Phillies, Madson discussing $44M deal  —  Will the Phillies re-sign Ryan Madson or won't they?  —  The answer is still not known.  —  The Phillies were close to agreeing with Madson on a four-year, $44 million free-agent contract, according to numerous reports on Tuesday.

If free agent Jose Reyes goes, so does NY Mets' hope  —  Cost-cutting team can't pretend to be contender without him  —  For weeks, it has seemed likely the Mets were going to retain Jose Reyes only if he fell in their laps.  Maybe they had a chance if other teams were scared off …

Yankees looking at Cuban outfielder  —  Yankees pitching guru Rick Williams' arrival in Santo Domingo yesterday created a buzz throughout the scouting fraternity in the Dominican Republic that has been following the workouts of Cuban refugees.  —  However, the Yankees appear to be more interested …

Source: Progress made in labor talks  —  Negotiations in Major League Baseball's stalled labor talks have taken “a step forward” this week, according to one source familiar with the discussions, and a second source told ESPN.com it's possible a deal could be completed this week.

Crasnick: Seven offseason questions for baseball executives  —  Pursue Albert Pujols or Prince Fielder?  Go after C.J. Wilson or Mark Buehrle?  Plus ...  ESPN.com  —  Major League Baseball's general managers will gather next week in Milwaukee as a prelude to the quarterly owners' meetings.

No Winter Ball for Chapman  —  Aroldis Chapman is back throwing pain-free, but winter ball is no longer part of his offseason plan.  —  “We've decided against sending him to Puerto Rico,” GM Walt Jocketty said.  “He's on a strength-and-conditioning program in Arizona.

Ex-Chicago Cubs manager Mike Quade didn't want other position with team  —  Former Chicago Cubs manager Mike Quade said Wednesday he doesn't believe his fate was sealed by the lack of a quality roster for the 2011 season.  —  Quade was fired by new president of baseball operations Theo Epstein …

Bucs keep perspective with payroll flexibility  —  PITTSBURGH — Payroll has been a hot-button topic in Pittsburgh for years and likely will be as long as the Pirates' payroll figure remains among the lowest in the Majors.  The Pirates opened the 2011 season with the 27th-lowest payroll …

Cardinals interview Francona  —  The Cardinals interviewed former Boston Red Sox manager Terry Francona today in their process to replace Tony La Russa.  —  The interview took place in Cincinnati, where Cards chairman Bill DeWitt Jr. resides and operates his private equity firm, Reynolds DeWitt & Co.