We're only a few weeks away from the start of spring training, and finally we're starting to get a much clearer picture of which teams might look the most different heading into the season.
General managers throughout the league have had the unenviable task of assessing talent in the major leagues and farm systems as the right packages are being built on both sides and free-agent negotiations get underway.
There can sometimes be little middle ground for these GMs, however, as one wrong move can set an organization back a few important steps.
Here are some GMs who may be setting themselves up for failure with the moves they made—or didn't make—this offseason.
Read More: MLB GMs Who Should Be Embarrassed After Striking Out This Winter | Bleacher Report
Cincinnati is reportedly set to host the 2015 MLB All-Star Game, according to John Fay of Cincinnati.com.
Fay cites "sources" in his report and adds that commissioner Bud Selig will make the announcement this coming Wednesday while he is town to announce the development of Cincinnati's Major League Baseball Urban Youth Academy.
This is the first time that Cincinnati will host the Midsummer Classic since 1988. The game was played at Riverfront Stadium that year. This will be the first time the game has been held in the Great American Ballpark, which was opened in 2003.
If the report proves true, this will be the fifth time Cincinnati has hosted this event, as the city was also home to the All-Star game in 1938, 1953 and 1970.
As Mike Axisa of CBS Sports reports, the Washington Nationals have been making a pitch to host this game. Axisa notes they will now have to wait for 2017, as the game alternates cites between American and National League parks.
Baseball fan or not, this is great news for Cincinnati. Hosting the All-Star game means plenty of extra revenue flowing into the city as this goes far beyond just the game itself.
The MLB has established several events surrounding the game. That includes the fan-favorite Home Run Derby, which will undoubtedly sell out. Also, there is the wildly popular Fanfest.
This is a great opportunity for Cincinnati to showcase its city and their beautiful baseball stadium.
This year, the New York Mets will host the 2013 All-Star game, and next year's is scheduled for Target Field, the home of the Minnesota Twins.
Hector Santiago has elected not to pitch for Puerto Rico in the upcoming World Baseball Classic, a decision the left-hander confirmed to MLB-com on Tuesday night.
Santiago was on Puerto Rico's provisional roster but had been recently leaning toward not competing. He was going to decide after talking to White Sox front office personnel this weekend at SoxFest, but instead sped up the decision-making process.
"I think it's locked in stone as a no," said Santiago, who would have to leave Spring Training in Arizona and travel to San Juan, Puerto Rico, for the Classic. "I don't think it's going to change in a week or this weekend. I would love to do it, and it's an honor to be named to the team.
"It's just bad timing. Right now, with [John] Danks, I can be a rover: starter or spot guy. I don't want to risk it, go over there and have some doubt that I'm ... . I'm all for the White Sox. They mean everything."
The rover idea referred to by Santiago deals with his hybrid role as part of the pitching staff going into the upcoming season. Santiago, who turned 25 on Dec. 16, is preparing as a starter and will do so during Spring Training but is being thought of as part of the White Sox bullpen.
Danks continues what has been a very successful rehab program to date for his arthroscopically repaired left shoulder in early August, throwing successfully off the mound in his latest step forward. Even if Danks hits all his targets, there's a chance the 2012 Opening Day starter won't break camp with the team.
That cautionary move with Danks could open the door for Santiago to open the 2013 season as a starter, a role where he posted a 1.86 ERA over four starts in 2012. Santiago also struck out 24 over 29 innings in five starts for Gigantes de Carolina during winter baseball in Puerto Rico.
After wanting to pitch for Puerto Rico as part of the Classic in 2009 when he was a White Sox Minor Leaguer, Santiago is traveling the same path as Chris Sale in 2013 and putting the White Sox first.
"Maybe I'll have a chance the next time it comes around, where I'll be more established and have a few more years," said Santiago, who intends to talk to Team Puerto Rico manager Edwin Rodriguez about his decision. "But I'm dedicated to the White Sox and our goals of making the playoffs and not falling short. I'm going to make sure I'm there and getting in all the work I need to put in during that extra 2 1/2 or three weeks of Spring Training."
Santiago declines chance to pitch for Puerto Rico | MLB-com: News
The Cubs added depth to their outfield Wednesday night, agreeing to a two-year contract with veteran free agent Scott Hairston, according to Ken Rosenthal of FOXSports-com and MLB Network.
The club has not confirmed the deal, which is pending a physical.
The 32-year-old right-handed hitter posted career highs with a .504 slugging percentage and .803 OPS (on-base plus slugging percentage) in 134 games for the Mets last season. He hit .263 with 20 home runs and 57 RBIs.
Hairston has hit lefties hard, with an .867 OPS last season and .825 for his career, suggesting he could fit with the Cubs as a platoon partner for the left-handed Nate Schierholtz in right field.
A nine-year big league veteran, Hairston has played for four teams, with a .247/.302/.449 career batting line. He has spent time at all three outfield positions, the majority in left.
Cubs reach two-year deal with outfielder Scott Hairston | MLB-com: News
Yorvit Torrealba, the Rockies' primary catcher on postseason teams in 2007 and '09, signed a Minor League contract on Thursday night to return to the organization.
Torrealba tweeted the news, and the club confirmed it.
Torrealba, 34, hit a combined .227 with four home runs and 14 RBIs in 64 games last season with the Rangers, Blue Jays and Brewers. He was with the Rockies from 2006-09 and hit .258 with 23 home runs and 152 RBIs in 312 games.
