The Cubs are next in MLBTR’s 2013 Contract Issues series: Eligible For Free Agency (4) Ryan Dempster - Dempster owns a 1.74 ERA through six starts and could be traded this summer. The Cubs may make the 35-year-old a qualifying offer after the season, but I don't expect them to. Dempster's ERA is definitely not sustainable and he's bound to start declining at some point, so the Cubs may look to ensure that it doesn't happen on their roster and payroll. Shawn Camp - Camp has pitched well for the Cubs, and the team may have interest in retaining him... Ben Nicholson-Smith

Today's minor moves.. The Cardinals have signed Clay Zavada to a minor league contract and released left-hander R.J. Swindle, according to the Pacific Coast League's transactions page. Zavada, 27, was recently let go by the Reds. Cubs infielder Blake DeWitt cleared waivers and has been outrighted to Triple-A Iowa, tweets Carrie Muskat of MLB.com. The Cubs designated the 26-year-old for assignment ten days ago. Across parts of five big league seasons, DeWitt owns a .257/.324/.380 slash line. The Diamondbacks outrighted minor league outfielder David Winfree to remove him from the 40-man roster, tweets Steve Gilbert of MLB.com. Winfree, 26, has... Zach Links

The Cardinals snapped a four-game losing streak with a 7-6 win over the Cubs this afternoon. Yadier Molina was the hero for St. Louis, delivering a walkoff RBI single to cinch the victory. Here's the latest from around the NL Central... Theo Epstein was hesitant to make the trade that brought Anthony Rizzo to the Cubs since Epstein didn't want to give up Andrew Cashner, reports Bruce Levine of ESPN Chicago. It was Cubs GM Jed Hoyer who aggressively pushed for the deal. Levine covers a number of different Cubs (and White Sox) topics in this online chat with readers.... Mark Polishuk

One scout told Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports that the work of the Braves’ hitting instructors and the performance of Kris Medlen has made the difference for the team so far in 2012. Atlanta GM Frank Wren agrees with that assessment, according to Rosenthal, who offers notes and rumors from around the league in his latest column: The Cubs are more likely to trade Ryan Dempster if they sign Matt Garza to an extension. However, Dempster’s ten and five rights allow him to veto any trade, so he’ll have leverage if the Cubs look to make a move. It doesn’t... Ben Nicholson-Smith

The Red Sox and Cubs completed the trade that sent Marlon Byrd to Boston, Alex Speier of WEEI.com tweets. The Red Sox are sending left-hander Hunter Cervenka to the Cubs to complete the April 21st trade that sent Byrd and cash to Boston for Michael Bowden and a player to be named. Cervenka, 22, started the 2012 season with Class A Greenville, where he has an 8.04 ERA with 13.8 K/9 and 6.9 BB/9 in 15 2/3 innings. The 2008 27th round selection has a 5.97 ERA with 8.6 K/9 and 7.2 BB/9 in four professional seasons. Ben Nicholson-Smith

The Cubs have signed Mike MacDougal to a minor league deal, Paul Sullivan of the Chicago Tribune tweets. The Dodgers released the right-hander after designating him for assignment earlier this month. MacDougal, 35, struggled through seven appearances with the Dodgers this year, allowing nine hits, six walks and five earned runs in 5 2/3 innings. He had signed a one-year, $1MM deal in January after spending the 2011 season with the Dodgers. He posted a 2.05 ERA with 6.5 K/9, 4.5 BB/9 and a 60.9% ground ball rate in 57 innings last year, when he ranked tenth among MLB pitchers... Ben Nicholson-Smith

Here's the latest from around the league as Saturday turns into Sunday... Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports.com (video link) says talks between the Cubs and Matt Garza about a potential contract extension are going very well. Jeff Samardzija's emergence has the club excited about possibly having two power righties in the rotation long-term. The Orioles are expected to designate Dana Eveland for assignment tomorrow, reports Rich Dubroff of CSNBaltimore.com (on Twitter). Eveland made a spot start earlier this week and the move would create room on the roster for outfield prospect Xavier Avery, who will be called up. Adam Rubin... Mike Axisa

The Mets play the 8,000th game in the history of their franchise tonight, and they're still looking for their first ever no-hitter. Here are some links to read before Johan Santana takes on Mark Buehrle and the Marlins in Miami... Red Sox GM Ben Cherington says the team's medical staff doesn't believe Josh Beckett was putting himself at risk by golfing with stiffness in his lat muscle, Alex Speier of WEEI.com writes. Cherington does acknowledge that perception matters when it comes to the team's level of commitment. Lines of communication are open between Matt Garza and the Cubs, Jon Heyman... Ben Nicholson-Smith

Cubs shortstop Starlin Castro is off to a fine start this season and is likely in position to start talking about a long-term deal with the club. However, agent Paul Kinzer told Fred Mitchell of the Chicago Tribune that he won't seek a new contract for his client during the season. “Maybe after the season, but I’m not really interested during the season to talk about it,” Kinzer said. “I don’t want any distractions.” Kinzer went on to say that Castro enjoys playing in Chicago and expects to talk with the club eventually about a long-term pact. As it stands... Zach Links

In the aftermath of Geovany Soto's big 2010 season, the catcher was being looked at as extension candidate, in line for a healthy multiyear contract. The Cubs held off extending Soto and instead chose to go year-to-year in arbitration, which may have proven to be a wise decision. Soto followed up his .280/.393/.497 performance in 2010 with a disappointing .228/.310/.411 slash line in 2011, and has thus far gotten off to a slow start this season, with just a .526 OPS entering tonight's play. (Though, in fairness, Soto's .157 BABIP indicates he's been very unlucky.) Soto earned $3MM in 2011... Mark Polishuk

