The official start to Albert Pujols' career with the Angels is now only days away. And when it begins, it surely won't be quiet.

Joe Maddon is one piece of the puzzle the Rays want to keep in place. The team's management is keeping him at the helm at least through 2015 by signing him to a three-year contract extension on Tuesday. The Rays formally announced the agreement on Wednesday.

You thought outfielder Tony Campana was fast last year? Now, he's faster. He's also stronger and well aware of what he needs to do to make the Cubs' Opening Day roster.

There was a point early in this offseason when the New York Mets expressed interest in Rangers center fielder Craig Gentry. The discussions didn't get very far because the Rangers have their own plans for Gentry.

Albert Pujols will be paid like the best in the Majors, but it's an open question as to whether he still is. His numbers have slipped while Matt Kemp and a host of others have been making their cases.

The Red Sox had the most productive lineup in the game in 2011, scoring 875 runs, and there's simply no reason to expect them to regress significantly.

The Orioles avoided arbitration with center fielder Adam Jones on Tuesday night, with the two sides agreeing to a one-year deal and staying away from a potentially contentious hearing that had been scheduled for Friday.

Dodgers manager Don Mattingly is as thrilled as anybody that the club's ownership situation will soon be resolved, but it won't be soon enough.

One thing to know about Bud Selig is that he does not meet many strangers. He likes people, and plenty of his extraordinary success as Major League Baseball's Commissioner has to be traced back to this single trait.

The Rangers' equipment truck left the Ballpark in Arlington on Wednesday afternoon bound for Arizona with plenty of items for the players and their families.

Tom Wilhelmsen and Steve Delabar were both long-shot stories for the Mariners last year, but the two right-handers made their big league debuts with Seattle in 2011, and hope to again contribute to the club in '12.

The Yankees continue to entertain their possibilities for unloading right-hander A.J. Burnett, and the Cleveland Indians briefly joined the fray as a potential landing spot.

When Reds manager Dusty Baker picks up the phone to call the bullpen this season, there is a good chance he is going to like the options available to him on the other end.

If the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim are expecting Albert Pujols to lead them to exciting places, culminating in a loud, successful run through October, it is neither unreasonable nor unrealistic.

The 50 MLB Fan Cave finalists are out there campaigning heavily while fans are voting on their favorites between now and Feb. 22. The finalists are trying to reach the next step, when MLB sends the top 30 to Spring Training in Arizona to decide on an Opening Day cast.

The Mets announced Tuesday that their flagship radio station, WFAN, has hired former Texas Rangers play-by-play man Josh Lewin to join Howie Rose in the booth this season. Lewin will replace Wayne Hagin, who left WFAN after four years in New York.

On Tuesday, Cleveland designated Minor League left-hander Kelvin De La Cruz for assignment, vacating a spot on the team's 40-man roster for the recently-signed Casey Kotchman. The roster stands at capacity.