Rockies fans may best remember Torrealba for the three-run homer he hit off the D-backs' Livan Hernandez in Game 3 of the 2007 National League Championship Series. The Rockies won the next game to make it to the only World Series in club history.
Colorado went with Chris Iannetta as starting catcher the following year, but went back to Torrealba in 2009, and he hit a career-best .291. Torrealba also appeared in the postseason, including the World Series, with the Rangers in '11.
Torrealba will participate in Major League Spring Training, though the Rockies do not have an open spot on the Major League 40-man roster. The only two catchers on the roster are veteran Ramon Hernandez and second-year man Wilin Rosario. Hernandez was listed on Venezuela's provisional roster for the World Baseball Classic, and if he is away from the team, it could give Torrealba increased opportunity during Spring Training.
In another development, FOX Sports, citing Major League sources, reported that right-hander Carl Pavano, whom the Rockies had been pursuing, slipped and fell while shoveling snow on his driveway in Vermont and suffered a ruptured spleen. The injury is expected to sideline him for six to eight weeks.
The Rockies also have made a push for free-agent righty Derek Lowe and are contemplating a run at right-handed former National League Cy Young Award winner Brandon Webb, provided Webb is healthy. Webb hasn't pitched in the Majors since 2009 with the D-backs because of shoulder issues.
Veteran catcher Yorvit Torrealba rejoining Rockies on Minor League deal | MLB-com: News
Stan Musial's funeral mass on Saturday will be closed to the public, but those wishing to watch the service can do so on MLB-com and Cardinals-com, which will stream the funeral live. The service is scheduled to begin at 11 a.m. CT at the Cathedral Basilica of St. Louis, where a visitation was held for Musial on Thursday.
The Cardinals Hall of Famer died on Saturday. He was 92.
Saturday's funeral service, which is expected to draw several dignitaries and many from the baseball community, will be followed by a funeral procession to Busch Stadium. The Musial family will lay a wreath at the base of the Stan Musial Statue during a prayer ceremony once they arrive at the ballpark.
The public is invited to take part in this ceremony, and the Cardinals have asked fans to line up along 8th Street by 12:30 p.m. CT. The Musial statue continues to serve as a memorial site for those wishing to leave behind mementos in memory of No. 6.
MLB-com to stream Stan Musial's funeral live on Saturday | MLB-com: News
Major League Baseball is investigating multiple wellness clinics in South Florida, as well as individuals with potential ties to players, armed with the belief that the region stretching 50 miles south from Boca Raton to Miami is "ground zero" for performance-enhancing drugs still filtering into the game.
"Outside the Lines" has learned that MLB security officials have spent considerable time in South Florida since last summer, monitoring clinics believed to be linked to the sale of human growth hormone and testosterone to players. MLB officials hope law enforcement will subpoena clinic records to determine whether players received illegal and banned substances. The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration is working with MLB, which declined comment Saturday, but it is unclear whether subpoenas have already been issued, and sources close to the investigation said a direct link to players has yet to be found. The investigation is tedious because of the involvement of potentially multiple agencies, plus the fly-by-night nature of questionable clinics, which have been known to shut down and reopen under new names as a means of staying ahead of the law.
One clinic under investigation is operated by Anthony Bosch, a self-described biochemist who most recently ran Biogenesis of America in Coral Gables. He long has had ties to the loosely regulated South Florida wellness industry, which pitches the promise of drugs to turn the scrawny to muscular and bring vitality to the tired and aged. ESPN reported in 2009 that Bosch, whose father, Dr. Pedro Publio Bosch, is a Coral Gables physician, wrote a prescription for a substance that led to the suspension for baseball star Manny Ramirez -- an outfielder for the Los Angeles Dodgers at the time.
The New York Daily News on Saturday first reported that MLB is investigating Bosch, whom the newspaper said had been an adviser to New York Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez.
Bosch's clinic has not opened since the beginning of the year. Another nearby clinic operated by a former Bosch associate shut down completely in early December, "Outside the Lines" has learned. Bosch, 48, resurfaced on MLB's radar about six month ago.
Because of the number of clinics, the MLB investigation is looking into several potential drug suppliers or networks, not a single source. The ongoing investigation could take well into the upcoming baseball season to complete, sources said, and officials remain unclear of the number of players that eventually may be involved.
Bosch is well-known in Latin American baseball circles. He operates from a base in South Florida, where wellness clinics pitch growth hormone treatments and testosterone injections, and legions of pro baseball players live and train every offseason.
His relationships with players date back at least a decade. He has attended parties with players and procured tickets to big league ballparks, especially in Boston and New York. He traveled to Kansas City during last summer's All-Star Game break. He was seen in a popular Coral Gables nightspot after the 2011 season with Melky Cabrera, who was suspended by baseball last season after a positive drug test.
At least one former medical colleague told "Outside the Lines" that Bosch bragged of having treated Major League Baseball players.
The elder Bosch allegedly prescribed to Ramirez the drug hCG, human chorionic gonadotropin -- a fertility drug commonly used by athletes to boost their natural testosterone levels after coming off a steroid cycle.
DEA investigators looked into the matter, but federal officials recently told "Outside the Lines" that the agency never opened a case file.
"There are times we don't open up a case," DEA spokesperson Mia Ro said. "It's just maybe that they never got enough (information). Maybe at that time they were hoping for more and they never got it."
MLB also is known to have a heightened angst about players' potential easy access to banned substances from the South Florida clinics, particularly because many of the most recent busts have a local connection -- among them, Ramirez, Cabrera, Yasmani Grandal, and Bartolo Colon.
