Brewers designate UCI's Hiura for assignment

The Milwaukee Brewers signed first baseman Luke Voit and designated former UC Irvine star Keston Hiura for assignment Monday as part of a flurry of moves they made to prepare for the start of the season.

Voit had arrived in camp on a minor-league deal at the start of spring training but opted out of that contract last week, enabling him to negotiate with other teams. The 2020 MLB home-run leader instead stayed with the Brewers on a one-year, major-league deal that includes a club option for 2024.

The 32-year-old Voit batted .226 with 22 homers, 69 RBIs and a .308 on-base percentage in 135 games with the San Diego Padres and Washington Nationals last season. Voit's best year came in the pandemic-shortened 2020 season, when he batted .277 with 22 homers and 52 RBIs in 56 games with the New York Yankees.

Hiura, 26, posted a .938 OPS in 84 games as a rookie in 2019 but hasn't approached that production since. He batted .226 with 14 homers and 32 RBIs in 80 games last season and struck out in 111 of his 266 plate appearances.

Tigers acquire INF McKinstry from Cubs

The Detroit Tigers acquired veteran infielder Zach McKinstry in a trade with the Chicago Cubs on Monday.

The Tigers sent minor league right-hander Carlos Guzman to the Cubs for McKinstry, a .208 hitter with 12 homers and 43 RBIs in parts of three big league seasons.

The 24-year-old Guzman went 9-6 with a 4.11 ERA in 27 games last year, finishing the season with two appearances for Double-A Erie.

McKinstry, who turns 28 on April 29, broke into the majors with the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2020. He was traded to the Cubs for reliever Chris Martin in July.

McKinstry batted .199 with five homers and 14 RBIs in 57 games with the Dodgers and Cubs last year.

Orioles option top prospect Rodriguez

The Baltimore Orioles optioned right-hander Grayson Rodriguez to Triple-A Norfolk, sending one of the game's top pitching prospects to the minors as opening day approaches.

The Orioles also released utilityman Franchy Cordero and outfielder Nomar

Mazara.

Rodriguez went 6-1 with a 2.20 ERA at Triple-A last season, and he's ranked as the game's No. 7 prospect by MLB Pipeline. However, he posted a 7.04 ERA in five starts this spring.

Rangers release veteran catcher León

The Texas Rangers released veteran catcher Sandy León from his minor league contract after breaking camp from Arizona.

Texas announced the move Monday before an exhibition game at home in Texas against Kansas City, the team they share a spring training complex with in Surprise, Arizona.

León signed with the Rangers just before the start of spring training. The 34-year-old catcher played 533 games with five teams over the last 11 seasons.