A look at the Central divisions..
- There are six or seven teams in the eastern or central divisions to which Alfonso Soriano would accept a trade, writes Jesse Rogers of ESPNChicago.com. The long-time Cubs outfielder made it clear last summer that he would not have accepted a potential trade to the Giants. Soriano told reporters that the Cubs know which teams he'd prefer, but stated multiple times that his first priority is to win in Chicago.
- Brewers manager Ron Roenicke announced today that Mat Gamel, who was sidelined for the final five months of the 2012 season with a torn ACL, will miss all of the 2013 season, writes Adam McCalvy of MLB.com. The Brewers were already thin at first base thanks to Corey Hart's injury. They plan to cover with in-house options, but GM Doug Melvin will look for outside options as well. McCalvy suggests (on Twitter) that they could consider the recently DFA'd Mike Carp and Daric Barton of the A's.
- Craig Fehrman of Cincinnati Magazine profiled Aroldis Chapman and the journey that brought the left-hander to the Reds. The piece includes Chapman's daring move to defect from Cuba and the unique events that led him to changing representation while auditioning for teams.
- The Twins are not among the clubs that have expressed interest in Mark Prior, according to Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN (on Twitter). Prior is working on strengthening his shoulder in an attempt to hook on with a team in spring training.
Steve Adams contributed to this post.
