It was a different vibe at the Orioles annual FanFest on Saturday, with last year's Derrek Lee addition and rumors of the soon-to-be-signed Vladimir Guerrero giving way to a sense of optimism unmatched in any of the team's more recent campaigns. 2012's unofficial kickoff party at the Baltimore Convention Center was more subdued.

The Red Sox avoided an arbitration hearing with righty Daniel Bard, signing him to a $1.6125 million deal on Saturday.

The Red Sox traded shortstop Marco Scutaro to the Rockies in exchange for right-hander Clayton Mortensen, the clubs announced on Saturday.

The trade between the Mariners and Yankees involving premier young talents Jesus Montero and Michael Pineda still hasn't been formally announced, but Montero was in Seattle on Saturday undergoing physical exams, and final word is likely to come by Monday.

The concourses of Comerica Park were quiet Saturday morning, with Tigerfest postponed for ballpark renovations. That doesn't mean the Tigers were back into hibernation with the close of their Winter Caravan.

Nick Markakis expects to be limited in Spring Training until the first week of March, but the Orioles starting right fielder — who had abdominal surgery on Jan. 6 — is focused on being 100 percent come Opening Day.

All the years that Indians season ticket account executive Jeff Stocker has spent studying box scores will be put to the test on Baseball IQ, which premieres at 9 p.m. ET on Tuesday on MLB Network.

Once upon a time, first base was a place to find some of the top prospects in the game. While the names on this year's Top 10 first-base prospects list might eventually be those types of players, it is lacking on high-end talent.

Yu Darvish, who agreed to a six-year, $60 million contract with the Rangers, was introduced on Friday at Rangers Ballpark, and the Japan's latest superstar import hit the ground running.

Eleven years after signing Alex Rodriguez to a $252 million contract, the Rangers on Friday held another mega-press conference to introduce Japanese pitcher Yu Darvish. General manager Jon Daniels said the circumstances surrounding Darvish are completely different than when the Rangers signed Rodriguez in 2000.

The Reds have been busy upgrading at several spots the past month, and general manager Walt Jocketty revealed that he might not be done. The last item remaining on the offseason wish list is an extra infielder who can back up Zack Cozart at shortstop.

Tim Lincecum and the Giants are edging closer to a contract agreement that would enable the parties to avoid a potentially divisive salary arbitration hearing.

Manny Ramirez is turning the heads of at least a few teams as the outfielder looks to return to Major League Baseball, but no club is more interested in the 12-time All-Star than the A's, according to a report by ESPN.

On Friday, Cleveland completed a trade with the Rockies, acquiring right-hander Kevin Slowey in exchange for Minor League reliever Zach Putnam. Slowey would presumably compete against Jeanmar Gomez and David Huff for a spot in the Tribe's rotation.

The Indians pitcher known to date as Fausto Carmona has been released from jail on bail in the Dominican Republic, but it is unclear how long it might be before he is able to return to the United States.

White Sox director of baseball operations Dan Fabian will participate in MLB Network's first-ever game show, known as "Baseball IQ."

The second day is the fun day on the Tigers' Winter Caravan, because it gives some of the players a chance to take on the jobs of some of their fans. Instead of fans seeing players at their workplace, the tables get turned.