Before hitting the practice fields every morning, the long-honored staple known as kangaroo court goes into session.

For every superstar waiting for the market to offer up its bounty, there are dozens of free agents — good players — who are understandably getting a little antsy. Players like, say, Jonny Gomes.

Tim Lincecum and the Giants are at the bargaining table again, and the stakes could not be higher. Not just for the franchise and "The Freak," but the rest of the baseball world, which will undoubtedly be intrigued to see what happens if an arbitration hearing is held.

Over the past few years, there seemed to be a dearth of legitimate prospects at the hot corner. While it might not quite be a full-on renaissance, this year's Top 10 third-base prospect list does have more legitimate prospects on it than in the past.

Yoenis Cespedes, a highly touted 26-year-old Cuban defector who is seeking residency in the Dominican Republic, went deep Wednesday night, connecting for the first homer of his six-game stint in the Dominican Winter League.

Long-time utility infielder Orlando Cabrera announced his retirement from Major League Baseball on Wednesday while a guest on a Colombian radio station. Cabrera, a 15-year veteran of nine different franchises, retires after hitting .238 with five home runs and 51 RBIs in 130 games in 2011, split between the Indians (91 games) and the Giants (39 games).

Three years ago, when D-backs Fantasy Camper David Weekly was looking for a way to give back to the community, he started the "Camper Fund," which raises money for the D-backs Outreach and Development program. The goal was to help kids in financial need attend various D-backs Baseball Academy camps.

Derek Jeter was honored on Wednesday night with the Lou Gehrig Memorial Award, sponsored by the Phi Delta Theta International Fraternity, in recognition of his charitable work.

A couple of days after hearing of Victor Martinez's left knee injury, Tigers manager Jim Leyland had progressed from shock to acceptance, and a little bit of recovery.

Jorge Posada has not announced his retirement, but the longtime Yankees catcher is not planning to return this season.

Without completely ruling it out, Rangers general manager Jon Daniels said the club is "very unlikely" to sign free-agent slugger Prince Fielder now that Yu Darvish has inked a $60 million deal.

Contract in hand, knowing he'll be making the club, Minnesota native Glen Perkins took time to enjoy taking part in the annual Winter Caravan.

The Rockies and left-hander Jamie Moyer have agreed to a Minor League deal that includes an invitation to Spring Training, the club announced on Wednesday. The agreement is pending a physical.

The Rangers have agreed to terms with Japanese right-hander Yu Darvish on a multiyear contract.

The Padres have announced that single-game tickets for the 2012 season will go on sale during FanFest, presented by Bloomberg Sports, on Feb. 11 at Petco Park.

Third baseman Ryan Zimmerman made it clear recently that he wants to stay with Nationals for the rest of his career. According to two baseball sources, the Nationals and agent Brodie Van Wagenen were discussing an extension for Zimmerman.

It turns out that the Cardinals' World Series title isn't just good news for the baseball operations department. The annual Cardinals Care Winter Warm-Up fan festival did bang-up business over the weekend, drawing an estimated 20,000 fans to downtown St. Louis.