Nats issue statement; Venezuelan authorities confirm kidnapped Wilson Ramos is alive  —  UPDATE, 12:45:The Nationals and Major League Baseball issued a joint statement:  —  “Our foremost concern is with Wilson Ramos and his family and our thoughts are with them at this time.

Pujols to meet with Marlins, possibly Saturday  —  The wooing of Albert Pujols is about to get under way in earnest.  —  An industry source told MLB.com on Thursday that Pujols' camp is scheduled to meet in Miami with the Marlins within the next few days, possibly as early as Saturday.

Pirates Sign Rod Barajas  —  The Pirates announced that they signed catcher Rod Barajas to a one-year deal that includes a team option for 2013.  Barajas will earn a $4MM salary in 2012 and the option would pay him another $3.5MM in 2013, according to Yahoo's Tim Brown (on Twitter).

The market for Pujols and Fielder  —  How many years?  How many millions?  And where will the sluggers land?  —  ESPN.com  —  It isn't every baseball winter that free-agent mashers such as Albert Pujols and Prince Fielder hit the market at the same time — at the same position, no less.

Francona in the wings  —  He's apparently ready, ‘deep down’ willing and clearly able to manage Cubs  —  If the new Cubs hierarchy really wants to hire the most qualified manager available, they already would have introduced Terry Francona or will soon.  —  But Francona …

Epstein compensation may be decided soon  —  Red Sox bring in McClure to a scouting-advisory role  —  BOSTON — Ben Cherington's installment as the Red Sox's general manager has still left some unresolved issues.  —  The Sox have not yet announced how they're re-organizing …

White Sox GM Williams not ready to deal — yet  —  According to general manager Ken Williams, there doesn't seem to be a shortage of interest in several of his Chicago White Sox players.  —  But Williams and his staff, which recently concluded several days of meetings at a cozy Scottsdale …

Pat Burrell says his career is likely over  —  SAN FRANCISCO — Pat Burrell's baseball career is likely over because of a troublesome right foot that hasn't healed and limited him this year for the Giants.  —  While Burrell said late in the season that he would contemplate retirement …

Lefties Veal, Quintana added to pitching mix  —  The White Sox announced the signing of two left-handers on Thursday, agreeing to one-year deals with Donnie Veal and Jose Quintana.  —  Veal, 27, pitched at four levels in the Pirates organization this past season, including as high as Triple-A …

Buyer's guide: starting pitchers  —  Darvish heads the class — that is, if he actually comes to the U.S.  —  ESPN Insider … Players in demand  —  1. Yu Darvish, RHP: Darvish hasn't been posted yet, and there's still a chance he won't be, although most people in the industry I've asked seem …

Yankees to play Mets twice during spring  —  The Yankees will play a pair of Spring Training exhibitions against the Mets for the first time since 1996, highlighting the club's Grapefruit League schedule released on Thursday.  —  With pitchers and catchers set to report to camp on Feb. 19 …

Mets will ditch the black drop-shadow in 2012  —  In his recent chat for ESPN New York, Adam Rubin backed up his story from last summer indicating the Mets will eliminate the drop shadow from their uniforms next season.  —  According to Rubin, “The Mets are going to borrow significantly, I hear, from the early 1960s uniforms. ...

Jorge Posada says return to Yankees is ‘not going to happen,’ catcher may be staring at retirement  —  Former catcher says he will ‘always be a Yankee’  —  Has Jorge Posada waved goodbye to the Yankee Stadium faithful for the final time?  —  The Jorge Posada era in New York is over.

What do Broxton, Lidge and Nathan want?  —  We know what the Mets are seeking on the free agent market this winter: an affordable closer.  We also know that Brad Lidge, Jonathan Broxton and Joe Nathan are available former All-Star closers.  —  So what do those pitchers want?

MetsBlog Q&A: Cerrone talks to Sandy about spending  —  Tonight, Sandy Alderson will be a guest on this season's debut episode of SNY's Mets Hot Stove Report, which airs every Thursday night at 7 pm ET.  —  Last week, MetsBlog's Matthew Cerrone caught up with Alderson for a quick …