When spring training got rolling last year, Albert Pujols and the St. Louis Cardinals hadn't worked out a long-term deal and the slugging first baseman headed off to bigger dollar signs with the Los Angeles Angels after St. Louis wrapped up its World Series win.

Now the Cards have got longtime catcher Yadier Molina headed into the season in the last year of his contract and talks over a longtime deal have broken down. MLB.com reports that the Cards and Molina "have put discussions about a contract extension on hold after the two sides were unable to reach an agreement during a recent two-week period of talks."

The 29-year-old Molina, who made his big-league debut with the Cards back in 2004, batted. .305 with 14 homers and 32 doubles last season. He'll make $7 million this season.

Pujols didn't want to discus a new deal once spring training started, but Molina is open to that. "I think they would have to come to me and start talking to me," said Molina, according to the site. "I'm open

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Boston Red Sox designated hitter David Ortiz is scheduled to have his arbitration hearing soon, but he would really like to avoid it. MLB.com reports that Ortiz would also like a multiyear deal from the team.

"We are working on that right now," Ortiz said, according to the site. "Hopefully, we will get to an agreement so we don't have to go in front of the judge."

If he does go to arbitration, the judges will need to decide between the $12.65 million the Red Sox have offered and the $16.5 million that the 36-year-old Ortiz would like to be paid.

Ortiz, a seven-time All-Star and five-time Silver Slugger winner, hit .309 with 29 home runs and 96 RBIs for Boston last season.

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The Miami Marlins apparently don't think they've improved enough this offseason. MLB.com reports that the team is "aggressively negotiating" a contract

for Cuban defector Yoenis Cespedes.

Cespedes "could start visiting prospective teams in the next few weeks," the site reports, and the Marlins are hoping they are one of his destinations. As it is now, Cespedes is free to negotiate with clubs and can come to an agreement but cannot officially sign yet due to government restrictions.

"If it can be arranged, and he wants to come to Miami and see our ballpark, it would be great," said Marlins president David Samson on Thursday, according to MLB.com. "From our standpoint, we are aggressively negotiating a contract, but there is no way of knowing if we will be a high bidder."

Other teams that have been linked to Cespedes include the Chicago White Sox, Chicago Cubs, Baltimore Orioles and Detroit Tigers, the site notes.

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Zack Greinke is getting ready to start his second season with the Milwaukee Brewers and the word is that he'd like to explore sticking around with the team for some time.

"I'll talk to them about it," said Greinke, who is currently acting as his own agent, according to MLB.com. "I don't really want to talk to anyone else about it. But I like the business of baseball. It's exciting for me. It's not like I plan on being my agent, but it is exciting being able to know what's going on behind the scenes."

This will the final year of a four-year, $38 million deal. After being out for the first month of the season with a rib-cage injury, Greinke was 16-6 with a 3.83 ERA and 201 strikeouts last season.

"Everything feels really good at the stadium and stuff, the team is great, and I love the whole coaching staff and front office, too," Greinke said, according to the site. "The owner [Mark Attanasio] is probably the best owner in baseball, maybe. He's incredible."

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Oakland Athletics pitcher Dallas Braden won't be traveling to Japan with the team to start off the season against the Seattle Mariners, but after being out for most of last year, Braden is happy that he has the chance to be ready to pitch for the team when it returns to the States.

Braden, who pitched the 19^th perfect game in MLB history back in May of 2010 against the Tampa Bay Rays, is slated to pitch 25 fastballs off a mound Monday for the first time since having shoulder surgery last May, according to MLB.com.

"I feel great," he said, according to the site. "I feel really strong. It's nice to know all the hard work we put into the offseason and the days you didn't want to get up and the days you didn't want to push through, you now understand why it's important to do so."

MLB.com notes that "a realistic time frame" for Braden's return may be "more like mid-April."

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