Braves 3B Chipper Jones, one of the greatest switch-hitters of all time, announces that he will retire after this season. Jones, who will turn 40 next month, hopes to remain with the Braves – the only team he has played for – in some capacity after hanging up his spikes.

Jeff Moorad announces he is stepping down as Chief Executive Officer of the San Diego Padres, but will remain a Vice-President in charge of developing the team’s relationship with the Fox Sports San Diego network.

Major League Baseball announces it is setting up a new league for amateur players in the Dominican Republic, in order to give them an opportunity to perform against top competition without having to commit to a professional contract at a very young age. The lack of high school or equivalent competition has hampered the development of the game in the D.R., whose national teams have performed poorly in international competitions in spite of the large number of professional players born in the country.

New Red Sox manager Bobby Valentine gets an early introduction to the fierce rivalry with the Yankees. After the Sox tie a spring training game, 4 – 4, on a squeeze bunt by Jason Repko in the bottom of the 9th inning, Valentine has reliever Clayton Mortensen on the mound ready to pitch the 10th when rival manager Joe Girardi announces that his team is leaving Fort Myers, FL immediately, taking a bus back to their base in Tampa, FL. Girardi later justifies his last-minute decision by the fact that he has used all of the pitchers he had planned to bring into the game, but Valentine is still irked.

2012 – Cardinals World Series hero Chris Carpenter will not be ready for the start of the season, complaining of weakness in his throwing shoulder and stiffness in his neck. Veteran journeyman Kyle Lohse will be given the Opening Day starting assignment, while Lance Lynn will move to the starting rotation until Carpenter’s return.

2012 – Having lost two catchers to injuries since the start of spring training, the Royals obtain Humberto Quintero from Houston, alongside OF Jason Bourgeois, in return for P Kevin Chapman and a player to be named later.

2012 – New York Mets owners Fred Wilpon and Saul Katz, facing a $300 million lawsuit, agree to pay $162 million into a trust fund for victims of Bernard Madoff’s fraudulent investment scheme, thus averting a trial. The payoff is because the Mets were among the few investors who made money out of their investments in Madoff’s fund, while thousands of smaller investors lost everything when the whole house of cards collapsed in 2009. Wilpon and Katz will put up $29 million of their own money in the settlement.

2012 – The Nationals assign top prospect Bryce Harper to the AAA Syracuse Chiefs, where he will likely be the youngest player in the International League and will learn to play centerfield in anticipation of a call-up to Washington expected before the end of the summer. Indeed, the call-up will come earlier than anticipated, on April 29th, and Harper will never look back, earning Rookie of the Year honors in the National League.

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.