Now that it’s the day after the Super Bowl, we can all turn our complete focus on to baseball and the start of Spring Training! Here are some of the main storylines coming off a reasonably quiet weekend:

• The Mets have had a busy week. On the heels of signing Scott Atchison and LaTroy Hawkins to minor league deals, they also signed Marlon Byrd to a similar contract on Friday. Sandy Alderson is not comfortable without any insurance for Frank Francisco if he doesn’t work out as the team’s closer, and New York had been linked to Jose Valverde most of the weekend. However, reports point to them being close to agreeing to a deal with reliever Brandon Lyon, and they’re confident a deal will get done, despite the fact that he’s talking to other teams.
• After 16 seasons, Kevin Milwood has decided to retire from the game of baseball. On The Way Home will give him a proper send off this week.
• The Yankees have trying to find a right-handed hitting outfielder to compliment the likes of Brett Gardner, Ichiro Suzuki, and Curtis Granderson. They tried to lure in Scott Hairston before he signed with the Cubs, but are still looking for another bat, even though they’ve inked both Matt Diaz and Juan Rivera to minor league deals this winter.
• Apparently, Scott Rolen wants to play this season and the Reds would like to sign him, but MLB Trade Rumors reports there could be an issue re-signing the veteran third baseman because of roster and payroll issues. On cue, the Dodgers have been rumored to have contacted him.
• However, the Reds have added Manny Parra to the bullpen with a one-year deal and Miguel Olivo to a minor league contract. Parra was abritration-eligible this winter, but the Brewers non-tendered him, and the Mariners declined Olivo’s 2013 option earlier in the off-season.
• Bobby Abreu is still looking for a job this season, as Jon Heyman tweets the slugger would like to add to his “possible Hall of Fame” resume. Heyman opines the Marlins and Rays could be good landing spots for Abreu.
• While the Orioles will announce the signings of Mark Hendrickson and Jair Jurrjens this week, they don’t expect to ink either Fernando Tatis or Arthur Rhodes to a deal, both of which they recently watched work out.
• At this point, top-of-the-line free agents such as Michael Bourn, Kyle Lohse, and Joe Saunders are still without a team. However, it looks as though Saunders has gotten the most legitimate interest thus far, as reports say he’s sitting on a couple contract offers, one from the Minnesota Twins.

Now, we embark on the one, incredibly long week where we wait for pitchers and catchers to report. Don’t worry though, we’ll keep bringing you the latest MLB news and rumors to keep you warm.

Thanks for reading! To Follow Matt’s posts at On The Way Home and Rising Apple, you can follow him on Twitter: @mmusico8. If you’d like to join On The Way Home as a staff writer, you can contact Matt at matt.musico8@gmail.com.