Some links pertaining to the game's largest division... Despite a slew of injuries, Brewers owner Mark Attanasio told reporters (including MLB.com's Adam McCalvy) he won't give up on the 2012 season. The Brew Crew will be without Chris Narveson and Mat Gamel for the remainder of the season, while Alex Gonzalez's season is in doubt after a knee injury, and Carlos Gomez was placed on the DL. Ryan Braun is also not 100 percent, as he's dealing with an ailing Achilles Tendon in his right foot. Longtime Brewers infielder Craig Counsell has contemplated returning in the last 24 hours, tweets... Steve Adams

We'll keep track of Sunday's minor transactions here... Clete Thomas has cleared waivers and been outrighted to Triple-A Rochester by the Twins, the team announced (on Twitter). Thomas homered in his second plate appearance for Minnesota, but hit just .143/.172/.286 overall while striking out in 14 of his final 19 plate appearances. The Cubs released right-hander Dan Berlind, according to MLB.com's Carrie Muskat. Berlind, a seventh round selection of the Twins in 2007, had walked 10 through 8 1/3 innings, leading to 16 earned runs. Steve Adams

The Cubs have designated Blake DeWitt for assignment, according to Bruce Miles of the Daily Herald (via Twitter). The move will allow the club to make room for right-hander Travis Wood. The 26-year-old started five games at second base for the Cubs this season and hit just .138/.133/.172 in 30 plate appearances. In parts of five big league seasons, DeWitt owns a .257/.324/.380 slash line for the Cubs and Dodgers. DeWitt could be of interest to teams looking for depth at second or third base. The former first-round pick also started 17 games for the Cubs in left field in... Zach Links

In today's column, Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe writes that Mariano Rivera is arguably the most important player in the American League East. The Yankees will look to in-house solutions in the back of their bullpen for now, but other teams in need of relievers will start combing the market for answers. The Cubs would obviously part with Carlos Marmol. The Pirates could move Joel Hanrahan, but the price would be steep. The White Sox might trade left-hander Matt Thornton and the Astros could be willing to deal Brett Myers. Teams are looking to see whether the Mets would... Zach Links

When I described Bryan LaHair as having quality sleeper potential in a column for Roto Authority back in January, I certainly didn't expect this. Heading into Thursday's play, LaHair was hitting an absurd .381/.459/.794 in 74 plate appearances as the Cubs' regular first baseman and establishing himself as one of the best stories of this young 2012 campaign. A 29-year-old with just 219 Major League PAs to his name entering the season, LaHair was expected to do little more than keep first base warm for Anthony Rizzo, but LaHair's success has in all likelihood required a shift in the Cubs'... Mark Polishuk

Today's minor moves.. The Cubs released Triple-A Iowa right-hander Edgar Gonzalez, tweets ESPN's Doug Padilla. Gonzalez, who had a 4.09 ERA and 12-to-2 K/BB in 11 innings will pursue opportunities in Asia. The Reds signed catcher Koyie Hill, according to CBSSports.com's transactions page. The 33-year-old signed with the Cardinals in January but was let go just over a month ago. For his big league career, Hill owns a .211/.275/.298 slash line across parts of eight seasons. The Orioles released Josh Barfield from Triple-A Norfolk to make room for right-hander Jason Berken, according to Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com. The utility player... Zach Links

Here are the latest outright assignments from around MLB... Rodrigo Lopez cleared waivers and accepted an assignment to Triple-A Iowa, Carrie Muskat of MLB.com tweets. The Cubs designated the veteran right-hander for assignment yesterday. The Nationals announced that they outrighted outfielder Brett Carroll to Triple-A (Twitter link). Carroll, who was designated for assignment earlier this month, has accepted the assignment to Syracuse. The 29-year-old has a .201/.280/.319 line in 324 MLB plate appearances and experience at all three outfield positions. Ben Nicholson-Smith

As if the Phillies didn't already have enough stars on the disabled list, Hunter Pence missed Monday's game due to a shoulder injury suffered diving for a ball Sunday against the Padres. The extent of the injury is yet unknown and Pence is considered day-to-day for the time being. Some news from Monday in the Major Leagues... Dontrelle Willis talks to MASNsports.com's Roch Kubatko about the situation that resulted in Willis being placed on the Orioles' restricted list. Willis is almost dumbfounded by how things unfolded, as he thought he and the O's had agreed to part ways since he... Mark Polishuk

The Cubs have designated Rodrigo Lopez for assignment, Paul Sullivan of the Chicago Tribune tweets. The move creates roster space for recently-acquired right-hander Michael Bowden. The Cubs signed Lopez to a minor league deal in January and the 36-year-old right-hander made the team out of Spring Training. Lopez appeared in 26 games for the 2011 Cubs, posting a 4.42 ERA with 5.0 K/9 and 2.7 BB/9 in 97 2/3 innings as a starter and reliever. Ben Nicholson-Smith

On this day in 1997, the Yankees traded Ruben Rivera, Rafael Medina, and $3MM to the Padres for players to be named later, Homer Bush, and minor leaguer Gordon Amerson. A little more than a month later, the Padres later sent Hideki Irabu to the Yankees as one of the PTBNLs to complete the deal. Here's a look at today's links.. It looks like the Rays will need to go out and find help behind the plate, writes Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times. Even though Tampa Bay appears to be in browsing mode at the moment, big name... Zach Links