Foul Territory Blog  —  Joey Gallo was named the Texas Rangers Minor League Tom Grieve Player of the Year after hitting 42 home runs in 126 games with Class A Myrtle Beach and Double A Frisco.  It was Texas minor league record.  Gallo, 21, also had 106 RBIs while batting .271

US govt. clears Cuban flamethrower Lopez to sign  —  Cuban right-handed pitching prospect Yoan Lopez has been cleared by the United States government, and he is expected to sign with a Major League team before the start of Spring Training, according to industry an source.

Rockies reveal 2015 Minor League staff assignments  —  DENVER — Longtime Rockies staff member Duane Espy will fill the newly created post of hitting coordinator, the Rockies announced Thursday as they revealed their Minor League staff assignments for 2015.  —  Espy, entering his 13th season …

Nationals hire Rick Ankiel as “life skills coordinator”  —  Rick Ankiel's weird career has taken another interesting turn, as the retired pitcher-turned-outfielder has been hired by the Nationals as a “life skills coordinator” as part of their minor-league coaching staff.

Rooftop owners' suit accuses Cubs of bad faith in Wrigley redevelopment  —  The Chicago Cubs played hardball with Wrigley Field rooftop owners — blocking the historic ballpark views of owners who refused to sell up, while clearing the sightlines from rooftops the Cubs were able to purchase, a lawsuit filed Thursday alleges.

HOW ZOBRIST FITS WITH THE NATIONALS  —  One rival executive calls Ben Zobrist “the Andrew Miller of position players,” explaining that the Rays' super-utility man makes sense for all 29 other clubs.  —  The fit for the Nationals, in particular, is almost perfect - and the team's need …

Could Hamels, Price or Scherzer be answer to Cards' rotation needs?  —  FOX Sports  —  The St. Louis Cardinals say they like their starting rotation.  But that is not preventing them from pursuing a major upgrade.  —  The team is exploring trades for left-handers Cole Hamels and David Price …

Mets Fan Campaigns Against Team Owner Fred Wilpon  —  Plan Is to Rent Billboards Near Citi Field, Imploring Team's Owners to Sell Franchise  —  About two months ago, a group of disgruntled Jets fans placed several billboards near MetLife Stadium that called for the firing of general manager John Idzik.

Angels, Braves Swap Minor Leaguers  —  5:57pm: The Braves announced that they have traded Kubitza and right-hander Nate Hyatt to the Angels in exchange for left-hander Ricardo Sanchez.  —  4:49pm: The Angels are close to acquiring third base prospect Kyle Kubitza from the Braves, reports MLB.com's Alden Gonzalez (Twitter links).

Cubs selling spring training naming rights to Sloan Valve  —  The Cubs announced a partnership with the Sloan Valve Company Thursday which includes naming rights to their spring training ballpark in Mesa, Ariz.  —  Sloan Park will be the new name of what had been known as Cubs Park since the facility opened in 2014.

Pedro Martinez implies that Jorge Posada ignited infamous 2003 Red Sox - Yankees brawl by insulting his mother  —  ‘He let it go a little bit too far with the (Don) Zimmer incident,’ Martinez said of Posada on Daily News Live.  'Between Latinos you don't mention anybody's mother.'

Slugger looking forward to working with LaRoche  —  Jose Abreu discusses winning the 2014 AL Rookie of the Year Award and making adjustments in his first season in the Majors  —  CHICAGO — Jose Abreu readily admits that Rick Hahn's aggressive offseason personnel maneuvers have directly influenced …