This morning, Marlins owner Jeffrey Loria took out ad space in multiple South Florida newspapers to pen an open letter to fans of the club. In addition to defending the club's expensive new ballpark, Loria battled back against those who have been critical of the team's personnel decisions. "The controversial trade we made with the Toronto Blue Jays was approved by Commissioner Bud Selig and has been almost universally celebrated by baseball experts outside of Miami for its value," said the owner. Here's more from around baseball..
- The Diamondbacks probably could have gotten right-hander Julio Teheran in the Justin Upton deal but they would have received less back, according to Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com (on Twitter). It wasn't worthwhile for Arizona, however, as they preferred fellow righty Randall Delgado.
- New Blue Jays reliever Michael Schwimer says that the Phillies told him a "handful" of teams were interested in dealing for him, tweets Shi Davidi of Sportsnet. The reliever added that he is "really happy" that they sent him to Toronto.
- Even though the Indians have added a great deal of offensive firepower this offseason, manager Terry Francona still sounds confident about Jason Giambi's chances of making the team, writes Troy Renck of the Denver Post. Giambi signed a one-year, $750K minor league deal with the Tribe earlier this winter.
- Royals GM Dayton Moore told Renck that he traded for starter Jeremy Guthrie based on his road numbers when pitching for the Rockies. Guthrie was competitive in visiting ballparks, but struggled when on the hill at Coors Field.