The interest is such that a source told "Outside the Lines" that MLB earlier interviewed a former University of Miami player about the availability of drugs in the area after he was busted with HGH in 2010.
Bosch, outside of briefly living in El Paso, Texas, has been a player in the South Florida feel-good medical community for at least two decades. His name is listed on state corporation records tied to a laundry list of ventures that are now mostly shuttered, including Contemporary Health Solutions, Body Chemistry, VIP Med, Medical Hrt (hormone replacement therapy) and the latest, Biogenesis of America -- which promotes itself as specializing in weight loss and hormone replacement therapy.
A would-be patient told "Outside the Lines" that Bosch was introduced to him as an "anti-aging doctor" during a visit to a Key Biscayne clinic within the past year, laughing as he recalled a scene in which Bosch yanked up his shirt to show off his abs in a bid to sell HGH treatments. Anti-aging practitioners regularly prescribe HGH for adults with normally declining levels, but the drug is only approved for use in patients with actual medical deficiencies, such as dwarfism, AIDS wasting syndrome and pituitary tumors.
In a separate incident this fall witnessed by OTL, at Hillstone restaurant in Coral Cables, Bosch sat at a table with a group of friends when he saw a man he knew at the bar, who was 50 and overweight. They chatted. Bosch, wearing a red polo and jeans, told the man he was a doctor and that he could help him lose weight by injecting him with hormones. The man said he might.
Several friends and former associates told "Outside the Lines" they were either told by Bosch or led to believe that he was a medical doctor. On state corporate filings for one venture, Bosch is listed as "Dr.
Of all the storied ballparks waiting to be visited by Hiroyuki Nakajima, the A's new shortstop just wants to see the one he'll call home this year.
And on Sunday, while in Oakland for the team's annual FanFest, Nakajima thought, "Hopefully this time it will be a baseball field."
But the Oakland Coliseum, transformed into a football field for the Oakland Raiders during Nakajima's first tour of the vicinities, was set up for a motocross event. Still, a beaming Nakajima was clearly enthused to be part of Sunday's festivities and meet his new teammates and fans.
"All the fans were cheering and calling me Hiro," the always smiling Nakajima said through a translator. "I was surprised about that."
"He's got one of those faces that lights up a room," general manager Billy Beane said. "He's going to be a lot of fun to have around."
It was just last month, shortly after the A's signed the 30-year-old Japanese infielder to a two-year deal, when Nakajima called Beane "extremely sexy and cool."
"I have no worries about him, given our impressions," Beane joked Sunday. "He's going to do just fine. I'm worried about my transition to him."
"Right now I don't have any worries with him," manager Bob Melvin echoed. "It seems like the Japanese players that have come over and succeeded have been leaders. They've stepped up out front, aren't afraid to lead, aren't afraid to be the guy that's put in a position to potentially fail. He is one of those guys from everything I've heard. He's a very effervescent guy."
Nakajima's fun-loving personality should seemingly bode well with the laid-back nature of Oakland's loose clubhouse. And even though he's one of the newbies in it, the shortstop is ready to share a leadership role if necessary.
"If [Melvin] really did say that, I'm really excited and thrilled about it," he said, "and I'm going to be all that I can to become that kind of presence on the team."
He surely makes friends fast, having already exchanged words with outfielder Chris Young, who taught him what's become Nakajima's favorite English expression -- "for real."
Nakajima quickly fitting in with new teammates | MLB-com: News
The Angels signed right-hander Robert Coello to a Minor League contract with an invitation to big league Spring Training on Monday.
Coello, 28, appeared in six games in 2010 for the Red Sox and six for the Blue Jays in '12, giving up 12 earned runs in 12 innings. With the Angels, he'll probably be a swing man in Triple-A.
In his six-year Minor League career, which began with a stint for the Angels' Arizona League team in 2007, Coello has compiled a 3.33 ERA in 171 games (31 starts), posting a rate of 9.9 strikeouts per nine innings, 3.9 walks per nine innings and a 1.23 WHIP.
Listed at 6-foot-5, 250 pounds, Coello spent most of last season pitching for the Blue Jays' Triple-A affiliate, going 4-1 with a 3.00 ERA in 19 games (three starts).
With Coello signed and starter Jo-Jo Reyes released so he can pitch in Korea, the Angels will have at least 62 players in Tucson, Ariz., when full workouts begin Feb. 15. General manager Jerry Dipoto would like to add one or two more to the list if an opportunity presents itself via Minor League contracts.
Angels add right-hander Robert Coello on Minor League deal | MLB-com: News
Major League Baseball (ML😎 said on Tuesday it was investigating a report alleging several high-profile players were sold performance-enhancing drugs by a South Florida anti-aging clinic.
MLB said in a statement it was "extremely disappointed" to hear any alleged links between players and banned drugs but was investigating the claims, published in the Miami New Times on Tuesday.
"We remain fully committed to following all leads and seeking the appropriate outcomes for all those who use, purchase and are involved in the distribution of banned substances, which have no place in our game," MLB said.
"We are in the midst of an active investigation and are gathering and reviewing information. We will refrain from further comment until this process is complete."
The New Times, a free weekly newspaper published in Miami, identified several players that it said had allegedly been sold human growth hormone, testosterone and anabolic steroids by the clinic's head, named as Anthony Bosch.
The newspaper said a former employee of the clinic, which is now closed, had provided handwritten medical records from the clinic that showed links between the players and banned drugs.
