The Twins sign free agent catcher Ryan Doumit to serve as Joe Mauer’s back-up. Doumit is known for his bat, something the Twins are starving for after having to use Drew Butera (.167), Rene Rivera (.144) and Steve Holm (.118) behind the plate while Mauer lost large chunks of playing time to injuries in 2011.

The Cubs introduce Dale Sveum as the fifth-place team’s new manager, replacing Mike Quade, the former skipper fired by Chicago’s new GM Theo Epstein at the end of the season. The 52nd manager in franchise history, whose managerial experience consists of sixteen games as Milwaukee’s interim skipper in 2008, is considered a no-nonsense baseball lifer who will stress the game’s fundamentals while implementing “high standards of accountability” for the players.

Major League Baseball owners and the Players Association reach a tentative deal on a new five-year collective bargaining agreement. The agreement signed in Rosemont, IL near Chicago’s O’Hare Airport, includes a ceiling for bonuses paid to picks in the amateur draft and international free agents. It also provides for testing for human growth hormone and a raise in the minimum salary to $480,000. The agreement will be finalized on November 22nd.

Coming off an outstanding season, Dodgers OF Matt Kemp cashes in with a contact extension worth $160 million until 2019. It is the largest contract in team history, breaking the record set by Kevin Brown’s $105 million deal in 1998. Kemp hit .324 with 39 homers and 126 RBI in a breakout season in 2011.