Brandon Phillips blocked a trade from Cincinnati to Atlanta, sources say  —  Even as Brandon Phillips faces a possible loss of playing time, he still is not ready to leave Cincinnati.  —  The Reds' second baseman used his no-trade protection in November to block a trade to the Braves, according to major-league sources.

Sources: Cavs agree to deal for sharpshooter Kyle Korver  —  The world champion Cleveland Cavaliers have reached an agreement on a deal to acquire guard Kyle Korver from the Atlanta Hawks, league sources told The Vertical.  —  The Cavaliers and Hawks are still finalizing the terms of the trade …

Did the Blue Jays misread the market on Edwin Encarnacion?  —  The one thing that remains puzzling about the Blue Jays' handling of Edwin Encarnacion is the team's quick pivot to Kendrys Morales in free agency.  —  If Encarnacion's agent, Paul Kinzer, made a questionable decision by failing …

Orioles, Mariners Swap Yovani Gallardo For Seth Smith  —  12:30pm: Eduardo A. Encina of the Baltimore Sun tweets that the Orioles will save about $4MM in total on the deal.  That would suggest that about $2MM is headed to Seattle alongside Gallardo, who is guaranteed $13MM ($11MM salary + $2MM option buyout) to Smith's $7MM.

Cubs want to host college football bowl game at Wrigley Field  —  Wrigley Field was transformed into a football stadium for the Nov. 20, 2010, game between Northwestern and Illinois.  —  Chicago Tribune  —  When New York Yankees officials announced the creation of the Pinstripe Bowl in 2010 …

Alex Rodriguez will embrace ‘special advisor’ role with Yankees, not attempt return to baseball in 2017  —  It appears there will be no A-Rod baseball comeback in 2017.  —  Former Yankee Alex Rodriguez, who was unconditionally released by the Bombers last August, is not going to try to play …

White Sox Claim Willy Garcia, Designate Jason Coats For Assignment  —  The White Sox announced on Friday that they've claimed outfielder Willy Garcia off waivers from the Pirates and designated fellow outfielder Jason Coats for assignment to clear a spot on the 40-man roster.

Blue Jays Sign Gavin Floyd To Minor League Deal  —  The Blue Jays announced that they've re-signed right-hander Gavin Floyd to a minor league contract and invited him to Major League Spring Training.  —  Floyd, 34 later this month, spent the 2016 campaign with the Jays and pitched reasonably …

Heyman: MLB winter winners and non-winners  —  The winter isn't quite over, and there are still some big-time players left (Matt Wieters and a bevy of sluggers come to mind), but enough moves have been made to put together a reasonable list of MLB winners and losers.

Cubs shopping with audacious 6-man rotation in mind  —  More On:  —  Whether they sign Tyson Ross or not - and the Cubs are perceived as one of four finalists for the righty - the defending champs intend at some point next season to use a six-man rotation as a way to lessen the burden on starters who pitched through October last year.

Travis d'Arnaud needs bounce-back season to show Mets are right to pass on Matt Wieters  —  Matt Wieters is still on the market as a free agent, and the price for signing him may be falling, but Mets people continue to say they're not interested.  —  “We're not spending our money on a catcher,” was the way one person put it this week.