Two of the players named in the report, New York Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez and Washington Nationals starting pitcher Gio Gonzalez, have denied the allegations.
"The news report about a purported relationship between Alex Rodriguez and Anthony Bosch are not true. Alex Rodriguez was not Mr. Bosch's patient, he was never treated by him and he was never advised by him," Rodriguez said in a statement released by his publicist.
"The purported documents referenced in the story - at least as they relate to Alex Rodriguez - are not legitimate."
A spokesman for Rodriguez said he had hired an attorney to represent him, while the Yankees said they would not comment on the matter while it was being investigated.
"We fully support the (ML😎 Commissioner's Joint Drug Prevention and Treatment Program. This matter is now in the hands of the Commissioner's Office. We will have no further comment until that investigation has concluded," the Yankees said in a statement.
Gonzalez denied the allegations against him on his Twitter account.
"I've never used performance enhancing drugs of any kind and I never will, I've never met or spoken with tony Bosch or used any substance," he tweeted.
'EXTREMELY DISAPPOINTED'
The Texas Rangers issued a statement after the club's outfielder Nelson Cruz was also identified in the report.
"The Texas Rangers were contacted late last week by Miami New Times regarding the story posted this morning," the Rangers said in a statement.
"At that time, the Rangers contacted Major League Baseball on that inquiry. The team has no further comment."
Human growth hormone, testosterone and anabolic steroids are banned by MLB. First-time offenders face 50-game bans, second offenders receive 100 games and players caught a third time can be banned for life.
In 2009, Rodriguez confessed to using steroids between 2001 and 2003, when he was playing for the Rangers, but said he had not used them since.
Rodriguez, the highest-paid player in baseball, has not knowingly failed a doping test and was not suspended for his previous admission because MLB did not have any bans in place at the time.
If the MLB investigation found him guilty of any wrongdoing, he would likely be treated as a first offender. A 50-game ban would have little impact on the 37-year-old because he is currently recovering from hip surgery and expected to miss the first half of the 2013 season.
Also named in the report were San Francisco Giants slugger Melky Cabrera, Oakland pitcher Bartolo Colon and San Diego catcher Yasmani Grandal. All three players were each suspended for 50 games last year after testing positive for elevated testosterone.
"We are always extremely disappointed to learn of potential links between players and the use of performance-enhancing substances," MLB said.
"These developments, however, provide evidence of the comprehensive nature of our anti-drug efforts. Through our Department of Investigations, we have been actively involved in the issues in South Florida.
"It is also important to note that three of the players allegedly involved have already been disciplined under the Joint Drug Program."
MLB investigating doping report involving top players - Yahoo! News
Last year, the Pittsburgh Pirates' Andrew McCutchen and New York Mets' R.A. Dickey were two players that emerged as breakout stars.
McCutchen was a candidate for National League MVP through most of the season, while Dickey went on to win the NL Cy Young Award.
Who will be this year's McCutchen? Who looks like the next Dickey? While it might be difficult to predict who might emerge from a good season to a great season, let alone contend for an MVP or Cy Young Award, MLB has several players on the rise who could reach such heights.
However, we're going to break it down by position and put together an all-breakout team for 2013. Who will develop from a top prospect into a major league contributor? Who could make the jump from contributor to star?
Are there any MVP or Cy Young candidates among this collection of players? Perhaps not, but all of them could make a notable impact in 2013 from their respective positions.
Read More: Predicting MLB's All-Breakout Team for 2013 | Bleacher Report
Franklin Gutierrez has missed more games than he's played over the past two seasons, so the questions are inevitable.
Is he finally healthy? How's he feeling? Can he stay in one piece and solidify the Mariners outfield and provide a quality right-handed bat to what should be an improved offense in 2013?
Ultimately, Gutierrez can only answer those questions by performing on the field. But as he heads toward Spring Training in just under two weeks, the 2010 Gold Glove center fielder is doing his best to assure everyone that he's ready to play after a strong December in the Venezuelan Winter League.
"That was my offseason, just to play winter ball for about a month," he said at last weekend's FanFest. "And I did pretty good. I just went to gain my confidence back and prove I can play almost every day again. So I'm very happy for that. Now I'm feeling good and getting ready to get to Spring Training and start working again.
"It's not a secret, what's been happening the last couple years," Gutierrez said. "Now I'm just focusing on trying to stay healthy, obviously. I think winter ball really helped because I hadn't played like that in a long time."
Gutierrez was in this same situation a year ago, of course, with everyone talking about what great condition he was in after playing just 92 games in 2011 due to a long bout with a digestive issue and then a season-ending oblique strain.
But he immediately tore a pectoral muscle in Spring Training and missed the first 2 1/2 months of the season, then played just two weeks before going back on the disabled list with a concussion after being hit in the head by a pickoff throw at first base.
That led to another two-month absence before he returned in late August, with his season limited to 40 games in which he hit .260 with four home runs and 17 RBIs.
"I'm trying to keep all the bad things behind me," he said. "I don't want to think about anything bad right now. I'm just looking forward to helping my team. Obviously, there are some great additions and I'm very excited. I think we're ready to win right now, and I just want to be part of it."
Trainer Rick Griffin said Gutierrez appears to be on the right track after hitting .349 (30-for-86) with 13 runs, six doubles, three home runs and 19 RBIs in 22 games in Venezuela.
"He's not having any issues of any kind," Griffin said. "Anything he's had in the last three years doesn't exist. He's going in with good frame of mind and we're just hoping everything works out. He's been snake bit the last three years, so hopefully this year we can get back to the way things were."
