Notes

LITTLE ROCK — CARDINALS

Freese almost ready for rehab

ST. LOUIS - St. Louis Cardinals third baseman David Freese, who has been out the past month with ankle and toe injuries, could begin a rehab assignment soon.

Manager Tony La Russa said Friday that Freese was close to being ready to play but had yet to run at 100 percent. La Russa was confident the rookie, who is batting .296 with 4 home runs and 36 RBI in 70 games, would be back in the lineup by mid-August.

Freese has a bone bruise on his right ankle and his rehab was complicated when he dropped a weight that broke his left big toe.

CUBS

Zambrano reinstated

DENVER - The Chicago Cubs reinstated righthander Carlos Zambrano from the restricted list Friday and granted reliever Bob Howry his unconditional release.

Zambrano was suspended June 26, a day after he got into a oral altercation with teammate Derrek Lee. The two exchanged words in the Cubs dugout after Zambrano was pulled from his start after allowing four runs in the first inning against the Chicago White Sox.

Zambrano was placed on the restricted list June 29. He made one appearance for the Mesa Cubs of the Rookie League and three with Class AAA Iowa.

Howry was 0-3 with a 5.66 ERA in 24 appearances after signing with Chicago on May 21.

YANKEES-ASTROS

Berkman trade in works

NEW YORK - Lance Berkman is headed to the New York Yankees, who plan to complete a deal to acquire the former All-Star from the Houston Astros today, a day after the World Series champions obtained outfielder Austin Kearns from the Cleveland Indians.

New York will send a couple of prospects to the Astros, likely to be reliever Mark Melancon and infielder Jimmy Paredes, and Houston will pay part of what Berkman is owed, a baseball executive familiar with the discussions said Friday night. The executive spoke on condition of anonymity because the deal had not been announced.

A five-time All-Star, Berkman had full no-trade rights and his approval was necessary for a trade, accounting for the delay in its completion.

The 34-year-old Berkman is hitting .245 with 13 home runs and 49 RBI. He has 60 walks and 70 strikeouts in 298 at-bats.

Kearns left Cleveland’s game at Toronto in theseventh inning and was traded to the Yankees for a player to be named or cash. The former first-round draft pick is hitting .272 with 8 home runs and 42 RBI.

Berkman will fill the designated hitter slot originally intended for Nick Johnson, who returned to the Yankees during the off-season. Johnson has been on the disabled list since May 8 with a right wrist injury that required surgery.

Berkman, last an All-Star in 2008, is making $14.5 million this year. His contract includes a team option for 2011 at $15 million with a $2 million buyout.

DIAMONDBACKS-WHITE SOX

All-Star pitcher traded

PHOENIX - The Arizona Diamondbacks traded away an All-Star pitcher for the second time in a week, sending right-hander Edwin Jackson to the Chicago White Sox on Friday for rookie Daniel Hudson and prospect David Holmberg.

Jackson, who tossed the second no-hitter in franchise history June 25 against Tampa Bay, was 6-10 with a 5.16 ERA in 21 starts for the Diamondbacks this year, coming off an All-Star season in which he went 13-9 with a 3.62 ERA in 33 starts covering 214 innings for Detroit.

Hudson, a 23-year-old right-hander, has been one of Chicago’s top prospects since being selected by the White Sox in the fifth round of the 2008 amateur draft, going 30-13 with a 2.90 ERA in 57 minor league games from 2008-2010.

Holmberg, a 19-year-old left-hander, has spent the past two seasons in the lower levels of the organization, going 3-3 with a 4.02 ERA in 21 games, including 14 starts.

RANGERS-NATIONALS

Guzman OKs trade

WASHINGTON - Infielder Cristian Guzman is heading to the first-place Texas Rangers from the last-place Washington Nationals in a deal that sends two minor league pitchers to the Nationals.

Guzman needed to OK the move because players with at least 10 years of major league service, including five consecutive years with their current club, cannot be traded without their consent.

The 32-year-old Guzman is hitting .282 with 2 home runs and 25 RBI in 2010 while seeing time at second base, shortstop and right field for the Nationals.

Washington gets right-handed starters Ryan Tatusko and Tanner Roark from the Rangers. At Class AA Frisco this season, the 25-year-old Tatusko is 9-2 with a 2.97 ERA, while the 23-year-old Roark is 10-5 with a 4.20 ERA.