Cubs boost depth by signing Maholm  —  Former Pirates lefty tweets he's looking forward to Cubs Convention  —  Former Pirates lefty Paul Maholm has signed with the Cubs.  (Atlanta Journal-Constitution Photo)  —  Paul Maholm will go down as the first Cub in history to announce his signing on Twitter.

Barry Larkin Elected to the Hall of Fame  —  Larkin will be Inducted on July 22nd in Cooperstown along with Golden Era Committee Electee Ron Santo  —  NEW YORK, NY - Barry Larkin, a 12-time All-Star, nine-time Silver Slugger and three-time Gold Glove winning shortstop …

Source: Selig to be offered two-year extension  —  Baseball commissioner Bud Selig will be offered an extension to his current contract, a highly placed source said.  —  Selig, 77, has one more year remaining on his current contract.  He has previously said he intends to retire in 2012.

Orioles sign Taiwanese left-hander Chen  —  The Orioles have signed left-hander Wei-Yin Chen of Taiwan to a three-year contract with a club option for 2015.  The team formally announced the agreement on Tuesday.  —  Chen, 26, spent the last four years with the Chunichi Dragons of Japan's Central League.

Oliver acquisition beefs up Blue Jays' bullpen  —  TORONTO — The Blue Jays put the finishing touches on their bullpen Monday morning by officially signing left-hander Darren Oliver to a one-year contract.  —  Oliver will earn $4 million in 2012, with a club option valued at $3 million for the following season.

Bout time?  Q and A with Braves third baseman Chipper Jones  —  It's a little less than six weeks from when Braves pitchers and catchers report for spring training on Feb. 19, and I haven't bugged Chipper Jones all offseason.  What's up with that?  —  Well let's say that's remedied …

The battle over Jeff Bagwell  —  Buster Olney writes that Jeff Bagwell is seemingly close to the Hall of Fame — earning 56 percent of the votes this year — but yet so far because of the ramifications of his era and PED suspicions that some writers can't seem to overlook.

New York Mets Top 11 Prospects  —  System In 20 Words Or Less: With improvement coming via all three areas—draft, trades, international—the Mets are finally moving in the right direction.  —  Five-Star Prospects  —  1. Matt Harvey, RHP  —  2. Zack Wheeler, RHP  —  Four-Star Prospects

Dodgers next owners need patience  —  Those lining up to buy the franchise had better know the team is a few years away  —  With prospective owners lining up around the block to bid for the Los Angeles Dodgers, we thought it'd be helpful to shine a light on just what kind of team they'd be buying.

Morales cleared for running, increased activity  —  ANAHEIM — The tests Kendrys Morales underwent in Colorado last week came back positively, clearing the Angels' recovering first baseman to begin running on his own power and ramping up his baseball activities, general manager Jerry Dipoto confirmed Monday.