Well, what do you know. Ian Desmond is now the last man standing among free agents who received a qualifying offer. There are still some other worthwhile players, but none that stick out as a definite starter aside from Desmond (Austin Jackson is probably next best).
Here's all we need to know for MLB news and rumor type stuff from Thursday.
Transactions, roster moves, etc.
Blue Jays: Former All-Star outfielder -- but since then a total bust -- Domonic Brown has been signed to a big-league deal, the club announced.
Cubs: From outta seemingly nowhere, the Cubs swooped in and re-signed center fielder Dexter Fowler, rounding out a real flexible group of position players.
Cubs/A's: In conjunction with the Fowler signing, the Cubs sent Chris Cohglan to the A's in a trade.
Reports, rumors and speculation
MLB: Two new rules were announced regarding slides into second base on a force play and pace of play.
Angels: Per Angels.com, Austin Jackson declined a one-year offer of somewhere in the range of $5M to $6M. So it looks like they're still looking at a Daniel Nava/Craig Gentry platoon in left field to open the season.
Cardinals: There's a $17 million option on Matt Holliday's contract for next season, and the Cardinals are likely to wait until the offseason before making a decision on it (stltoday.com).
Cubs: President Theo Epstein's contract is set to expire after this season and there still hasn't been an extension, but chairman Tom Ricketts continues to talk as if it's a matter of when, not if. The latest is that he says Epstein is the best executive in baseball and his pay should reflect that (CBS Chicago).
Marlins: They aren't expected to make any more moves this offseason, but are "monitoring the market." Tim Lincecum's name is mentioned as someone they might look at, but it's still a "long shot." (marlins.com)
Nationals: Though he's three years away from free agency, everyone loves talking about what a Bryce Harper contract extension might look like. Per their GM Mike Rizzo (via the Washington Post), they have started "informal talks" but "have not been negotiating."
White Sox: Vice chairman Eddie Einhorn died at age 80.
Injury updates
Dodgers: Yasiel Puig missed the past two days' workouts after having had his wisdom teeth removed (J.P. Hoornstra).
Giants: The club announced that Matt Cain had a cyst removed from his upper right arm area. He'll be able to resume throwing in roughly 10 days, so he shouldn't be too far behind in preparing for the regular season.
Tigers: Anibal Sanchez has some swelling in his right (throwing) triceps and won't throw again until Monday (Jon Morosi).