While the Mariners discovered a strong alternative in center field last year with the emergence of Michael Saunders, manager Eric Wedge is hopeful Gutierrez can regain his former position and allow Saunders to fill one of the corner-outfield spots.
That would give the Mariners a stronger defensive situation, with Michael Morse, Raul Ibanez, Casper Wells and others vying for time in the other corner.
Gutierrez, who turns 30 on Feb. 21, welcomes the arrival of some other established veterans.
"These are a lot of good players," he said. "With the addition of Kendrys [Morales], Ibanez, Morse, you know the team looks a lot different from last year. I think the key for us is to try to stay healthy, try to play as a team and just play hard every day. That's what we're looking for. I think we're ready to win and I'm very excited about it."
Mariners outfielder Franklin Gutierrez is eager to erase injury concerns | MLB-com: News
With the calendar turning to February, you can feel the palpable excitement among baseball fans. Maybe you can hear their hands rubbing together with anticipation. Winter is that much closer to being over.
Pitchers and catchers will be reporting very soon. Baseballs will be popping into leather mitts. Groups of players will be jogging together, almost like a flock of birds flying in formation. Close your eyes and you can feel the warmth of the sun, smell the scent of sunscreen in the heat.
Do fans of other sports have such feelings about the preseason beginning? In August, do football fans daydream about roasting under summer heat, watching their favorite players run around without pads while coaches scream and blow whistles at them?
Perhaps a few do. But I've never heard or read them eagerly anticipating practices or driving off to training camp locations with any sort of affection.
That is among the many reasons why spring training is the best preseason in sports. Here are a few others.
Location, Location, Location
Spring training allows baseball fans to travel Florida or Arizona in February and March, when it's still frigid in most parts of the country.
While your friends and family are back home bundled up in sweaters and jeans, scraping ice off their windshields and hearing the crack of rock salt underneath their shoes wherever they walk, spring training observers are thawing underneath the sun. Instead of looking at yellowed grass underneath grey chunks of snow that just won't go away, Grapefruit and Cactus League play allows fans to see lush green fields, while letting sunlight warm the arms and legs exposed by t-shirts and shorts.
The point is that spring training offers baseball fans a vacation. It's an escape from your daily routine, a break from the grind of work and home. These workouts and games are destinations.
In Florida, baseball teams hold their preseason camps in places like Kissimmee, Clearwater, Sarasota and Port St. Lucie. Those towns just sound warm and tropical.
In Arizona, the spring training complexes have names like Surprise Stadium, Camelback Ranch and Salt River Fields. It sounds as if it's possible to do so much more than watch a ballgame and drink a beer in those places. Maybe you can play golf or get a spa treatment while you're at the game!
(OK, you can't. But it sounds like you could.)
With no offense and all apologies intended to the residents and municipalities of Owings Mills, Md., Allen Park, Mich., Anderson, Ind. and Renton, Wash., but do those places offer much for fans after they're done watching NFL linebackers hit tackling sleds and wide receivers run rope ladder drills in scorching 95-degree heat with humidity?
(I will admit that my perception of Spartanburg, S.C., where the Carolina Panthers hold their training camp, is heavily influenced by encountering the worst gas station bathroom I have ever seen in all my years on this planet earth while passing through on the way to Charleston.) Some NFL teams don't even try to give their fans something different, holding their training camps in the same cities where they play. Yes, I'm talking about you, Cincinnati Bengals, Houston Texans, Tennessee Titans, Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Jacksonville Jaguars.
Reasons MLB Spring Training Is the Best Preseason in Sports | Bleacher Report
In hopes of cracking the final spot of a revamped Royals rotation, or at the very least ensuring that he sticks in the big leagues, Mexico's Luis Mendoza is getting a nice head start.
Mendoza is here with the Yaquis de Obregon, champions of the Mexican Pacific League and participants in a Caribbean Series that's being played at the brand-new Estadio Sonora. In his team's first game on Friday, Mendoza hurled six scoreless innings of three-hit ball, striking out three and walking two in Mexico's 3-0 win over Puerto Rico's Criollos de Caguas.
Mendoza, like so many others, is here to do what he can for his country.
But the 29-year-old right-hander is also here to fine-tune -- specifically his changeup -- in hopes of securing a spot in a much-improved staff that includes James Shields, Ervin Santana, Jeremy Guthrie, Wade Davis, Bruce Chen, Luke Hochevar and Will Smith.
"Spring Training is always a battle," said Mendoza, who's out of options. "Nobody has a solidified spot except Shields and the first two or three starters. But I'm very happy with the team right now. I feel like we're going to compete more this year with a stronger group, and I'm happy to be with a team that's competing. I'll do what they ask, either long relief or starting."
Mendoza was Pacific Coast League Pitcher of the Year in 2011, then got his most Major League action in '12, going 8-10 with a 4.23 ERA in 30 games (25 starts).
"For me," Mendoza said, "the most important thing is to be in the Major Leagues and establish myself."
A native of Veracruz -- on the southeast portion of the country, about 1,500 miles from the Caribbean Series -- Mendoza also plans to suit up for Mexico in the World Baseball Classic. Major League clubs are often hesitant to send their pitchers to these events, specifically a Caribbean Series that takes place so close to the start of Spring Training.
But Mendoza sees this as a way to get a leg up.
"It's part of the preparation, and you have to take care of yourself," Mendoza said. "We know that we didn't come to party like people think about with the Caribbean Series, or to relax. It's to come and keep working.
