The Nationals and right-hander Stephen Strasburg have avoided arbitration and agreed to a one-year deal, the club confirmed via its official Twitter account on Friday night.

As the days wind down to Spring Training and the long season approaches, several Toronto Blue Jays players and staff members had the opportunity to experience another kind of daily grind on Friday. In their second stop on the year’s Winter Tour, Adam Lind, Josh Thole, Steve Delabar, Anthony Gose and manager John Gibbons made a visit to the Canadian Forces Base in Kingston.

The Orioles have signed Alexi Casilla to a Minor League contract with an invitation to Major League Spring Training, the team announced on Friday night.

The search to replace longtime Mariners president Chuck Armstrong will intensify next week, when the club’s board of directors interviews two internal candidates for the position.

Rangers pitcher Derek Holland underwent surgery to repair torn cartilage behind his left kneecap on Friday and is expected to be out until midseason.

Phillies assistant general manager Benny Looper said Adam Morgan might not be back until August, at the earliest, after having left shoulder surgery. Fellow prospect Shane Watson is scheduled to have right shoulder surgery shortly. He also is expected to be out until August.

It’s safe to say Baseball America isn’t a very big fan of the Angels’ farm system. When the esteemed publication releases its annual organizational rankings later this month, Angels Minor Leaguers, sources confirmed, will be ranked 30th for the second straight year.

Tony La Russa’s name has surfaced in the Seattle Mariners’ search for a new president. Not surprising. Get used to it.

An industry source confirmed Friday that the Giants have agreed with Dontrelle Willis, who turns 32 on Sunday, on a Minor League contract. This marks the ninth time Willis has switched organizations since injuries and ineffectiveness nagged him. It’s also his second stint with the Giants.

The Dodgers aren’t nearly as likely to engage in a bidding war for Japanese free-agent pitcher Masahiro Tanaka as they were a year ago when they landed Korean pitcher Hyun-Jin Ryu. Although reports have surfaced that the Dodgers will outspend all clubs to get Tanaka, one baseball source insists that’s not the case.

With offseason winding down, several valuable free agents remain unsigned and many clubs still have holes to fill on their rosters before they report to Spring Training.

When the Twins had the No. 2 pick in the 2012 First-Year Player Draft, many assumed the club would select a starting pitcher. But the Twins stuck to their beliefs and went with who they thought was the top overall talent, high school outfielder Byron Buxton. That decision has more than paid off, as Buxton has ascended to super-prospect status and is ranked as MLB’s top prospect by MLB.com.

The Yankees have designated outfielder Vernon Wells for assignment to clear room on their 40-man roster, ESPN.com’s Buster Olney reported on Friday.

Shawn Tolleson’s relief mission to Zambia was a ‘life-changing experience.’ Tolleson spent nine days helping build an orphanage for children in Lusaka.

MLB.com’s Jim Callis answers this week’s questions about baseball’s top Minor Leaguers, including which current quarterback would make the best prospect?

Juan Francisco hit a go-ahead RBI single in the bottom of the seventh, and Escogido stretched its lead to three games in the round-robin playoffs.

Japanese right-hander Masahiro Tanaka arrived in the U.S. on Thursday, the biggest news of an otherwise slow day on the Hot Stove.