Baseball Notes: A last-day flurry of deals

Baseball's winter meetings in San Diego ended with an old-style spurt of swaps, with all-stars switching teams at a rapid pace and executives scrambling to fill roster voids.

Alfredo Simon, Dee Gordon, Yoenis Cespedes, Miguel Montero, Jeff Samardzija, Brandon Moss, Dan Haren, and Howie Kendrick were among the all-stars dealt by the time teams headed home Thursday, and Matt Kemp and Jimmy Rollins were on the verge of switching clubs.

The Los Angeles and Chicago teams were the epicenter of change, along with the Miami Marlins.

Twelve trades involving 44 players were made over the four days, according to Major League Baseball, up from five swaps last year and three in 2012. There hadn't been this many trades at a winter meetings since 2006.

Desperate for a power bat to punch up the worst offense in the majors, the San Diego Padres had a deal in place to acquire outfielder Matt Kemp and catcher Tim Federowicz from the division rival Los Angeles Dodgers for catcher Yasmani Grandal and two pitchers, two people familiar with the trade said.

The people spoke on condition of anonymity because the deal hadn't been announced by either team.

The deal was pending physical exams and approval by the commissioner's office for the Dodgers to send $32 million to the Padres to help offset the $107 million remaining on Kemp's contract.

The Padres' obligation of $75 million to Kemp over five years becomes the biggest deal in club history. Kemp twice made the all-star team during his time in L.A., as well as winning two Gold Glove and two Silver Slugger awards. His 182 homers rank fourth in Los Angeles Dodgers history.

The Dodgers also get righthander Joe Wieland and minor-league pitcher Zach Eflin.

In a deal announced just before midnight Wednesday, the Dodgers acquired Howie Kendrick from the Angels to play second base.

The Miami Marlins acquired righthander Mat Latos from the Cincinnati Reds for pitching prospect Anthony DeSclafani and minor-league catcher Chad Wallach, just a short nap after landing all-star second baseman Dee Gordon in a flashy seven-player trade with the Dodgers late Wednesday night.

The 27-year-old Latos is coming off an injury-plagued season. He made only 16 starts because of knee and elbow problems, going 5-5 with a 3.25 ERA. He will help bolster a Miami rotation that will be without 2013 rookie of the year Jose Fernandez, who is recovering from May elbow-reconstruction surgery, until the middle of 2015.

The Minnesota Twins and free-agent righthander Ervin Santana were working Thursday to finalize a four-year, $55 million contract, according to two people with direct knowledge of the deal.

The two people spoke on the condition of anonymity because the contract had not yet been signed. Included in Santana's guarantee is a $1 million buyout of a fifth-year option on the deal.

Santana, who turns 32 Friday, was 14-10 with a 3.95 ERA in 31 starts for the Braves last year.

Less than five months after acquiring Yoenis Cespedes as part of a big deadline deal, the Boston Red Sox traded the slugging outfielder to help bolster their rotation.

The Detroit Tigers were happy to take him.

Boston sent Cespedes to the Tigers for righthander Rick Porcello in a deal that both teams hope will help fill significant needs. The Red Sox are rebuilding their starting pitching after losing 91 games this year, and Detroit was able to add another power hitter to a lineup that also includes Miguel Cabrera and Victor Martinez.

Pitchers Alex Wilson and Gabe Speier also went to Detroit as part of the trade.

Later in the day, Detroit Tigers acquired pitcher Alfredo Simon from the Cincinnati Reds for a pair of young players, minor-league righthander Jonathon Crawford and infielder Eugenio Suarez.

The Texas Rangers selected outfielder Delino DeShields in the draft of unprotected players on the final day of the winter meetings. He is the 22-year-old son of former big-leaguer Delino DeShields, who played for five teams from 1990 to 2002. Also, it was reported that Texas is set to acquire lefthander Ross Detwiler from the Washington Nationals for two minor- leaguers, a baseball official familiar with the deal said.

Dan Jennings traded Dan Jennings.

On the final day of the winter meetings, the Miami Marlins sent Jennings, a 27-year-old lefthanded reliever, to the Chicago White Sox on Thursday for 26-year-old righthander Andre Rienzo. Dan Jennings, the Marlins' 54-year-old general manager, is not related to the player.

The pitcher was 3-6 with a 2.43 ERA and 84 strikeouts over 100 innings in 116 relief appearances with the Marlins from 2012 to 2014.

The New York Mets reached agreement on a $1.45 million, one-year contract with outfielder John Mayberry Jr.

The team did not announce the deal, which is guaranteed and subject to a physical.

Mayberry, who turns 31 next month, had seven homers and 23 RBIs in 146 at-bats for the Phillies and Toronto this year. Mayberry has 53 homers in six big-league seasons.

A person familiar with the negotiations said slugger Kendrys Morales and the Kansas City Royals had agreed to a $17 million, two-year contract.

The agreement with the American League champions was subject to Morales' passing a physical.

A person familiar with the negotiations said power hitter Mark Reynolds and the St. Louis Cardinals agreed to a one-year deal.