"Like Kansas City said when I talked to them -- 'Take care of yourself. We support you completely, but you know your body and you know your limits.'"
Figueroa denied chance to pitch in Caribbean Series
HERMOSILLO, Mexico -- Nelson Figueroa is a man with little to do these days.
The 38-year-old right-hander, signed to a Minor League deal by the D-backs this offseason, helped pitch the Dominican Republic's Leones del Escogido to the Caribbean Series. But Figueroa, a Brooklyn native of Puerto Rican descent, has been blocked by the Puerto Rico Baseball League from playing in the Caribbean Series, which pits the winter league champions from the Dominican, Mexico, Venezuela and Puerto Rico in a seven-day tournament.
So here, at Estadio Sonora, Figueroa is more a fan than an active pitcher trying to help Escogido win its third Caribbean Series title in four years.
And he isn't happy about it.
"That hurts," Figueroa said in Spanish. "It hurts a lot for everyone who's here, playing the whole regular season, playoffs and championship series just to get to this moment, to play or pitch in the Caribbean Series. For us even more, because we have a championship to defend from last year, and for this team that has supported me so much the last four years."
Figueroa has played in the winter leagues of all four nations, representing Mexico, Puerto Rico and the Dominican in past Caribbean Series. Last year, he pitched for the Leones in winter ball, then for Puerto Rico's Indios de Mayaguez in the Series. And next month, he plans on suiting up for Puerto Rico in the World Baseball Classic.
Figueroa was on loan by the Puerto Rican League to pitch for the Dominican winter ball squad, but apparently that did not extend to the Caribbean Series. The veteran pitcher, who has compiled a 4.55 ERA in nine Major League seasons, didn't find out about it until the start of the tournament. And everybody -- his teammates, coaches and general manager Moises Alou -- was taken by surprise.
Figueroa maintains that he never signed anything that would disallow him from playing in the prestigious Series, and he's threatening to take legal action.
"We have a crown to defend here," Figueroa said.
His anger, at least, is somewhat tempered by the prospect of being in D-backs camp this spring, one year after going 12-5 with a 3.89 ERA in 25 games (15 starts) for the Yankees' and Red Sox's Triple-A affiliates.
"I have a chance to return with my first Major League team," Figueroa said. "I still live there, in Arizona."
Valenzuela set for Caribbean Hall of Fame induction
HERMOSILLO, Mexico -- Fernando Valenzuela's no-brainer induction to the Caribbean Baseball Hall of Fame will take place Sunday, at 10 a.m. MT at the University of Sonora's Arts Center.
Valenzuela -- a six-time All-Star with the Dodgers, who won the National League's Rookie of the Year and Cy Young awards while en route to a World Series title in 1981 -- will be joined by ex-manager Tommy Lasorda, Dodgers vice president Lon Rosen and broadcaster Jaime Jarrin, now Valenzuela's partner in the booth.
Caribbean Baseball Federation president Juan Herrera will make a speech and present Valenzuela with his Hall of Fame plaque, officially placing him in a group that includes Tony Perez, Rod Carew, Willie Mays, Dave Concepcion, Edgar Martinez and Roberto Alomar. Also being inducted Sunday are ex-players Houston Jimenez and Ever Magallanes, along with former Mexican Pacific League presidents Renato Vega and Dr. Arturo Leon Lerma.
Valenzuela's last season in the Majors came in 1997, but he continued to suit up for his home country in the Mexican Pacific League until 2006 -- at age 46 -- and pitched in three Caribbean Series (1982, '93 and '01).
On Friday, Valenzuela kicked off the 55th Caribbean Serie
Jason Giambi wants to continue his playing career. And he very well may get his chance. Giambi has been attracting some attention on the free agent market. He has drawn interest from at least a few teams. Giambi has spent the last four seasons with the Colorado Rockies, but it seemed his career might be over when he interviewed for the team's previously-open managerial job.
Troy Renck of the Denver Post says Giambi has been working out five days a week in an effort to stay in shape for any team that comes calling. Giambi wants to give it one last shot says Renck. It seems unlikely that Giambi will return to the Rockies as a position player. He was offered a hitting coach position, but he turned it down in order to try to continue his playing career.
Giambi has played in the Majors for 18 years. He was one of the more prominent players linked to PEDs. Giambi eventually admitted his wrong doing. Despite the admission, Giambi's playing career continued quite successfully for a number of years. He has been limited to pinch-hitting and the occasional start over the last few seasons. But he's still shown he can provide value.
Last season, Giambi played in 60 games and hit .225/.372/.305. His power numbers have all but diminished, but he can still get on base. He can draw walks with the best of them - a big reason why the Oakland Athletics drafted him (and yes, this was before Billy Beane's Moneyball philosophy).
In his career, Giambi has 429 home runs and has hit .280/.403/.522. He has played on eight playoff teams, and in his postseason career, Giambi has been even more dominant than in the regular season. In 45 postseason games, Giambi has hit .290/.425/.486. Given another chance, Giambi could certainly help a club seeking a veteran free agent. But he may struggle to find a team looking for the same things Giambi can truly provide at this point in his career.
Rockies Rumors: Jason Giambi wants to continue playing - MLB Daily Dish
The Astros will once again play host to the Urban Invitational, a college baseball tournament at Minute Maid Park that features four historically black colleges and universities -- Alabama State, Southern, Prairie View A&M and Texas Southern.
