RHP Ramon Ortiz, removed from the Anaheim starting rotation after a brutal April ’04, will get a chance to start again, this time for Cincinnati next spring. The Reds acquired Ortiz today in exchange for minor league hurler Dustin Moseley.

Paul Byrd, 8-7 ((3.94 ERA, 1114 innings pitched) for the Braves last season, signed a one-year contract with the Angels. Byrd, 34, spent most of 2004’s first half on the DL while recovering from Tommy John surgery (as opposed to the Staten Island Yankees of the NY-Penn League, who are still recovering from Tommy John).