HENN MAY GO ON DL  —  BRADENTON, Fla. - Sean Henn opened camp as the leading candidate to be the only left-hander in manager Joe Girardi's bullpen and quickly was passed by Billy Traber, who isn't a lock for a spot.  —  Since Henn is out of options the Yankees were likely to lose him if he didn't make the club.

Venues set for World Baseball Classic  —  Japan, Mexico, Canada, Puerto Rico to host first round in '09  —  The first-round venues are set for the second running of the World Baseball Classic, which will begin on March 5, 2009, in Japan.  —  As in 2006, Tokyo Dome and Hiram Bithorn Stadium in San Juan …

Iconic ace Darvish pushes Japan's boundaries  —  SAPPORO, Japan - Following a victory last season, Yu Darvish, the winning pitcher for the Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters, stood in front of a microphone inside a packed stadium, thanked his teammates and fans for their support …

Casey injury forces Sox roster shuffle … TOKYO - A new injury has forced the Red Sox [team stats]' specialized Japanese-only roster to be re-jiggered the day before the season opens.  —  Sean Casey's stiff neck, which came from the plane ride over here, has forced him to be one of the three players on the inactive list.

PEDRO, JOHAN IN MINOR MOVES  —  The Mets aren't giving their first two regularseason opponents any more free previews.  —  Johan Santana was in line to make his final Grapefruit League start here tomorrow against the Braves, with Pedro Martinez to follow the next day versus the Marlins.

Rockies polishing look of roster  —  Morales, Redman fill out rotation; Nix to play second  —  With the season-opening game in St. Louis one week from today, the Rockies' season-opening roster is starting to fall into place.  —  With a series of roster moves Sunday, the Rockies set the stage …

Gomez wins center field job; Tolbert makes roster  —  The Twins optioned four players to Class AAA Rochester this morning - Philip Humber, Denard Span, Brian Buscher and Jason Pridie.  —  Righthander Casey Daigle was reassigned to the minor league camp.  —  That means that Carlos Gomez …

MLB: Jays' Rolen fractures finger in infield drill  —  A ground ball struck the right middle finger of Toronto Blue Jays third baseman Scott Rolen on Sunday, ripping off the fingernail and causing a non-displaced fracture of the bone in his finger tip.  —  The mishap occurred during routine infield drills in the morning.

Eyre's elbow creates opening in bullpen  —  PEORIA, Ariz. — The Cubs settled one bullpen issue Sunday, with Kerry Wood locking down the closer job, but will use the final week of the spring to settle the opening created over the weekend by left-hander Scott Eyre's sore elbow.

Trade review: Bobby Abreu  —  You folks seemed to enjoy my trade analysis of Edgar Renteria and Andy Marte a month or so back.  Unsurprisingly I got a ton of e-mails asking me to look back at some other recent trades.  Today I look back at the Bobby Abreu trade that moved him to the Yankees from Philadelphia in July 2006.

Dallas McPherson running out of games to impress Marlins manager  —  Injuries again have set back third baseman  —  JUPITER - It's probably too late for Dallas McPherson to unravel whatever roster plans manager Fredi Gonzalez has formulated, but at least he's in a position to try.

Indians pick lefty Lee to round out starting rotation  —  WINTER HAVEN, Fla. — Cliff Lee has his first win of 2008.  —  The Indians' left-hander was named the club's No. 5 starter on Monday, beating out lefties Aaron Laffey and Jeremy Sowers for the final spot in Cleveland's rotation.

No change in plan for Mendoza  —  Fifth starter to open season in Triple-A before April 12 debut  —  SURPRISE, Ariz. — Luis Mendoza has left no doubt that he belongs in the Rangers' rotation.  —  He'll just have to wait a few more weeks before he gets to enjoy the full benefits and privileges that go with that honor.

Ross working back from knee injury  —  Hermida conutinues batting practice; Treanor rests Sunday  —  JUPITER, Fla. — Soggy conditions on Sunday didn't prevent Cody Ross from getting in some needed work as he rebounds from a hyperextended left knee.  —  Ross, in the chase …

Send Salty to the minors?  There must be a better answer  —  SURPRISE, Ariz. — It's the Texas Rangers' Catch-22, if you will, and not exactly the position they expected to be in this spring when they dealt Mark Teixeira to Atlanta at last season's trading deadline.

Valuing Miguel Cabrera  —  Miguel Cabrera is reportedly close to signing an eight-year $152.3 million deal.  As hard as this is to believe, given the contract size, this is an amazing deal for Dave Dombrowski and the Detroit Tigers.  I have Cabrera valued at $268 million over this time period …

Register might be next in line  —  If Duaner Sanchez isn't ready to break camp with the Mets, and it's certainly possible, it would seem that the next reliever in line would be Rule 5 pick Steven Register from the Rockies.  —  Basically, the Mets paid $50,000 to the Rockies to draft Register (pictured) during the winter meetings.