2015 ranking of all 30 farm systems  —  Cubs, Twins top Keith Law's annual rankings of minor league talent  —  To kick off my look this week at the best prospects in the minor leagues, I've ranked all 30 MLB farm systems from top to bottom, considering only the players who are currently …

Texas Rangers Top 10 Prospects  —  The Top Ten  —  Drafted/Acquired: 1st round, 2012 draft, Bishop Gorman HS (Las Vegas, NV)  —  Previous Ranking: #6 (Org), #95 (Top 101)  —  2014 Stats: .232/.334/.524 at Double-A Frisco (68 games), .323/.463/.735 at High-A Myrtle Beach (58 games)

Finding at-bats for Ichiro a good problem for Marlins  —  MLB.com Marlins reporter Joe Frisaro breaks down the Marlins' agreement with veteran outfielder Ichiro Suzuki on a one-year deal  —  MIAMI — The Marlins believe Christian Yelich, Marcell Ozuna and Giancarlo Stanton form the best outfield trio in the National League.

Orioles back in trade talks with Pittsburgh Pirates about Travis Snider  —  The Orioles have rekindled their trade talks with the Pittsburgh Pirates to acquire outfielder Travis Snider and are discussing a deal that would send two minor leaguers to Pittsburgh, according to industry sources.

Giles becomes chairman emeritus; Gillick staying on as president in the short term  —  PHILADELPHIA — The Phillies announced Wednesday that David Montgomery will rejoin the organization as team chairman, not as president.  —  Pat Gillick will remain in the president's role, overseeing baseball operations.

Blue Jays, Brewers talk potential trade for Papelbon  —  9/26/14: Jonathan Papelbon gets Joey Terdoslavich to ground out to second for the final out of the game, securing the Phillies' victory  —  PHILADELPHIA — The Phillies are still talking to the Brewers and Blue Jays about a Jonathan Papelbon trade.

Nationals To Sign Casey Janssen  —  11:40pm: Svrluga adds that Janssen will earn $3.5MM in 2015, and the buyout on his mutual option is valued at $1.5MM (Twitter link).  —  10:48am: Janssen's mutual option is valued at $7MM, reports Barry Svrluga of the Washington Post (Twitter link).

Cuban infield prospect has yet to be cleared by U.S. Government  —  Jesse Sanchez weighs in on just how good Yoan Moncada is and gives his take on Yasmany Tomas' position shift  —  Major League Baseball issued a memo to its clubs on Tuesday night that acknowledged new regulations for Cuban players …

Winter Report Card: New York Mets  —  With little less than four weeks before pitchers and catchers report, we're checking in on how each team has fared in conducting its offseason business while acknowledging that there's still time for its prognosis to change.  Teams will be presented in reverse order of finish from 2014.

HISTORY HURTS SHIELDS' CHANCES AT LANDING A BIG CONTRACT  —  A general manager posed an interesting question to me on Tuesday:  —  What is the largest free-agent contract ever given to a starting pitcher 33 or older?  —  The question is relevant, seeing as how the best remaining free agent, right-hander James Shields, is 33.