Jason Motte traveled to St. Louis this weekend to participate in the Cardinals’ Winter Warm-Up and to accept the Darryl Kile Award at Sunday’s annual St. Louis Baseball Writers’ Association of America (BBWAA) Dinner. On Monday, he’ll be relocating to Florida to continue his rehab work.

Jon Jay is well aware of the new competition he’ll face in center field this season, though he has not let it affect his approach heading into Spring Training.

The Nationals are in the process of fine tuning their roster. As one means to that end, MLB.com has confirmed they are interested in free-agent reliever Grant Balfour.

Presented with the opportunity to win a job as the team’s starting first baseman, Matt Adams has tailored his offseason work to dropping pounds and preparing for lefties.

Cubs player development and scouting director Jason McLeod has always felt good about having one or two players who had the potential to make an impact in the big leagues. The Cubs appear to have more than that.

The 11th Annual Professional Baseball Scouts Foundation Awards Dinner was held in Los Angeles on Saturday to raise money for scouts in need.

The Dodgers are among MLB teams that submitted a formal contract offer for free-agent pitcher Masahiro Tanaka, according to a published report in Japan. According to a baseball source, the Dodgers still are not pursuing Tanaka with the aggressiveness they showed last year, when they outbid every team for the right to sign Hyun-Jin Ryu.

Five teams have reportedly submitted offers for Japanese pitcher Masahiro Tanaka, who is expected to make a decision by next Friday. All of the bids were believed to be more than $100 million and over six years.

Commissioner Bud Selig presented Hall of Famer Henry Aaron with the Executive Leadership Award at Saturday night’s 11th annual “In the Spirit of the Game” fundraiser for the Professional Baseball Scouts Foundation.

Milwaukee’s Juan Francisco delivered a go-ahead home run in the ninth inning Saturday for Licey, which advances to the Dominican Series against Escogido.

Five teams have reportedly submitted formal offers for Japanese pitcher Masahiro Tanaka, who is expected to make his decision by next Friday. Nikkan Sports reported the five teams include the Cubs, White Sox, Yankees, Dodgers and D-backs.

At the end of the 2013 season, Rick Renteria was being interviewed by three teams in need of a manager, including the Cubs. When one club became serious, he called Theo Epstein, Cubs president of baseball operations. Renteria wanted to stress how much he wanted to manage the Cubs because he believed in the young players. Epstein was convinced, and Renteria was hired.

On a day when he made his first public appearance as a Cardinal, new shortstop Jhonny Peralta expressed remorse for his past performance-enhancing drug transgressions and a desire to prove that the Cardinals made the right decision.

Noting that “you can’t buy happiness,” Adam Wainwright was insistent that, even in light of Clayton Kershaw’s new contract with the Dodgers, he has no regrets about signing a five-year, $97.5 million extension with the Cardinals last spring, keeping him from testing the market.

General manager John Mozeliak confirmed on Saturday that Chris Carpenter, who officially retired in November, will join the Cardinals’ front office this season in a to-be-determined role.

The Mets continued their pursuit to round out their starting rotation on Saturday, signing veteran left-hander John Lannan to a Minor League contract, with an invitation to Spring Training.

Less than a week after he was laid to rest in a private ceremony, Hall of Fame broadcaster Jerry Coleman was honored and remembered by the Padres and fans during a moving tribute Saturday at Petco Park, where nearly 5,000 gathered to say goodbye to “The Colonel.”