2012 – Padres OF Carlos Quentin receives MRI results on his ailing knee and the news is not good, as he faces immediate surgery. While he will miss the start of the season, having surgery now should ensure that he will be healthy for the bulk of the year, once he has worked himself back into playing shape.

The Phillies release P Dontrelle Willis, who was trying to make the team as a reliever.

P Andy Pettitte ends his retirement after one year when he signs a minor league contract with the New York Yankees. The 39-year-old is expected to join the Yankees’ starting rotation as soon as he has worked himself back into game shape.

2012 – Oft-injured P Chien-Ming Wang, slated to be the Nationals’ fifth starter, has to leave a Grapefruit League game after landing awkwardly when he fields a slow grounder off the bat of the Yankees’ Russell Martin in the 3rd inning. Wang crumples to the ground after touching first base and has to be assisted to leave the field.

The Royals suddenly find themselves short of catchers when expected starter Salvador Perez suffers a torn knee ligament while warming up Jonathan Sanchez prior to today’s Grapefruit League game. He plays one inning, then leaves in pain and will need to undergo surgery. The injury comes three weeks after another backstop, Manny Pina, had to undergo surgery for torn cartilage, leaving the Royals with only two experienced catchers, Brayan Pena and non-roster invitee Max Ramirez, both of whom have been career back-ups.

The bidding to buy the Los Angeles Dodgers from bankrupt owner Frank McCourt is down to four groups. Surprisingly, all the groups with strong ties to baseball or to the Los Angeles, CA area have been eliminated, leaving hedge-fund billionaire Steve Cohen as the front-runner. He is expected to hire long-time major league manager Tony LaRussa in a senior executive position if his bid, rumored to be worth $1.6 billion, is successful.

2012 – The Dodgers sign National Football League player Jarrad Page, a defensive back with the Minnesota Vikings, to a minor league contract after he impresses scouts at an open tryout camp in Arizona. The 27-year-old OF last played baseball while attending college at UCLA and was drafted three times but never signed, prefering to concentrate on football.

Umpire Harry Wendelstedt, who officiated during 33 seasons in the National League and also trained two generations of umpires at his “Harry Wendelstedt Umpire School”, dies in Florida at the age of 74.