A spot on the Phillies roster must have looked a thousand miles away to Phillippe Aumont in 2010. It looks much, much closer just a month away from Spring Training in 2012.

Nine-year Major League veteran pitcher Oliver Perez has signed a Minor League deal with the Mariners as a non-roster invitee to big league Spring Training, the club announced Wednesday.

After the Angels acquired Albert Pujols and C.J. Wilson, all wondered what the Rangers would do to counter those moves. The question was answered on Wednesday with Texas' deadline-beating deal with Japanese pitching phenom Yu Darvish.

Prince Fielder wants to play for the Texas Rangers. That much seems clear. Otherwise, he would have signed elsewhere by now. Agent Scott Boras has worked the market for three months and almost certainly knows what's out there for Fielder.

The Japanese market could be back on a bull run. Yu Darvish's six-year, $60 million deal with the Rangers made him a big leaguer on Wednesday, but will the right-hander also become the vanguard of a Japanese renaissance?

The Orioles remain in talks with free-agent pitcher Armando Galarraga, although reports that the sides have reached an agreement are premature.

A longtime umpire and umpire supervisor, whose work in and with the Major Leagues spanned more than 40 years, has passed away, Major League Baseball announced on Wednesday. Marty Springstead, a native of Nyack, N.Y., was found dead at his Florida home on Tuesday night. He was 74.

Cuban left-hander Gerardo Concepcion established residence in Mexico and is closer to becoming a Major League free agent, according to an ESPN report on Wednesday.

Major League Baseball announced on Wednesday that its fifth annual, ever-growing round-robin collegiate tournament is relocating to Houston and utilizing a big league stadium for the first time.

Question of Day: How do Tigers replace V-Mart?

On a recent flight to Arizona, Indians team president Mark Shapiro had the pleasure of being offered an in-flight movie. Naturally, the film that began playing was "Moneyball," making him a little uncomfortable in his seat.

Brewers outfielder Ryan Braun will break his uncharacteristically long silence in a short speech after accepting his National League MVP Award at a banquet in New York on Saturday, the New York Times reported Wednesday.

Numerous big-money free agents, role players and large personalities switched teams during the offseason, and all of them hope to have a successful year in their new uniforms.

Craig Counsell will enter his role as a special advisor in the Brewers' front office having proved to be a consummate professional over his career. And he has the distinction of being part of two dramatic Game 7 rallies in the World Series. But Counsell holds a much more meaningful distinction to former Major League coach Rich Donnelly. To him, Counsell was, and forever is, "The Chicken."

Not everyone on this year's Top 10 shortstop list will end up playing shortstop every day in the big leagues. But there are enough of those types of dynamic players to feel like the position is in good hands for the next generation.

The Cubs and Red Sox, unable to resolve the issue of compensation for Theo Epstein, have asked Commissioner Bud Selig to settle the matter.

Andre Ethier, Jacoby Ellsbury, Pablo Sandoval and Cole Hamels were among the big-name players who avoided salary arbitration by working out deals with their respective clubs Tuesday, which served as the deadline for teams and players to exchange salary arbitration figures.