Sickels: Ranking the Farm Systems

John Sickels adds up his top-prospect lists to figure out how the major-league clubs stack up.

There is obviously a huge amount of interest in these kinds of lists, so despite my misgivings, I decided “what the hell” and have worked up a list of my own….the following list is not based solely on a formula, and some teams were moved up or down a few notches for various reasons.

The list tries to find a balance between everything. Both high-end impact talent and overall depth are considered. I probably consider depth more than some other analysts.

MLB Trade Rumors: Bartolo Colon Agrees to Sign With Unknown Team

Bartolo Colon has agreed to a deal with an unknown club reports Bob Nightengale of USA Today (on Twitter). The right-hander wouldn’t divulge the team because he has not yet passed his physical.

Pretty sure it’s either the All-Stars or the Champs.

Jeff Wilpon Meets Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer

This made my day when I saw it (OK, so I was having a lousy day).

ESPN: Yorvit Torrealba suspended in Venezuela

Texas Rangers backup catcher Yorvit Torrealba has been suspended 66 games by the Venezuelan League for striking an umpire, league president Jose Grasso Vecchio announced Monday morning on Twitter.

The suspension covers the rest of this season and all of next season in the Venezuelan League. Penalties in winter ball do not carry over to Major League Baseball.

Have to think MLB or the Rangers will take some action, too.

Kovacevic: Pirates still playing small ball

Totally fair if somewhat brutal assessment:

And I really can’t see where Huntington was coming from when he made these remarks to reporters last week in Dallas: “We’ll still look to find moves to make us better, but we feel like we’ve taken a big step forward, whether it’s bigger or smaller moves. We’ve put this organization in position to take another big step forward next year.”

Big, clearly, is a relative concept.

Powers: Twins need to run a tighter ship next season

Currently, the players and their agents are in charge. They decide when to play, when to train, when to seek medical advice and how to rehab an injury. The inmates are running the asylum. And it flat-out didn’t work in 2011.

Hey, if you mean Joe Mauer, say Joe Mauer!!