The tournament, which was designed by Major League Baseball to give historically black colleges and universities some national exposure, will be held Feb. 22-24 at Minute Maid Park and will be live on MLB Network and MLB-com with play-by-play from MLB Network Analysts Joe Magrane and Paul Severino. "Major League Baseball would like to congratulate the four teams and all the student-athletes who will be participating in this year's Urban Invitational," said Frank Robinson, MLB executive vice president of baseball development. "This annual event is an important and special opportunity for the sport to showcase the talent and skill level demonstrated by HBCU programs deserving of national attention. We are proud to work alongside the Astros organization to not only provide a wonderful experience for those playing the games on the field, but also offer opportunities away from the diamond for the Houston community."
On Feb. 22, Southern and Texas Southern will play at 3 p.m. CT, followed by Prairie View and Alabama State at 6:30 p.m. Alabama State and Southern will meet at 4 p.m. Feb. 23, followed by Texas Southern and Prairie View at 7:30 p.m. The tournament concludes Feb. 24 with Alabama State vs. Texas Southern at noon and Southern meeting Prairie View at 3:30 p.m.
Tickets to all games and events at Minute Maid Park will be available to the general public for $10, and parking for Minute Maid Park is also available for $10 in the Diamond Lot and $5 for the other Astros controlled lots. High school students and younger with a valid student ID will be admitted to the ballpark for free. All proceeds from the ticket sales will benefit the Major League Baseball Urban Youth Foundation.
"The Houston Astros are very excited that Major League Baseball has chosen to return the Urban Invitational to Minute Maid Park this year," said Daryl Wade, manager of the Houston Astros MLB Urban Youth Academy. "Last year's event was a great success for the Astros, Major League Baseball and the city of Houston. We all look forward to continuing this relationship with the ultimate goal of continuing to provide local youth, students and young professionals instruction, support and opportunities for their future successes."
MLB and the Astros will host a youth baseball clinic on Feb. 23 at the Houston Astros MLB Urban Youth Academy at Sylvester Turner Park from 9-11:30 a.m. Players from each of the participating teams in the Urban Invitational will help provide instruction to academy boys and girls from local Reviving Baseball in Inner Cities programs.
Additionally, MLB and the Astros will host a college and career fair at Minute Maid Park on Feb. 22 from 12-3 p.m. CT. Participating colleges and universities will provide information about college preparation, undergraduate and graduate degree programs, financial aid and scholarship opportunities, and local businesses will also be on hand to provide career advice and discuss potential job opportunities.
Urban Invitational returns to Houston | MLB-com: News
Major League Baseball officials have asked the Miami New Times for records the alternative newspaper obtained for a story on alleged use of banned substances by several players.
New Times editor Chuck Strouse said Tuesday the paper had not yet decided how to respond. Strouse described the MLB move as a request only and noted that the league does not have a law enforcement agency's subpoena power.
"At this point at least, we're deliberating just what we're going to do with the documents. We haven't said no. We haven't said yes," Strouse said. When contacted Tuesday about the request, MLB spokesman Pat Courtney said the league had no comment.
Strouse said that dozens of the documents were posted online when the story ran, but many were redacted and there are many others that were not posted.
The newspaper reported last week that New York Yankees star Alex Rodriguez, a three-time American League Most Valuable Player, and other players bought human growth hormone and other performance-enhancing substances during 2009-12 from Biogenesis of America LLC. The now-closed anti-aging clinic in Coral Cables was operated by Anthony Bosch.
The story was based on clinic records, many with handwritten notations, the New Times said it obtained.
In addition to Rodriguez, the newspaper said the records detailed purchases by 2012 All-Star game MVP Melky Cabrera, 2005 AL Cy Young Award winner Bartolo Colon, 2011 AL championship series MVP Nelson Cruz of Texas, Washington pitcher Gio Gonzalez, who finished third in last year's NL Cy Young Award voting, and San Diego catcher Yasmani Grandal.
Gonzalez denied the allegations on his Twitter account, Rodriguez through a spokesman and Cruz denied them through an attorney. An attorney for Bosch also denied the allegations.
Rodriguez has admitted that he used performance-enhancing drugs from 2001-03. Cabrera, Colon and Grandal were suspended for 50 games each last year by MLB following tests for elevated testosterone. Rodriguez is sidelined for at least the first half of the upcoming season after hip surgery Jan. 16.
The fallout from the new BALCO – the Miami-area Biogenesis clinic – continues to extend and envelop more major league players. In this case, it's news from Yahoo! Sports that Milwaukee Brewers star Ryan Braun's name is in Biogenesis records. MLB is now investigating links between the former MVP, who previously tested positive for synthetic testosterone in 2011, and the clinic.
This follows a report last week from the Miami New Times linking Alex Rodriguez, Nelson Cruz and Gio Gonzalez to Biogenesis' operator Anthony Bosch, aka the new Victor Conte.
All of a sudden, MLB is back in crisis mode.
If one thing is clear by now, it's that baseball's so-called "Steroid Era" continues on. In fact, it should be obvious that there isn't really an "era" at all. It's just a fact of baseball life over the last half century.
There is plenty of evidence of PED use dating back to the late 1960s and clearly little has changed since the Mitchell Report and MLB deciding to get more vigilant in its testing over the last decade. As long as there is an incentive to gain an edge this will continue. And since that incentive is not simply financial, but rooted in human nature, MLB can never truly exhale. The sport will forever be forced to chase its tail.
The solution is neither simple nor likely possible. A peace must be made with the desire for clean competition and an understanding it will never truly be obtained. The problem for baseball, unlike other sports, is that the unique way the game is played may make that impossible.
