Cole Hamels on Phillies: Winning ‘not going to happen here’  —  TAMPA - The words flow out of Cole Hamels' mouth without hesitation, equivocation, or the slightest tinge of remorse.  —  He wants to be traded from the Philadelphia Phillies.  —  This is not a threat.  —  He is not demanding a trade.

Pitchers and catchers start reporting to camps  —  Despite losing Pablo Sandoval, the Giants have their core players returning, which should help them contend in a much improved the NL West  —  #BaseballBegins now.  —  Exactly 112 days after throwing the last real pitch in Major League Baseball …

The Education of Alex Rodriguez … PHOTOGRAPH BY PETER HAPAK … Ron Antonelli/NY Daily News Archive/Getty Images … Henny Ray Abrams/AP Images

Arizona Diamondbacks' soft-tossing Collmenter slowly gaining acceptance  —  For a pitcher without an explosive fastball, the industry-wide approval process, with its built-in bias toward velocity, can take years.  —  A soft-tosser can post good results in the minors but won't get the benefit …

Pitcher remains unconscious and in critical condition in a Venezuelan hospital  —  2014 MLB.com Top Prospects: Victor Sanchez throws plenty of strikes, keeping the ball down in the zone consistently  —  Mariners pitching prospect Victor Sanchez showed signs of improvement on Wednesday …

Roster battles on deck in Dunedin as reporting dates approach  —  A Blue Jays' lineup led by Jose Bautista should be helped by the additions of Josh Donaldson and Russell Martin as the bid for the playoffs  —  TORONTO — The Blue Jays' first official workout for pitchers and catchers is less …

Francisco Rodriguez Seeking $10MM In 2015  —  Though multiple teams have shown interest in Francisco Rodriguez this offseason, he remains unsigned, with previous reports indicating that he and agent Scott Boras are holding out for a two-year deal.  It appears, however, that K-Rod is willing …

Royals To Sign Eric Hosmer To Two-Year Deal  —  The Royals have agreed to a two-year, $13.9MM deal to avoid arbitration with first baseman Eric Hosmer, Jeffrey Flanagan of MLB.com reports (Twitter links).  The Boras Corporation client, 25, will still have one more year of arb eligibility remaining …

Rockies Defeat Wilin Rosario In Arbitration  —  The Rockies have defeated catcher Wilin Rosario in the sides' recent arbitration hearing, Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com reports on Twitter.  Rosario will, accordingly, take home $2.8MM rather than his filing figure of $3.3MM.

Orioles closing in on one-year deal with former All-Star infielder Everth Cabrera  —  The Orioles are finalizing a one-year deal with free-agent infielder and former All-Star Everth Cabrera, according to an industry source.  —  Cabrera has taken a physical and the results are pending, according to the source.

Central Notes: Youkilis, Liriano, Murphy, Tigers  —  Recently-retired veteran Kevin Youkilis will be joining the Cubs as a special assistant, Mark Gonzales of the Chicago Tribune reports on Twitter.  The connection will be obvious for many: Youkilis rose to prominence and made most of his impact …

DAN O'DOWD, FORMER ROCKIES GM, JOINS MLB NETWORK AS ANALYST  —  The Denver Post  —  Dan O'Dowd has moved from creator to commentator.  —  The former Rockies general manager has joined MLB Network as a studio analyst.  He'll begin his job as part of MLB Network's “30 Clubs in 30 Days” spring training series beginning March 3.

Facing stretch of 30 games in 31 days, club could ease workload with fresh arms  —  MLB.com Yankees reporter Bryan Hoch discusses the importance of a healthy CC Sabathia and Masahiro Tanaka for the Yankees in 2015  —  TAMPA, Fla. — The Yankees are considering using a sixth starter at times …

College players taking over Draft  —  LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. — Tim Beckham grabbed the top spot in the 2008 First-Year Player Draft on Thursday, garnered all the headlines as a result and gave all high school players in the country hope that they too could someday be selected with the first pick.