Marlins primed to bid for Cespedes  —  Cuban sensation Yoenis Cespedes is on the verge of becoming a free agent, and the Marlins are expected to make a strong push for the 26-year-old outfielder.  —  Cespedes has established residency in the Dominican Republic, which had kept him in a holding pattern for months.

Teams said to have interest in Rangers' Uehara  —  ARLINGTON — The Rangers are still drawing considerable interest from other teams in reliever Koji Uehara, according to a Major League source.  —  A trade to the Blue Jays fell through when Uehara exercised his no-trade clause, and the Orioles have shown interest.

Rays close to deal with INF Jeff Keppinger  —  The Rays are closing in on a deal with INF Jeff Keppinger.  —  If negotiations are completed and he passes his physical it is likely to be announced by the end of the week.  —  Keppinger, 31, split last season between the Astros and Giants …

St. Louis Cardinals' Carlos Beltran tells Met fans: Time to get over 2006 and move on  —  New Cardinal says he has moved on from NLCS failure  —  Carlos Beltran strikes out to end Mets hopes in Game 7 of NLCS against Cardinals, and now that he has joined St. Louis he says it's time for fans to get over it.

Jose Bautista's drug testing seems something less than random  —  It's from the Dominican newspaper Hoy.  And because I forgot all that Spanish I knew 20 years ago, I'm using Google translate to read it.  —  But the upshot: Bautista spoke at a banquet the other night and noted that in the past two years …

Nationals introduce Gio at news conference  —  WASHINGTON — The Nationals introduced Gio Gonzalez to the local media at Nationals Park on Wednesday afternoon.  The news conference came a little over a month after they acquired the left-hander from the Athletics in exchange …

Bailey avoids arbitration with one-year contract  —  BOSTON — The Red Sox have avoided salary arbitration with Andrew Bailey by signing the closer to a one-year, $3.9 million contract, according to a baseball source.  —  The deal, which includes $100,000 in incentives, was first reported by CBS Sports' Jon Heyman.

Cardinals sign Motte to one-year contract  —  ST. LOUIS — Compromise can be a beautiful thing.  Jason Motte and the Cardinals reached agreement Wednesday on a one-year contract for 2012, avoiding arbitration.  —  The deal is worth $1.95 million, according to CBSSports.com …

Reds acquire Valdez in swap with Phillies  —  In trade for infielder, club sends left-handed reliever Horst  —  CINCINNATI — The final item on the Reds' offseason wish list — a backup infielder who can play shortstop — appeared to be checked off on Wednesday.

Reds, Masset Sign Extension  —  The Reds signed arbitration eligible reliever Nick Masset to a two-year extension, the team announced (on Twitter).  As MLBTR's Arbitration Tracker shows, Masset had filed for a $2.9MM salary through arbitration, while the Reds had countered with $2.1MM.

Rosenthal: Get Set For Super 'Pen as Jays Sign Francisco Cordero  —  Taking time out from writing about Prince Fielder and money for the umpteenth time this winter to pass you along this news: Kenny Ken Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports tweets that the Jays have themselves a new setup man, ex-Reds closer Francisco Cordero.