Perhaps nothing upsets baseball fans and executives more than the double-standard reactions to PED use in football. The NFL is awash in this stuff, yet fans and media mostly shrug it off. In baseball every suspension is treated with over-the-top seriousness and a chorus of condemnation.
And in basketball, hockey and other sports, no one seems to care at all. Those sports get an even bigger pass than football.
There is a difference though. In baseball, the PED advantage enjoyed by power hitters was so obvious and significant it didn't just change the game – consider how teams had to pitch around Barry Bonds in his heyday – but completely obliterated so many sacred records.
It took 34 years and eight extra games for Roger Maris to hit 61 home runs and surpass Babe Ruth's 60 (accomplished against white-only competition, of course). Then in a four-year stint between 1998-2001, three players did it a total of six times, with Bonds hitting 73 (21.7 percent more than Ruth).
Many of those blasts by Bonds, Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa were massive shots of almost unprecedented length. This was a cartoon.
In the NFL, similar records have not fallen that way; thus the benefits of PEDs aren't as obvious. Quarterbacks aren't suddenly throwing passes 80 yards in the air with ease. Running backs aren't churning out 400-yard days, carrying three guys on their back. No one is running 40 yards in 3.8 seconds. The basic integrity of the game stayed the same. While records come and go – throwing for 5,000 yards is no longer that big a deal for a quarterback – that's because of advanced offenses, not, it would seem, a performance-enhancing drug.
Likewise, no one in the NBA or NHL believes those sports are without some PED use. But it's mostly for advanced conditioning to allow additional game time without tiring. Since there is no indication it helps someone shoot a basketball or puck appreciably better (other than not being tired) no one seems to care.
Football, meanwhile, gets the benefit of the doubt because of the clear physical toll the game takes on the players' bodies.
Baseball has been unable to earn such disinterest, even if in some cases, the sport deserves it. The concept that advanced medicine via drugs helps keep or make athletes healthy should extend to baseball, which may be a "non-contact" sport, but can still exact a brutal toll on the body.
Fans – and indeed executives – should want players back on the field as soon as possible, and if a banned substance aids in recovery then what's the harm?
If given the choice of having a ligament tear take one year or eight months to heal, why prohibit the eight months because it uses a drug currently frowned upon? And if guys hold up better, or play for more seasons, because a drug allows them marathon offseason conditioning work, then where's the harm?
Baseball would do well to consider rewriting some of the rules to better represent modern reality. Was any of the motivation of A-Rod and the others to allegedly do business with Biogenesis based on health and not simply a performance edge?
Much was made during Super Bowl week of Mitch Ross of S.W.A.T.S – an Alabama-based company – trying to push non-steroid alternatives, most famously his deer antler spray. Ross may not be the best vehicle for the argument but his basic premise is worth consideration.
His stated goal is to provide athletes with the healthiest possible advantage to avoid or recover from injuries. He thinks deer antler spray, among other products, has been unfairly targeted and shouldn't be banned by any sport. It's a natural substance, he insists. There is science to still be done, but it's certainly worth further study and analysis by the leagues.
If Ray Lewis did, indeed, use this stuff to recover quickly from a torn triceps and get back on the field, then how is that a negative for the NFL, its business or its fans?
It's not.
What happened at Biogenesis in South Florida, and by whom, will continue to play out. This is a story that is getting bigger and wider, not dying down.
Last week it was A-Rod, Cruz and Gonzalez. This week it's Braun. Soon it will be someone else.
The only certainty is that the Steroid Era is still going strong, perhaps not with the moon-shot home runs, but in every other imaginable way.
MLB will never be able to eradicate this from the game. It needs, instead, to somehow find the kind of
Caribbean Baseball Confederation president Juan Francisco Puello Herrera would like to see the Caribbean Series return to Miami and is in talks with the Marlins about utilizing their new stadium in Little Havana, Puello confirmed to MLB-com on Thursday.
Talks, however, are still in the infancy stages, and such a move would not take place any time soon -- probably not within the next four years.
The 1990 Caribbean Series took place at the Orange Bowl, located where Marlins Park sprung up last year, then moved to Bobby Maduro Miami Stadium, also since demolished, in '91. Those were rough times for the Caribbean Series, and Puello would like to recoup the event's image in the city with a heavy Latin influence.
One possibility is to include Miami in the Caribbean Series rotation, which currently consists of the four nations playing in the tournament -- Mexico, Venezuela, Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic.
"We've been in conversations through our representatives over there," Puello said in Spanish. "I think that, with a centrally located ballpark like they have, if we promote it right, things could go better over there."
One motivating factor could be the return of Cuba to the Caribbean Series.
Cuba hasn't been in the tournament since 1961, shortly after Fidel Castro gained power, and though chatter has surfaced the last few years about a possible return, that is still a long shot. If Cuba does return to the Caribbean Series, Puello said, it would have to be on a permanent basis.
"I can't allow Cuba to participate in just one Caribbean Series," Puello said. "They have to come every year to the Caribbean Series and stay permanently."
Caribbean Series may return to Miami | MLB-com: News
General managers throughout the league have had the unenviable task of assessing talent in the major leagues and farm systems as the right packages are being built on both sides and free-agent negotiations get underway.
There can sometimes be little middle ground for these GMs, however, as one wrong move can set an organization back a few important steps.
Here are some GMs who may be setting themselves up for failure with the moves they made—or didn't make—this offseason.
Read More: MLB GMs Who Should Be Embarrassed After Striking Out This Winter | Bleacher Report