As if MLB teams needed any more caps, another one is being rolled out for the 2013 season: the interview cap. As you can see with the above Mets design (which is the only one released thusfar), the interview cap is absolutely hideous, and players will be expected to wear the caps during interviews and charity-type events, but thankfully, it won't be mandatory for players to wear the cap.

Let's see here. We have batting practice caps, we have home game caps, we have road game caps, we have day game caps, we have St Patricks Day caps, we have Fourth of July caps, and now, we have interview caps. Oh, and we also have Cooperstown throwback caps, fashion caps, and playoff caps (which are really nothing aside from the same generic hat with PLAYOFFS and your team's logo stamped onto it). 

Just when I thought the jersey craze was getting out of control (with teams like the Braves leading the way with the possibility of wearing six different jerseys in a week, including during batting practice), the obsession with caps has leapt back out in front. What's wrong with one cap for every team and two jerseys? Just stop, MLB. Was there really a need to create yet another new cap design for a situation that doesn't require a new design? You've gotta love capitalism and the chase of the almighty dollar.

[Uni Watch]

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In a matter of hours, we'll find out who (if anyone) will be joining Hank O'Day, Jacob Ruppert, and Deacon White in the 2013 Baseball Hall of Fame induction class. Perhaps a little shockingly, we might not have *anyone* inducted. with no player achieving the necessary 75% at Baseball Think Factory's tabulation of the ballots known thusfar. Now that would certainly be something I'd enjoy seeing from a purely vindictive point of view. Oh, the poor columnists that would have nothing to write about on that July weekend in six month...

So far this week, we continued our look at the World Baseball Classic roster by taking a look at the dream team for the Dominican Republic powerhouse, and we also brought you the news about the Nationals finally re-signing Adam LaRoche and putting Michael Morse on the trade block. Finally, to keep up with the Hall of Fame theme, we looked at five active players that no one is mentioning as a potential Hall of Famer that could have interesting cases when their careers end.

Enjoy your offseason, everyone.

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The bullpen phone is dead. Long live the bullpen phone. In its place, teams have the option of using the above (gaudy) T-Mobile cellphone dock as part of a new MLB sponsorship.

ESPN's Darren Rovell has the details on the new sponsorship, which will use T-Mobile's 4G network and Samsung Galaxy S3 phones. The T-Mobile phones that each team will have in their dugouts and bullpens will have an encrypted network that fans or other people in the stadium won't be able to access (yet, at least), and the network will also be geofenced, meaning that the phones won't work if taken into the clubhouse or stands. However, despite the new technology available to all of the teams in the league, the bullpen phones will remain for the time being for those hesitant to embrace change.

Teams who currently have a sponsorship deal with another carrier can opt out of the MLB agreement, rendering the pink and black display moot in their stadiums. But this is a step in the right direction for the league at the end of the day. The bullpen phone was such an antiquated relic of a past era that the league really needed to move on. I also like the idea of geofencing and an exclusive network, though I'm not sure if they'll be able to hold strong when 50,000 fans in a stadium are all trying to text or tweet at the same time. At any rate, it's cool that the league is moving in this direction, even if T-Mobile is the fourth most popular carrier in the country (trailing Verizon, AT&T, and Sprint) and the dugout display is an eyesore.

[ESPN]

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The Washington Nationals finally agreed to a contract with first baseman Adam LaRoche, a month after initially offering the deal to him. The deal is for two years, with LaRoche making $24 million. He'll make $10 million in 2013, $12 million in 2014, and there is a mutual option for 2015 with a $2 million buyout.

After a lost 2011 season, LaRoche rebounded in a big way in 2012. His 33 homers were a career-high that led the team, and his .853 OPS was his best since he was a 26-year old with the Braves in 2006. The 33-year old declined his end of a $10 million mutual option for the 2013 season, and also declined the Nationals' $13.3 million qualifying offer. With teams scared away from signing him (and the three other remaining qualifying offer denying free agents), LaRoche was pretty much backed into a corner, leading the Nationals to getting a solid enough deal on his contract. Essentially, the team tacked another year on to his existing contract at less than the qualifying offer. Not a bad deal at all for Washington, even if LaRoche's production declines by a win in 2013 and 2014.

