Geeks inherit the Earth, or at least the Dodgers front office  —  The nerds have officially taken over the world.  Just give into it.  All those guys who used to sit in the back of the classroom with their black horn-rimmed classes, pocket calculators and clothes their mommies picked out?

Rockies willing to listen to offers for Carlos Gonzalez, Troy Tulowitzki  —  For the first time, the Colorado Rockies sound willing to trade shortstop Troy Tulowitzki and/or outfielder Carlos Gonzalez.  —  The Rockies are telling clubs they are keeping their “eyes and ears open” …

Alex Rodriguez's DEA confession: Yes, I used steroids from fake Miami doctor  —  ›  —  ‹  —  For 21 tumultuous months, New York Yankees superstar Alex Rodriguez has defiantly maintained he never used banned substances from a Coral Gables anti-aging clinic …

Sources: A's adamant about keeping Donaldson, will listen on pitchers  —  First things first: The Oakland Athletics do not plan to trade third baseman Josh Donaldson, according to major-league sources.  —  The A's would listen if teams inquired on pitchers such as right-hander Jeff Samardzija and lefty Scott Kazmir.

Source: Mets leaning toward trade for outfield bat rather than free agents … Baseball  —  Ranking MLB's free agent position players … Mets  —  5 questions facing the Mets this offseason

Cubs looking again at Cole Hamels, plus top free-agent pitchers  —  The Cubs, already connected heavily in speculative reports about top free-agent pitchers Jon Lester and Max Scherzer, are also interested in Cole Hamels, according to sources, and are expecting to talk to the Phillies about him.

Prospect seeking reliable option to accompany cutting fastball, curve  —  2014 MLB.com Top Prospects: C.J. Edwards possesses a pair of hard breaking balls in his curveball and his slider  —  MESA, Ariz. — The Cubs' best hope for a front-line starter from their farm system is right-hander C.J. Edwards …

Former pitcher Brad Halsey, 33, dies in climbing accident  —  Former major league pitcher Brad Halsey died Friday in a recreational climbing accident near his New Braunfels, Texas home, according to a person close to Halsey's family.  —  The person spoke to USA TODAY Sports on condition …

10 Things I Believe About Baseball Without Evidence  —  Well, here we are.  The Giants won another World Series, while the A's flopped in the playoffs yet again.  I'm not one of those A's fans who hate the Giants, but it's starting to annoy the crap out of even me to see the Giants always succeed …

Astros Acquire Hank Conger  —  The Astros announced that they have acquired catcher Hank Conger from the Angels in exchange for fellow catcher Carlos Perez and right-hander Nick Tropeano.  —  Conger, 26, split time with Chris Iannetta in Anaheim this past season but wasn't a traditional backup catcher …

2015 Toronto Blue Jays Top 10 Prospects  —  Want More?  Complete 2015 Top 10 Prospects Rankings  —  Get it all: Subscribe to Baseball America  —  Go 30 deep: Order the 2015 Prospect Handbook!  —  The Blue Jays entered this season with playoff aspirations after struggling in 2013 …

Right fielder gets overall honor; Simmons tabbed for shortstops  —  Braves outfielder Jason Heyward wins the overall award for the Defensive Player of the Year  —  ATLANTA — Braves fans were not happy when Andrelton Simmons was not named the 2013 Wilson Defensive Player of the Year.