The Associated Press

Reds left-hander Mark Watson, who was designated for assignment Wednesday, cleared waivers. He rejected an outright assignment and elected free agency.

Right-hander Luke Prokopec was re-instated from the 60-day disabled list. That puts the Reds' 40-man roster at the limit.

Left-hander Danny Serafini cleared waivers Wednesday. He rejected an outright assignment and elected free agency.

John Fay

TWINS: Ron Gardenhire, who has led the Minnesota Twins to the AL Central title in each of his two seasons, was given a two-year contract on Thursday.

"Everyone's been real good to me here," Gardenhire said.

Gardenhire, who joined the Twins' staff as a third-base coach in 1991, replaced Tom Kelly as manager when he retired after the 2001 season.

In Gardenhire's first season, the Twins won 94 games and beat Oakland in the first round of the playoffs before losing to Anaheim in the AL championship series.

This year, after struggling through the first half, the Twins went a major-league best 46-23 after the All-Star break and overtook Chicago and Kansas City in the division race.

They were eliminated in the first round of the playoffs by the New York Yankees last Sunday.

PHILLIES: Philadelphia outfielder Marlon Byrd had shoulder surgery Wednesday and should be ready for the start of spring training. Byrd will begin swinging a bat in early January.

The center fielder hit .303 with 28 doubles, seven homers, 45 RBI and 86 runs scored as a rookie.

INDIANS: Cleveland pitcher Cliff Lee had surgery to repair a hernia and is expected to recover in time for spring training.

Lee, who should be in Cleveland's starting rotation next season, had the operation Wednesday in Philadelphia.

The 25-year-old left-hander was bothered by the injury most of the season. He spent the first two months on the 60-day disabled list with an abdominal strain and the hernia.

Lee went 6-1 with a 3.27 ERA in 11 starts at Triple-A Buffalo before being recalled by the Indians.

With Cleveland, Lee went 3-3 with a 3.61 ERA in nine outings.

In his second-to-last start, Lee limited the Boston Red Sox - baseball's best offense this year - to three hits with seven strikeouts in seven innings.

ASTROS: Houston outfielder Jason Lane had surgery to repair a hernia Thursday, the team said.

After six weeks of rest, Lane, 26, will begin rehabilitation exercises. He is expected to be ready for spring training in February.

Lane hit .296 with four home runs and 10 RBI in 18 games last season.

ATHLETICS: Oakland claimed infielder Marco Scutaro and outfielder Matt Watson off waivers from the New York Mets.

Oakland also designated left-hander John Halama and catcher Mark Johnson for assignment.