The strange saga of Waldis Joaquin, whom the Giants designated for assignment and then the White Sox claimed. Well, Chicago tried to claim Waldis, but he refused that assignment and became a free agent.

Any player who does change teams via a waiver claim does not show up on the minor league transactions feed we publish. The reason is that they technically never leave the 40-man roster, meaning they're still in the realm of major league transactions.

2) You said in a comment on a previous blog (in response to a question about Jesus Montero) that a player signing after the minor league season delays his eligibility for the Rule 5 draft. This is odd to me since Rule 5 itself states a player "is subject to selection at the [fourth or fifth] Rule 5 Draft following the player's signing date" (emphasis added). This would seem to suggest that as long as the player signs prior to the Draft itself (which is well after the end of the minor-league season). Can you clarify? Basically I'm trying to figure out if there's a formula for using a player's signing date and birth date to determine his Rule 5 and minor-league free agency eligibility.
 
3) Is there a publicly available place to find signing dates for minor-league players? Some of MiLB.com's player bio pages have signing dates, but some don't. Is there a place to find that info for any player?

The Braves pro scouting department is among the best in the game, in my opinion. I'd give them the benefit of the doubt on any minor league signing.

To answer your Rule 5 question . . . Yes, the Braves technically could lose any of the five recently-signed players (Bowman, Castillo, Lucas, Constanza, Sborz) in the major league portion of the Rule 5 draft. (Those players are exempt from the minor league Rule 5 because they're listed on the Triple-A roster.)

But keep in mind, that any of the other 29 teams could have signed these five players without Rule 5 restrictions. To Rule 5 one of the players now, such a team would have to fork over the $50,000 draft fee *and* carve out a 25-man roster spot for the entire 2011 season. It happens occasionally, but not often enough to worry.

Daryl Jones & Co. will be eligible for the major league portion of the Rule 5 draft.

But because the Cardinals outrighted him (as well as Steve Hill, Adam Ottovino and Nick Stavinoha) to the Triple-A Memphis roster (for purposes of this draft), then they cannot be selected in the minor league phases of the Rule 5.

In other words, if those four players pass through the major league Rule 5, then St. Louis will retain them for 2011, without restriction to which club they can play for.