As we continue to follow the spring's positional battles and injury reports, let's recap the major hot stove headlines from the past seven days….
- The Phillies negotiated deals to keep both Charlie Manuel and Ruben Amaro Jr. around for a few more years. Manuel signed a two-year extension and Amaro Jr. finalized a four-year contract with the club. In other front office news, Dodgers VP and assistant GM Kim Ng left the team for a job with Major League Baseball, while Chuck Greenberg will no longer be a part of the Rangers' organization.
- Two playoff contenders agreed to multiyear extensions with players this week – Matt Thornton signed a two-year guarantee with the White Sox, and Ryan Hanigan and the Reds agreed to a three-year deal.
- Jason Castro's season-ending injury has the Astros searching for catching help. Signing Robinson Cancel was a start, but Houston still seems willing to stretch its payroll to add another backstop. Jesus Flores and Drew Butera were two potential options the Astros looked into.
- The Astros' NL Central rivals in Milwaukee will also have to replace an injured player (Zack Greinke), though the Brewers appear to have enough internal depth to wait out Greinke's return. Speaking of the former Cy Young winner, we heard this week that it would've taken the Rangers five young players to acquire Greinke from the Royals.
- Teams have called the Royals about Alex Gordon and the Red Sox about Mike Cameron.
- Adds and drops this week included the Royals claiming Robert Fish, the Blue Jays claiming Cesar Cabral, the Phillies releasing Robb Quinlan, the Nationals releasing Cla Meredith, and the Rockies parting ways with Chad Moeller.
- The Blue Jays, Brewers, Athletics, and Yankees signed international players to six- or, in the Yankees' case, seven-figure contracts.
- It appears safe to invest in Felix Hernandez and David Wright jerseys. Mariners GM Jack Zduriencik said, unsurprisingly, that King Felix is unavailable, while Wright said he can't imagine ever asking the Mets to trade him.
- Trade rumors continued to swirl around Michael Young, with the Diamondbacks among the teams linked to the Rangers infielder this week.
- Oliver Perez's time in New York could be nearing an end. The Mets are evaluating the lefty's spring outings before deciding whether or not to waive him.
- The Twins seem open to trade offers for Kevin Slowey, and the Blue Jays may be interested.
- Finally, a fond farewell to Brendan Donnelly and Gregg Zaun; both players announced their plans to retire. Bengie Molina wasn't quite as decisive, but said he's also retired, "for now."
Meanwhile Jon Garland is out with an oblique sprain for possibly a month or more, along with Vicente Padillia who underwent arm surgery a couple of weeks ago and may miss half the season. I say meanwhile, since neither event seemed to rate a mention on MLBTR.