Today, we learned that even though there's mutual interest between the Cardinals and free agent Roy Oswalt, it seems that the club might be looking at the veteran in a relief role. The Cards already have five starters in the fold, but it's unknown whether Oswalt would open to pitching out of the bullpen. Here's more from the NL Central..
- A contending team can land Cubs right-hander Matt Garza if they're willing to part with three prospects from a team's "A" list, a Major League source tells Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe. The Red Sox, Yankees, and Blue Jays are among the teams known to be interested, but none have upped their offers to this point.
- The Pirates have been tracking Yoenis Cespedes for a number of years, GM Neal Huntington told Rob Biertempfel of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. The Bucs are expected to be among the bidders for the outfielder but are not considered to be a frontrunner.
- Astros GM Jeff Luhnow is "open for business" when it comes to trades, but it appears that Wandy Rodriguez, Brett Myers, and Carlos Lee will remain with the club when Spring Training starts, writes MLB.com's Brian McTaggart.
- The Astros have hired Sig Mejdal as the club’s director of decision sciences, writes Zachary Levine of the Houston Chronicle. The addition of Mejdal should help the club to apply statistical analysis to all areas of the organization. Houston has also brought Stephanie Wilka aboard as the coordinator of amateur scouting. Wilka previously worked for the Dodgers and Red Sox.
