As we watched the Miami Marlins clean house by trading players like Heath Bell, Josh Johnson, Emilio Bonifacio, Jose Reyes, among others, we saw the few remaining Marlins say they also wanted the same treatment. Giancarlo Stanton wasn’t happy about what happened, and Ricky Nolasco was pretty vocal about wanting to get traded. Now that he’s still with the team with Spring Training here, he’s set to put aside his differences and compete as much as he can for the organization. This is probably for the best because if Nolasco has a good first half, he’ll likely be trade bait by the July 31st non-waiver trade deadline. Here are some other news and rumors coming from the MLB yesterday:

• Justin Verlander took some time to chat about his impending free agency with Jon Morosi of FOX Sports. Although he’s in no hurry to agree to a new deal, I debated yesterday as to whether or not Felix Hernandez‘s monster extension will affect the negotations Verlander has with Detroit or Clayton Kershaw‘s with the Dodgers.
• On the heels of the Michael Bourn situation with the Mets trying to protect their 11th pick due to faulty language (at least they thought so) in the new CBA, the MLB has no plans to change the wording to make it more clear.
• The Phillies had agreed to a minor league deal last month with reliever Juan Cruz, but the hurler never signed his contract, and now both sides have decided to part ways, putting Cruz back on the free agent market. It sounds as if the deal Philly struck with Chad Durbin was the deciding factor in Cruz not wanting to stay with the with Phillies.
• The Orioles tried to improve their team this winter through potential trade opportunities, but the organization felt it was more important to hold onto the impact pitching prospects they have instead.
• Fernando Rodney is coming off a career year with the Tampa Bay Rays and would love to work out a contract extension now while his stock is super high (duh), but the Rays haven’t approached him about one.
• Although the Mets couldn’t land Michael Bourn, Fred Wilpon told reporters yesterday that the family’s financial issues are now a thing of the past, and they may see the payroll eventually balloon back up to the $140 million mark, but only if it makes sense for the organization to compete.
• Roy Halladay will likely be a free agent at the close of the season, but if it were up to him, the righty would like to end his career with the Phillies.
• Scott Boras is still trying to find a home for Jose Valverde and Kyle Lohse heading into this season, and it doesn’t look like there is any market forming for Lohse at this point.
• Jon Heyman tweeted that the Indians are getting calls about Michael Brantley and Drew Stubbs after agreeing to terms with Bourn, but at this point, don’t plan on trading either. However, it’s rumored Stubbs would be the more likely trade candidate.

There are most of your news and rumors coming out of the MLB yesterday…enjoy your Thursday, and Happy Valentine’s Day!

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