The National League The Kevin Towers Jim McLennan of AZ Snake Pit: "Arizona Diamondbacks outfielder Justin Upton finished fourth in the National League Most Valuable Player balloting, whose results were announced earlier today. It's the best performance by a Diamondbacks since Luis Gonzalez finished third after the 2001 season, so congratulations to him for that." The Frank Wren David O'Brien of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution: "While most Braves fans are wondering who'll be their Opening Day shortstop and whether Jair Jurrjens and/or the popular Martin Prado will be traded by the end of next week's Winter Meetings, a potentially bigger issue looms in the not-too-distant future. Brian McCann." The Theo Epstein Gordon Wittenmyer of The Chicago Sun-Times: "If Theo Epstein wants to sign a free agent such as Albert Pujols or Prince Fielder to a long mega-deal, that will be his call, Cubs chairman Tom Ricketts said Tuesday." The Walt Jocketty Mark Sheldon of MLB.com: "In the years under Reds general manager Walt Jocketty's regime, most of the Winter Meetings action has been quietly done behind the scenes and out of sight in the way of talks and negotiating. In the past three Meetings, in fact, Jocketty has been to the press room podium just once to announce a significant move." The Dan O'Dowd Andrew Martin of Purple Row: "[Ramon] Hernandez, 35, has posted similar OPS figures to [Chris] Iannetta, namely a .280/.348/.413 line since joining the Reds, and would be a favorable stopgap should the Rockies not be confident in top catching prospect Wilin Rosario's ability to stick in the majors in 2012." The Michael Hill Mike Berardino of The South Florida Sun-Sentinel: "The new-look Marlins, crazy as it sounds, are leading the Hot Stove League in wining and dining free agents, practically wearing out the pavement between their new retractable-roof ATM, er, ballpark and Joe's Stone Crab." The GM Formerly Known As Ed Wade Steve Campbell of The Houston Chronicle: "The dismissals of team president Tal Smith and general manager Ed Wade late Sunday night were predictable, given that Crane paid $610 million for a team coming off a 56-106 season." The Ned Colletti Eric Stephen of True Blue L.A.: "Jonathan Broxton is no longer a Dodger. The former Dodgers closer has signed a one-year deal with the Kansas City Royals to be a setup man to closer Joakim Soria, the club announced today. The contract is worth $4 million guaranteed, plus a potential $1 million in performance bonuses, according to Rustin Dodd of the Kansas City Star." The Doug Melvin Kyle Lobner of Brew Crew Ball: "On this day in 1994 the Brewers dealt reliever Doug Henry to the Mets for two players to be named later. One of those players turned out to be catcher Javier Gonzalez, who never reached the majors. The other, though, was second baseman Fernando Vina." The Sandy Alderson Eric Simon of Amazin Avenue: "Red Sox fans are generally dismayed by the hiring of Bobby Valentine, largely due to his unenlightened on-air persona on ESPN. However, a cursory look through the NY Times archive turns up plenty of evidence that Valentine knows more than he lets on." The Ruben Amaro Jr. Corey Seidman of Phillies Nation: "The Phillies are still in search of an outfield bat, according to Jim Salisbury, and they'd probably prefer a left-handed hitter. One of the players on Salisbury's list of names to watch would be a perfect fit for this team in terms of production, personality and finances. That player? Johnny David Damon." The Neal Huntington Bucs Dugout: "As I noted a year ago, Hurdle bunted a lot in Colorado, to make up for the difficulty in scoring runs in Coors. He led the NL in sacrifice bunt attempts four times in his last five full years with the Rockies. That hasn't changed. With the Pirates, he was tied for fourth in the league, just three attempts off the league lead." The John Mozeliak Viva El Birdos: "One of the questions that is difficult for us as fans to know the answer to is exactly how Mike Matheny will use his bench. Assuming Allen Craig is on the bench, Matheny will have at least one potent bat to rely on as a pinch hitter and someone to keep in the outfield shuffle. Craig, of course, wasn't always an outfielder." The Josh Byrnes Don Norcross of The San Diego Union-Tribune: "In [Jed] Hoyer's place as general manager arrives [Josh] Byrnes, at 41 only four years older than Hoyer, but, his perpetual smile aside, seemingly more hardened. Termination will do that. Only 18 months ago, Byrnes was pink-slipped as Arizona's GM with five years remaining on his contract." The Brian Sabean Grant Brisbee of McCovey Chronicles: "But if there's anything I feel guilty about when it comes to blogging about the Giants, it's that I didn't give enough love to Jonathan Sanchez when he left. The trade was more about Melknalysis than it was an opportunity to evaluate Jonathan Sanchez's career." The Mike Rizzo Adam Kilgore of The Washington Post: "For the Nationals, this change is most pertinent for one of their most important players. Bryce Harper, having survived Class AA and conquered