The Cubs are reportedly in contact with agents for Albert Pujols and Prince Fielder, and while chairman Tom Ricketts would not comment on either, he said it's not out of the question that the team would offer a long-term deal to anyone.

With Jonathan Broxton having departed to Kansas City, the closer shoes left to fill are large in Chavez Ravine, but it's not as if the Dodgers' bullpen is bare when it comes to protecting ninth-inning leads.

The 2011 GIBBYs will be revealed Dec. 16 at 9 p.m. ET in a primetime show on MLB Network, and as the final say on awards season, you have until 11:59 p.m. ET on Sunday to vote exclusively at MLB.com for the most deserving candidates in a record 19 categories.

Greg Halman, a promising outfield prospect who just weeks ago was taking time to mentor young players, was laid to rest on Tuesday in the Netherlands.

The Phillies once considered Scott Mathieson one of their top prospects. The team released Mathieson on Tuesday to allow him to pursue an opportunity to pitch with a professional team in Asia.

The Rangers announced their Spring Training schedule on Tuesday and it includes two split-squad games with the Cubs on March 17-18 at Cashman Field in Las Vegas.

It's in abundance now, more widespread and more noticeable than ever, even amid the stillness of what has so far been a rather quiet offseason. Opportunity. By adding another Wild Card team in each league, more clubs have an opportunity to be postseason-bound than ever before.

Brewers right-handed pitching prospect Santo Manzanillo, one of four players added to the 40-man roster this month, suffered a separated right shoulder in an auto accident Tuesday morning in the Dominican Republic.

There will be some changes at the upper levels of the Reds' Minor League system. David Bell was named the new manager at Triple-A Louisville after three seasons of being skipper of the organization's former Double-A affiliate at Carolina.

Jamie Quirk, who has spent the last two seasons as Astros bullpen coach, said Tuesday he's leaving the team to become bench coach for the Chicago Cubs under new manager Dale Sveum.

Compared to last year's Zack Greinke-fueled rumor mill, the 2011 Winter Meetings are likely to be relatively calm for the Royals.

Stanford right-hander Mark Appel is ranked No. 1, but after him, the 2012 Draft class, reflected in MLB.com's Top 50 Draft Prospects list, takes on a much younger feel. Thirty of the 50 players, including 19 of the first 30, come from the prep ranks.

It's not as though Cardinals GM John Mozeliak has nothing else to do when the Winter Meetings convene next week. But he's fully aware that he's going to be asked about one topic above all others: Albert Pujols.

There are no pro baseball games to be found in the U.S. this time of year, and that makes any operation that can resemble a Major League clubhouse a rarity. Strangely enough, where those clubhouse atmospheres do exist — the kangaroo court and the camaraderie, the downtime and the intensity all rolled into one like it's June, or at least March — a field is optional.

When you see as much turnover among general managers as we've seen this offseason, you see that many of those relationships are going to be redefined. And that's going to have major implications on this particular Hot Stove market.

Everything's big in Texas, so maybe the fact that nothing truly big has happened in free-agent signings will be the indication that something Texas-big will go down in Dallas at next week's Winter Meetings.

Upgrading their offense is the Giants' primary goal at baseball's Winter Meetings, which begin Monday in Dallas. But obtaining a hitter or two to accomplish that objective might strain the Giants' budget, since they also must accommodate the rising salaries of several players.