS  —  The Denver Post  —  Nick Hundley broke into the major leagues with the Padres in 2008.  In 560 games over seven seasons with the Padres and Orioles, Hundley has a .238 career batting average.

Versatile Tampa Bay veteran in high demand  —  9/25/14: Ben Zobrist ties the game in the 2nd inning with an RBI single that scores Ryan Hanigan  —  Ben Zobrist represents the first really tough call for Tampa Bay's new administration.  And it's about as tough as it gets.

Mariners Nearing Trade For Seth Smith  —  4:30pm: Bob Dutton of the Tacoma News Tribune hears from officials with both clubs that a trade is indeed close, but the Mariners are pushing to include a reliever other than Maurer, for whom the Padres are strongly pushing in talks.

How Royals' magical roster nearly got a July shakeup  —  Alex Rios curiously nixed a deal to the Royals last July before joining the AL champs as a free agent this winter.  —  The Royals signed Alex Rios recently to a one-year, $11 million contract.  But they actually first worked out a deal for him last July.

Cubs To Sign Chris Denorfia  —  The Cubs have agreed to terms with outfielder Chris Denorfia, former teammate John Baker tweets.  FOX Sports' Ken Rosenthal confirms the deal (via Twitter), adding that it's for one year.  He will receive about $2.5MM, tweets CBS Sports' Jon Heyman.

Dodgers Notes: Pitching, Arruebarrena  —  Dodgers GM Farhan Zaidi recently spoke with reporters about the club's plans.  Here's the latest out of Chavez Ravine:  — Zaidi says the club has no plan to add more starting pitching prior to the season, tweets Ken Gurrick of MLB.com.

AP Male Athlete of the Year: Madison Bumgarner  —  2 photos  —  SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Madison Bumgarner sat in the outfield alongside Jake Peavy before Game 7 of the World Series and told his teammate exactly what needed to happen: Tim Hudson would work a few innings and get the ball to Bumgarner …

Orioles have real interest in Rasmus  —  I'm still hearing that the Orioles don't have serious interest in free agent Ichiro Suzuki.  However, they do hold legitimate interest in another left-handed hitting outfielder, Colby Rasmus, and have maintained a dialogue with agent Casey Close since the Winter Meetings in San Diego.

ARE YANKEES IN ON SCHERZER?  READ TEX MESSAGE FROM SIX YEARS AGO  —  JP Morosi  —  For insight into where the top free-agent pitcher will sign, let's turn to an unlikely source: the case of the top free-agent hitter six winters ago.  —  Max Scherzer today has two things in common with Mark Teixeira then …