A round-up of news from around the majors….
- The Mariners will be hard-pressed to contend with AL West superpowers like the Rangers and Angels, but Larry Stone of the Seattle Times argues the club shouldn't think about trading Felix Hernandez. Stone thinks such a deal would cause a "backlash" among M's fans and "there's still plenty of time to consider a Hernandez trade down the road if the Mariners' situation gets more dire."
- Michael Cuddyer was frustrated by the negativity surrounding the Twins last season and isn't sure if the team will be able to contend in the near future, reports Phil Mackey of ESPN 1500 Radio. The Twins have had a three-year, $24-$25MM offer on the table to Cuddyer for the last few days and the Rockies may also be willing to go to three years for the veteran. Mackey speculates the Cardinals could check in on Cuddyer to help fill the void left by Albert Pujols.
- Octavio Dotel tells MLB.com's Jason Beck that his choice of teams came down to the Tigers and the Brewers. Dotel says the Padres were also interested in signing him as a setup man.
- MLB.com's Todd Zolecki has contract details for a number of new Phillies, most notably Jonathan Papelbon.
- Carlos Beltran hasn't gotten much attention this winter, and Fangraphs' Eric Seidman names seven teams who could be a fit for the free agent outfielder.
- Nick Punto is "at or near [the] top" of the Braves' list of backup infield options, reports David O'Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution (via Twitter).
- A rival executive tells FOX Sports' Jon Paul Morosi (Twitter link) that the Mets won't trade David Wright. "He’s more valuable to them than he would be to any other team," the exec says.