We're in Hall of Fame overload here at TOC. With the announcement of the Class of 2013 coming at 2 PM on Wednesday, talk about the ballot has reached a critical mass. However, we're gonna take things in a bit of a different direction. What current players could get into the Hall of Fame one day? Now, I'm not thinking about your Mike Trout/Bryce Harper types of players that have played briefly in the majors and have shown superstar potential. I'm also not thinking about the players nearing the tail-end of their careers like Derek Jeter, Mariano Rivera, and Ichiro. And hell, I'm not even talking about the superstars that have been earmarked for the Hall of Fame like Albert Pujols, Ryan Braun, and Justin Verlander. Who are the players in the league today that have had great careers and have been seemingly forgotten about in the grand scheme of the Hall of Fame?

I'm going to restrict the criteria to players that are between ages 26 and 34 as of January 1, 2013. I'm not saying all of these players are slam dunk, first ballot Hall of Famers, and I'm also not saying that they're locks to get in at all. But if they keep rolling around the way they are, these are five players that could get a lot of love when their names appear on the Hall of Fame ballot.

Joe Mauer. Mauer will be 30 in April. After an injury-plagued 2011 made an eventual switch to first base or DH look like it would happen sooner than anyone thought, Mauer was healthy in 2012 and still managed to log 74 games behind the plate. He's probably just a part-time catcher from here on out, but his overall numbers compare very well to other top-tier catchers throughout baseball history. Mauer's career .323 batting average is the best all-time for a catcher in the modern era, and he's already top 30 all-time among catchers in fWAR. if you look just through the age 29 season for all catchers in MLB history, Mauer's 40.1 fWAR is tied for seventh all-time, a hair behind Mike Piazza for sixth. Mauer will likely start to break down as his career progresses, but if the Twins don't run him into the ground behind the plate, he could go down in history as one of the best catchers in history.

As the World Baseball Classic approaches, we’ve previously explored which players the United States could field in factor-less scenario.  Much like the United States, coming into the first two Classics, the Dominicans were considered heavy favorites, only to be eliminated before the finals.  So which players could the Dominican Republic field in an effort to dethrone the Japanese?

Catcher – The Dominicans have several strong options in this field, but the top major leaguers appear to be Carlos Santana, Welington Castillo and Wilin Rosario.  Santana is probably the most well known given that he’s slammed 45 HR in the past two seasons.  Wilin Rosario hit .270 with 28 HR’s and played pretty solid defense for the Rockies in 2012, and Castillo is the highly regarded Cubs catching prospect.  The choice here comes down to being the best catcher and as a total package, Rosario fits the bill better than Carlos Santana or Castillo.

Wilin Rosario

First Base – There are really only two options here, Albert Pujols and Edwin Encarnacion.  Encarnacion is coming off a career season, which he hit 42 HR’s and Albert Pujols is coming off a down season in which he only hit 50 doubles and 30 HR (tongue in cheek).  Still, you have to go with the best player here and Albert Pujols is still in the conversation for best players in Major League Baseball. 

Albert Pujols

Second Base – I could waste my time and try to sell you on other players like Emilio Bonifacio, but we all know Robinson Cano is clearly the best second baseman in Major League Baseball. 

Robinson Cano

Tomorrow marks the five week mark until pitchers and catchers report to Spring Training. And those five weeks are going to be a killer...January is the month that drags more than any other in the offseason. Most of the top free agents have already been signed. Trades are less likely to happen because of elevated costs for the players left on the market. So essentially, we're in a holding pattern while the NFL playoffs go through the motions. But once they end...everyone knows that baseball is right around the corner. Phew.

This weekend, we took a look at what Team USA's Dream Team would look like in the World Baseball Classic, the impending irrelevancy of the Hall of Fame in advance of Wednesday's induction announcement, the potential best signing of the winter, and Lance Berkman's return to Texas.

Enjoy your offseason, everyone.

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The Texas Rangers finally added some offense to their team this winter, inking long-time Astros first baseman Lance Berkman to a one-year deal worth $10 million. The deal also contains a vesting option for 2014 based on plate appearances with a $1 million buyout.

