Sussan Slusser from the San Francisco Chronicle reports that the Oakland Athletics are very likely to sign Manny Ramirez. She says that they will sign him just before or a little after the start of the 2012 MLB season.

Pitchers and catchers report this Saturday, and position players on February 24th. Ramirez is known for being late to Spring Training, but it would be expected that the A's might want him in a Spring Training game,

The A's will use Ramirez as their designated hitter this season. Ramirez signed with the Tampa Bay Rays last off season, before abruptly retiring mid April. It was later revealed that this was due to Ramirez flunking another drug test, and he was suspended for 100 games as a repeat offender.

MLB reduced his sentence to 50 games after he unretired, so he will be able to play with the Athletics 50 games into this season.

Well, we're in mid-February already, and the offseason is just about over. Most players have signed by now, and the list of remaining free agents is underwhelming to say the least. That said, let's take a look at the cream of the crop: here are the top five remaining free agent hitters...

5. Raul Ibanez

Raul Ibanez, 39, is coming off a wretched season, so it's no surprise that he hasn't had many suitors. He's at the point where his defense, once passable, is quite the liability; unfortunately, he didn't do much at the plate to make up for it in 2011, posting an overall .245/.289/.419 line with 20 homers. Given that he consistently maintained OBPs in the .350 range from 2001 to 2010, there's good reason to think he'll bounce back -- at least to some extent. As recently as February 6, we heard that the Yankees were in serious discussions with Ibanez.

4. Hideki Matsui

Like Ibanez, Matsui is old (he'll turn 38 in June) and a defensive liability, and he didn't do a whole lot with the bat in 2011. That said, he did get things going in the second half of the season, with an overall slash line of .295/.353/.425 in 64 games. He probably doesn't have much left in the tank at this point, but he maintained a 125 OPS+ over the previous two seasons (2009-2010), and if he can regain some of that hitting prowess, he'll be of use.

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With just a few days left until pitchers and catchers report and soon after, spring training officially beginning, let's take a look at the remaining MLB free agent class of 2012, presented in no particular order.

You might notice that there's at least one good pitcher (Oswalt), and a couple that one might think would still be good (Rich Harden, Brandon Web), and a few that probably grew up with your dad (Tim Wakefield, Arthur Rhodes).

On the batting side, you'll notice such modern wonders as Ross Gload (one of my favorite "not terrible" players ever), legitimate they-might-have-some-gas-left players like Johnny Damon and Raul Ibanez, as well as several other "do you think they can even DH at this point?" -type of players (Guerrero?).

Just think, for the right price YOUR team could get one of these beauties:

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The Chicago White Sox have announced that they signed outfielder Kosuke Fukudome to a one year deal. Fukudome started his MLB career with the Chicago Cubs, and now he will play on the south side of town.

The deal is a major league deal for one year and worth $1 million. He has a club option for the 2013 season, and will earn $500,000 this season, and $3.5 million in 2013 if the White Sox pick up his option. If they don't, then he will get $500,000 from a buy out.

Fukudome, 34, signed with the Cleveland Indians before last season, where he had a slash line of .262/.342/.370 . Those were his career lows for slugging percentage and on base percentage. He can play right field and center field and will fit into one of those positions with the Cubs. Earlier in the off season, the New York Mets expressed interest in him.

Roy Oswalt is still a free agent with just four more days until spring training begins. Will he ever sign? Here are some recent rumors on the free agent pitcher.

• Bob Dutton of the Kansas City Star talked to Kansas City Royals GM Dayton Moore, who said he did not explore the options of Edwin Jackson or Oswalt because he is happy with the future of his young pitchers.
• Bryan Dolgin from ESPNDallas.com talked to senior director of player development Tim Purpura, who said it would be hard to add Oswalt to a staff that already has six starters.
• John Fay of the Cincinnati Enquirer says that the Cincinnati Reds have not been in touch with Oswalt in the past week and expect to go into Spring Training without any more moves.
• Gordan Edes from ESPNBoston.com says that the David Ortiz deal with the Boston Red Sox will not affect a potential Oswalt signing.

The AP (via ESPN) reports that the Cleveland Indians have signed right handed pitcher Jon Garland. This morning it had been reported that the two sides had been nearing a deal, and he will take his physical in the Indians spring training complex in Arizona.

He had shoulder surgery in July of 2011 after nine starts for the Los Angeles Dodgers. He said at the time that he would be ready for spring training, and it seems that he indeed will be.

The Indians now have a stacked pitching staff, with also the additions of Derek Lowe and Kevin Slowey to their staff in this off season. Garland is an innings eater, averaging 190 innings per season in nine years before he got hurt last season. His deal with the Indians will be a minor league contract and he may start out with the Triple A Columbus Clippers, or he could start with the Indians.

More Roy Oswalt rumors are swirling just eight days before Spring Training begins, and we might finally be starting to see some traction. Jayson Stark from ESPN says that the Philadelphia Phillies and Texas Rangers will not be signing him, for one. Stark mentioned yesterday that the Phillies had emerged as a candidate, while the Rangers have been mentioned for a while.

It seems like there is mutual interest with Oswalt and the St. Louis Cardinals, who are a finalist for him, along with the Boston Red Sox. He has been avoiding Boston for a while, and like I said last night, rightfully so if he wants another contract next season.

He wants to sign with the Cardinals, but it is tough for them with a full rotation already, so the Red Sox may have all the leverage on this. It is just a matter of if he will sign there.

Shannon Drayer of 710 ESPN Radioin Seattle is reporting that the Seattle Mariners have signed relief pitcher Shawn Camp. The Mariners have announced the signings of Camp and Hong-Chih Kuo, and to make room for them the Mariners have designated Chris Gemmenez and Mike Wilson for assignment.

Camp has been with the Toronto Blue Jays for most of his career and last season had an ERA of 4.21 in 66 1/3 inning, and had a high ground ball rate of 55%. He is a Type B free agent, but due to the Blue Jays not offering him arbitration, they will not receive any draft pick compensation.

He will likely make the team out of camp as a relief pitcher, or possibly a set up man. This is now two solid relief signings for the Mariners, and their bullpen looks decent going into the 2012 season now. They have Brandon League and George Sherrill there as well, so they could be sneaky good.