According to Jim Duquette from MLB Network, the St.Louis Cardinals are close to signing free agent right handed pitcher Roy Oswalt. He says that the Houston Astros and Boston Red Sox are also still in the mix.

The Texas Rangers have been rumored to be the front runners, but they were not mentioned by Duquette. The Red Sox offered Oswalt a one year $5 million deal yesterday, and that has been the only reported offer.

Oswalt has reportedly wanted to stay near the south, where he is from. The Cardinals and Rangers had been in the lead for a bit, and the Astros seem to be a new team in the mix, where he had previously played before being dealt to the Philadelphia Phillies two years ago.

Keep watching MLB Daily Dish as this story develops, and it seems like one way or another, we will know Oswalt's destination very soon.

Do you have any fans of other teams across the country, across the vast chasm of the sporting world, with which you empathize? One of my empathees, as a Royals fan, are the Pittsburgh Pirates fans. Their team just sucks, so so badly, and has for as long as I can recall.

That's why when I read the following words from Charlie Wilmoth over at Bucs Dugout, I can't help but recoil in a stomach-punch of a realization -- those are the same words Royals fans use! They're somewhere between justification and a horrible sense of resignation to reality, but with a touch of hope that only the truest fans can maintain. Charlie, I feel you brother!

In other Pirates notes, the club signed Daniel Cabrera to a minor league deal, we have some prospect rankings from MLB and FanGraphs, and an amazing graphic by David Fung over at Beyond the Box Score:

Are Pirates In The Market For ... Anyone? - Bucs Dugout
"The complete absence of action out there right now suggests the Pirates like their team right now, or at least that they've come to terms with it. You can, of course, make the argument that the Bucs weren't going to contend in 2012 anyway, and that therefore, the water-treading the Pirates have done this offseason isn't some great tragedy. But it's still disappointing."

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The Boston Red Sox have signed veteran John Maine to a minor league deal, according to Steve DeShazo of Fredricksburg.com (h/t WEEI). Maine, 30, has a career 4.35 ERA and played five of his seven pro seasons with the New York Mets before having shoulder surgery, which kept him out of the bigs in 2011.

DeShazo notes that Maine would be a reliever if he makes the roster:

• Maine signs with Red Sox - Steve DeShazo | Fredricksburg.com
  "John Maine will have a new team and a new role in 2012. The Boston Red Sox confirmed Friday that they have signed Maine, a North Stafford High School graduate, to a minor-league contract with an invitation to spring training. And Maine’s agent, Rex Gary, said the Red Sox plan to use Maine as a relief pitcher if he makes the roster. Maine, 30, has started 105 of 108 career appearances with the Baltimore Orioles and New York Mets."

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The Seattle Mariners have signed 37 year-old reliever Brian Sweeney to a minor league deal, according to Greg Johns of MLB.com. Johns notes the deal does not come with a Spring Training invite.

• Twitter / @CurtoWorld - "Mariners sign Brian Sweeney to minor league deal. An all-time great dude."
• Brian Sweeney agrees to Minor League deal - Greg Johns | mlb.com
  "Sweeney, 37, was in the Mets organization last year and went 5-5 with a 4.34 ERA for Triple-A Buffalo, with eight starts among his 32 appearances. The right-hander pitched for Seattle in 2003 and again in 2010, when he posted a 3.16 ERA in 37 innings over 24 relief appearances."

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On Wednesday night, MLB.com released Jonathan Mayo's top 100 MLB prospects going into the 2012 season, and it has its fair share of surprises, as one would expect. But most fans don't delve into these lists just to look for rankings that look a tad wonky; most fans are simply trying to figure out where their favorite team's prospects are ranked.

Considering that, we thought that it might be helpful to break these lists down on a team-by-team basis to give you guys a look. Here's a breakdown of MLB.com's Top 100 prospect list for the NL West.

Los Angeles Dodgers

No. 45, RHP Zach Lee: A big overslot pick by the Dodgers late in the first-round of the 2010 draft, Lee hasn't disappointed yet. He was expected to have some growing pains while playing baseball full-time after being a major football recruit in high school, but he pleasantly surprised many scouts. He's very athletic, and has a lot of upside.

No. 70, RHP Nathan Eovaldi: After a breakout season in 2011, Eovaldi is firmly in LA's long-term plans. The 21-year-old had Tommy John surgery as a high school junior, but finally looked fully recovered from that injury in 2011, hitting the upper 90's with his fastball.

No. 79, RHP Allen Webster: After pitching extremely well in the hitter-friendly California League, Webster moved up to Double-A and had mixed results. Scouts still love his ability to keep the ball on the ground, though, and he could move quickly from here.

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The San Francisco Giants are interested in potentially signing Xavier Nady to a minor league deal, according to Hank Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle. The interest is apparently mutual and a deal would likely come with a Spring Training invite. This follows a couple moves over the past day, as the Giants have just signed both Ryan Theriot and Clay Hensley.

Satchel Price noted for us just yesterday that Nady is one of the top slugger-types left on the market:

• Twitter / @hankschulman - "Next name to watch for Giants: Xavier Nady. There's some mutual interest, but almost certainly on a minor-league deal + invite."
• What's Left In The Slugger Market? - MLB Daily Dish
  Xavier Nady: It's been a long time since anybody thought that Xavier Nady could slug anything, but teams still seem to like him. He played quite well in 2008 with the Pirates and Yankees, hitting .305/.357/.510 with 25 home runs, but Tommy John surgery forced him to miss the 2009 season and he's been pretty bad since then. In 2011, he hit .248/.287/.359 in 223 plate appearances for the Arizona Diamondbacks.

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The Philadelphia Phillies have signed outfielder Hunter Pence to a 1-year, $10.4 million deal and avoid arbitration, according to Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com. Matt Gelb of the Inquirer had sad earlier this week that the negotiations were limiting the team's options in terms of pursuing further talent, so perhaps this clears the way for them to make another move (like signing Juan Pierre this morning).

Pence, 28, played most of his first 5 seasons with the Houston Astros, and with much success -- he's a career .292 / .343 / .485 hitter. Philly seems to agree with him, too, as he hit .324 in 54 games since being traded (small sample enthusiasts, activate!).

• Twitter / @JonHeymanCBS - "hunter pence, phillies agree on $10.4M salary for 2012."

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The Houston Astros have signed left-handed pitcher Zach Duke to a minor league deal, according to Alyson Footer. The deal comes with an invite to Spring Training.

Duke, 28, played six seasons with the Pittsburgh Pirates before being traded for a PTBNL (Cesar Valdez, anybody?) playing with the Arizona Diamondbacks in 2011. He has a career 4.56 ERA and as Zachary Levine points out, is known for not walking -- or striking out -- his opponents. On a per-nine-innings basis, he's walked 2.4 and struck out 4.6 per game.

Somehow, he was named to the 2009 All-Star Game following an injury to Matt Cain (see picture featuring All-Star patch for proof).

• Twitter / @alysonfooter - "Astros sign LHP Zach Duke to Minor League contract & invite him to Spring Training. Pitched for Pirates and Dbacks previously.Texas native."
• Twitter / @zacharylevine - "Astros signee Zach Duke low-walk, very low K lefty. Spent 2011 with Arizona, 9 starts, 12 relief outings, 4.93 ERA."