After struggling in 2010 after being dealt from the Astros to the Yankees, Berkman signed with the Cardinals for 2011 for $8 million, and served as the team's every day right fielder. Finally healthy, Berkman posted a .959 OPS in 145 games with St Louis, homering 31 times (his highest total since 2007) and walking 92 times (compared to just 93 strikeouts). However, after signing a $12 million extension with the Cardinals for 2012, Berkman played in just 32 games due to calf and knee injuries.

If Berkman is healthy, this deal could be a major win for the Rangers. After losing Josh Hamilton to the Angels and Mike Napoli to the Red Sox this winter (assuming the deal isn't voided), Texas had a major hole in the middle of their lineup that a masher like Berkman could easily fill. Berkman could fill Napoli's role at first base and DH, with Mitch Moreland resting against lefties. Berkman should also stay healthier staying out of the outfield, where he was terrible defensively for St Louis in 2011. 

From a purely offensive standpoint, Berkman is an elite hitter when he's on his game. But he'll be 37 in February, and despite that 2011 season that saw him amass offensive numbers that were among the best among all hitters in hte league, there are still questions as to whether or not that was a last gasp for him or a sign of things to come if he's able to play 140 games in a season. Despite the move to the pitching-rich AL West from the weaker NL Central, Berkman's offense should receive a boost from playing half of his games in the Ballpark at Arlington.

There really is no middle ground to this contract. Either Berkman is healthy and provides Texas with enough offense to justify his contract, or he deals with injuries and the contract is a bust. If I had to make a guess as to what would happen with Berkman...well, I really don't know. Leg injuries for an aging power hitter are always a red flag, and if he can't generate enough bat speed, it could be a long year for him and the Rangers.

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When looking at the free agent pitchers left on the market, the pickings are slim for teams still in need of a starter. Aside from Kyle Lohse and Shaun Marcum, there really aren't any pitchers left that could slide in as a third starter for a contender, unless you're a believe in Joe Saunders or the health of Daisuke Matsuzaka. However, one name is popping up on the radar a lot more frequently this week, and that name could provide substantially more value than any of the sexier names on the market, including some who have already signed. That pitcher is Javier Vazquez, who took the 2012 season off but wasn't ready to call it a career.

In Puerto Rico this winter, Vazquez has thrown 23 innings for Caguas. In those 23 innings, he's struck out 30, walked six, and pitched to a 3.52 ERA. His start yesterday, in which Vazquez threw six shutout innings, allowed three hits, and struck out four without a walk, was scouted by the Red Sox, Rays, Nationals, and Royals, with Vazquez's fastball touching 93 mph during the start.

There have been so many words written about the 2013 Hall of Fame ballot, and none of them have really come here. The inductees will be announced next Wednesday, and we could have one of the most decorated classes of all-time. Or, we could have a class where the BBWAA elects no one, something that hasn't happened since 1996. If you think the possibility of no inductees is insane, consider this: there is no candidate on the ballot this year that doesn't have their flaws in the viewpoint of a good portion of the electorate. 

Look at the six returning highest vote getters. The case of Jack Morris has been debated to death, and while he's consistently made gains in his vote totals over his 13 years on the ballot, the first year presence of Curt Schilling (a superior pitcher) could hurt Morris's vote total when voters compare the two. Jeff Bagwell is getting lumped into the "steroid guys" classification despite no hard evidence to explain it. Lee Smith's vote total has been consistently low, and he looks worse when compared to modern day closers that will soon be eligible. Tim Raines has doubled his vote total in five years on the ballot, but still gets compared to the greatest leadoff hitter of all-time (Rickey Henderson), who happened to be his contemporary. Alan Trammell has nearly tripled his vote total in over a decade on the ballot, but still is compared to the greatest defensive shortstop of all-time (Ozzie Smith) and one of the greatest hitting shortstops of all-time (Cal Ripken), who were both contemporaries. And then there's Edgar Martinez, who has hovered around a third of the vote for his three years on the ballot because "he didn't have a position", despite being one of the best DHs of all-time.