the Arizona Fall League, seems certain to reach the majors sometime in 2012. But when? And will the new rules have any effect?" The American League The Dan Duquette Dan Connolly of The Baltimore Sun: "There is one guy, however, who seems utterly tradeable -- so much so that we mention his name every winter and every July. And yet right-hander Jeremy Guthrie remains an Oriole. There is a reason for that. Guthrie is solid and dependable. He will make 30-plus starts, he will throw 200-plus innings and he'll keep you in most games in the AL East. That can't be said -- at least not yet -- for the rest of the Orioles' projected staff." The Ben Cherington Alex Speier of WEEI.com: "According to multiple industry sources, after the Red Sox parted ways with Terry Francona after the season, Red Sox officials told at least one player that the team had no plans to hire "someone like Bobby Valentine." The implication was that the team did not anticipate hiring a manager who ran counter to the mold of a so-called player's manager such as Francona, who typically tried to keep clubhouse matters in house." The Kenny Williams Jim Margalus of South Side Sox: "Slowly but surely, the spectrum of possibilities reveals itself. Everybody assumes Carlos Quentin is on his way out. There's no talk of a contract extension for John Danks. Word on the street is that Williams is fine with dealing him, or Gavin Floyd, or maybe even the both of them. Teams are inquiring about Sergio Santos (whose contract is as flippable as they get)." The Chris Antonetti Paul Hoynes of The Cleveland Plain Dealer: "Second baseman Jason Kipnis and right-hander Chen-Chang Lee have been named the Indians minor league players of the year. Kipnis is the Lou Boudreau winner and Lee the Bob Feller winner." The Dave Dombrowski The Detroit News: "The Miami Marlins have entertained free agents Jose Reyes, Albert Pujols and Mark Buehrle, but they just might be interested in an old friend, too. Carlos Guillen has attracted interest from the Marlins, Foxsports.com reported." The Dayton Moore Will McDonald of Royals Review: "Billy Butler, even if he never plays another game with the Royals, has become a fairly large figure in Royals history. He's not at the top level of Royal greats yet, but he's certainly reached the next tier. Butler has now played five seasons with the Royals, and in the last three he's played almost every single day. The totals are starting to add up." The Jerry DiPoto Marisa Ingemi of Daily Dish: "Teams connected to Ortiz this off season have been the Red Sox, Anaheim Angels, Baltimore Orioles, Toronto Blue Jays, and the always fun "mystery team". Ortiz, who is a Type A free agent, will cost whoever signs him a draft pick as compensation for the Red Sox, which may make some teams hold back on an attempt to sign him." The Terry Smith Steve Adams of Twinkie Town: "A lot people are set on the fact that Kevin Slowey is likely to be non-tendered or traded for whatever meager return he can fetch at this point. At the very least, that move would come as no surprise." The Brian Cashman Joe Pawlikowski of River Ave Blues: "Lack of baseball can make a person go mad. For instance, when browsing MLB Trade Rumors this morning I saw the following line: "The Yankees are interested in Kyle Drabek." Madness. Sure, the Yankees probably have some level of interest in Drabek; they have interest in any pitcher at the right price." The Billy Beane Susan Slusser of The San Francisco Chronicle: "Chili Davis is among the top switch-hitters of all time. Now, he's the A's hitting coach, and he'll get to work with Oakland's most exciting young player, switch-hitting leadoff hitter Jemile Weeks." The Jack Zduriencik Nate Cohn of Pro Ball NW: "Jon Paul Morosi tweeted that the Mariners have "interest" in Seth Smith, but "it's not clear if talks are ongoing." Honestly, the Mariners should have "interest" in every available and capable major league hitter under age 30, so it's hard to make much of tweets like this. Nonetheless, he's not a bad fit, and there are a few things worth mentioning." The Andrew Friedman Steve Slowinski of DRB: "After the Rays traded away John Jaso and signed Jose Molina earlier this week, I was left in a mild state of shock. I couldn't remember the last time Andrew Friedman had completed a trade this early in the offseason, even a small one like this, and I thought he normally liked to wait some time before signing players." The Jon Daniels Adam J. Morris of Lone Star Ball: "The Rangers are reportedly considering former Houston Astros general manager Tim Purpura to replace the departed Scott Servais as the team's Director of Player Development, and are also considering moving assistant general manager Thad Levine into that role." The Alex Anthopoulos Blue Bird Banter: "If I see one more rumor about the Jays' need for a closer, I will go ... never mind, I'm already crazy. But seriously, the Jays do not have a strong need for a closer. Is Alex Anthopoulos likely trying to upgrade the bullpen? Yes, I'd say he is. But that's because he's always trying to upgrade every single part of the team."