>>Cubs Designate LaHair For Assignment

The Chicago Cubs say they have designated first baseman Bryan LaHair for assignment because he and the club are pursuing an opportunity for him in Japan.

An All-Star last season, LaHair batted .259 with 16 home runs and 40 RBIs in 130 games. He originally signed with the Cubs as a minor league free agent in December 2009.

The Cubs made several other moves on Tuesday, acquiring right-handed pitching prospect Barret Loux and a player to be named from the Texas Rangers for right-hander Jake Brigham. They also assigned right-hander Carlos Gutierrez outright to AAA Iowa after he cleared waivers and selected the contracts of 4 players - right-hander Trey McNutt from AA Tennessee, infielder Christian Villanueva from Class-A Daytona, infielder Logan Watkins from Tennessee and right-hander Robert Whitenack from Daytona.

>>Cards Make Roster Changes

(St. Louis, MO) -- The St. Louis Cardinals added four pitchers from their Double-A team to the 40-man roster. Michael Blazek, Keith Butler, Eric Fornataro and Kevin Siegrist will not be available in the Rule Five draft. St. Louis still has one opening left on the 40-man roster.

>>Sox Add Five To 40-Man Roster

The Chicago White Sox have added five players to their 40-man roster.

The White Sox selected the contracts of outfielder Jared Mitchell, catcher Josh Phegley, right-handed pitcher Andre Rienzo, left-handed pitcher Santos Rodriguez and right-handed pitcher Charles Shirek from AAA Charlotte on Tuesday.

A first-round pick in 2009, Mitchell hit.237 with 69 runs and 21 steals for AA Birmingham and Charlotte.

Phegley posted a .996 fielding percentage and threw out 30 of 65 potential base stealers for Charlotte.

Rienzo was 7-3 with a 2.53 ERA in 18 starts for Class A Winston-Salem, Birmingham and Charlotte.

Rodriguez was 2-4 with a 2.90 ERA over 42 relief appearances with Birmingham and Charlotte, while Shirek was 11-5 with a 3.65 ERA over 28 games (26 starts) at AAA.