Baseball

Despite a relatively quiet offseason, the Philadelphia Phillies have not necessarily filled all of their holes. Outfielder Marlon Byrd might be a bust, while starting pitcher Roberto Hernandez is an unknown in a shallow stadium like Citizens Bank Park.

The last Brewers pitching prospect drafted in the first round that developed into an impact major-league starter was Ben Sheets in 1999. Since then, the organization has struck out repeatedly when drafting a pitcher in the first round.

We're less than a month away from when pitchers and catchers report to spring training, so it's time to assess what the Miami Marlins need and who is still out there to be had.

But before we begin, let's check the Marlins shopping list and see if there's anything the Marlins forgot to buy.

Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez's 211-game suspension was reduced to 162 games today as a result of his appeal, as was first reported by Bob Nightengale of USA Today. Tim Brown of Yahoo!

The Dodgers, who claim to be gearing their organizational philosophy more towards developing the farm system and spending less on flashy free agents, are now rumored to be the front runner for flashy free agent Masahiro Tanaka's services.

According to this tweet by Anthony Andro of Fox Sports Southwest, the Texas Rangers' rotation took a huge blow Friday:

The New York Yankees officially reached an agreement with lefty reliever Matt Thornton Friday afternoon.  

Jack Curry of the YES Network first reported the agreement, which is for two years and $7 million, on December 17.  

That gust of wind you just felt came from Texas Rangers general manager Jon Daniels and manager Ron Washington upon learning that starting pitcher Derek Holland will be out until midseason after injuring his knee (via Hardball Talk). 

With little major league-ready depth after their projected five starters, the Cincinnati Reds aren't currently in a position to shop Homer Bailey as he enters his last season before free agency. So it makes sense that the Reds were telling teams last month that he's not available, as was reported by Jon Heyman of CBS Sports.

Texas Rangers might be weighing trade options with bringing in a starting pitcher for replacing Derek Holland who is out until midseason after he suffered a knee injury on Tuesday.

Sportswriter Anthony Andro of FoxSportsSouthwest.com reported the news via Twitter.