The 2011 challenge facing Dayan Viciedo is not to exactly replace Carlos Quentin. That task seems too lofty of a goal for the 5-foot-11, 230-pounder, who all but officially became the starting White Sox right fielder when Quentin was traded to the Padres on Saturday for right-handed Minor League pitcher Simon Castro and southpaw Pedro Hernandez.

The White Sox and Padres pulled off a trade Saturday afternoon that sends outfielder Carlos Quentin to San Diego in exchange for two Minor League pitchers.

The White Sox and Padres pulled off a trade Saturday afternoon that sends outfielder Carlos Quentin to San Diego in exchange for two Minor League pitchers.

The Blue Jays have signed left-hander Aaron Laffey to a Minor League contract, the club announced Saturday.

This time last year, it was hard to find too many people excited about the Arizona Diamondbacks' chances for success in 2011. When all was said and done, Arizona won the NL West by eight games over the world champion Giants before dropping a heartbreaking five-game series to the Brewers in the NL Division Series.

Rutgers and Iowa State met at Yankee Stadium on Friday for the second annual Pinstripe Bowl, a game that reconnects New York with its storied past in college football. Rutgers, feeding off a friendly crowd, started slow but scored 20 straight points en route to a 27-13 victory.

Andruw Jones is set to put the pinstripes back on next season, agreeing to terms on Friday on a one-year contract.

Don Mueller, the New York Giants outfielder who helped set the table for Bobby Thomson's famed "Shot Heard 'Round the World" against the Brooklyn Dodgers to win the 1951 National League pennant, died on Wednesday.

Bill Buckner was officially named the Class A Boise hitting coach on Friday.

The Rangers have lost pitcher Darren Oliver to the Toronto Blue Jays. The veteran left-handed reliever agreed to a one-year contract with the Blue Jays on Friday, according to industry sources

Veteran left-handed reliever George Sherrill has passed his physical and signed a one-year deal with the Mariners, the club announced on Friday.

Ryan Kalish, who spent the final two months with the Red Sox as a primary starter in 2010, will likely miss the first several weeks of the '12 season after he revealed Thursday that he underwent left shoulder surgery in November to repair a torn labrum.

Mariano Rivera has long been on a collision course with Cooperstown, but his candidacy was cemented in September, when he surpassed Trevor Hoffman to become baseball's all-time saves leader.

The calendar has officially flipped to 2012, and you can almost hear the Red Sox applauding. Yes, they are eager for a fresh start led by a new regime.

The Marlins fully expect to make a major reversal in one year. Team officials have clearly stated their objective for 2012: Reach the playoffs.

It was a year of many indelible memories, countless remarkable personal and club feats and far, far too many moments of silence. The baseball universe had to bid farewell to men who had graced its fields, its front offices, its broadcast booths and its grandstands.

The White Sox never really were in full rebuild mode for the 2012 season. So why did general manager Ken Williams use the "R" word for the first time in his 12 years on the job during the annual Winter Meetings in December at the Hilton Anatole Hotel in Dallas?