Hello again, everybody. It has been a few weeks, but it's Friday, and I am back. So, let's get together, and throw out some quick thoughts and observations about our favorite baseball team. There is a lot going on, and at any minute now the Chicago Cubans could really start taking shape.

(And Kudos to the person who used that in a comment. I got a good chuckle.)

Nonetheless, news could start breaking any minute so let's get moving.

According to multiple reports, the Cubs outrighted Manny Corpas off the 40-man roster Thursday to make room for Kerry Wood.

Manny Corpas remains under contract with the Cubs after signing a split contract in December. Corpas will be a non-roster invitee to big league camp and compete for a spot in the Cubs' bullpen.

The Cubs are reportedly interested in a trio of Cuban players ... Yoenis Cespedes, Jorge Soler and Geraldo Concepcion. While they have been able to negotiate a deal with Concepcion, the 18-year old southpaw, Theo Epstein and Jed Hoyer can now officially negotiate a contract with Yoenis Cespedes.

A day after the news surfaced that Cespedes had established residency in the Dominican Republic, MLB teams were told on Wednesday they can start negotiating with Cespedes and his agent Adam Katz.

While teams can negotiate a deal with the outfielder, Yoenis Cespedes cannot sign a contract. Cespedes must obtain an unblocking license from the U.S. Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) before he can sign. The license is required because he is a Cuban national who has established residency in another country.

Three of the top prospects in the Cubs' system made MLB.com's list of the best minor league players in the game. Brett Jackson (33) and Anthony Rizzo (37) were ranked in the top 50 and Javier Baez was ranked as the 62nd best prospect in the game.

Here is the update ...

The Cubs off-season has been very quiet of late but that could be changing soon.

The Cubs are expected to announce the non-roster invitees to Spring Training this week. The Cubs have signed several minor league free agents but have not officially announced a majority of those contracts that include non-roster invitations to big league camp. Plus, the Cubs have not cleared a roster space for Kerry Wood after announcing his new contract 10 days ago. The Cubs 40-man roster currently has 40 players on it with one contract pending.

The Cubs are expected to make a big run at both Yoenis Cespedes and Jorge Soler ... and it appears the bidding between the Cubs and Marlins for Cespedes could begin soon.

Reports from the Dominican Republic early Tuesday indicated that Cespedes would not be playing again in the Dominican this season. The report suggested the team (The Aguilas) was not happy with his performance (.143/.167/.257, 5-for-35 with 10 strikeouts, a hit by pitch, one home run and no walks) but it appears that Cespedes was asked not to play any longer by MLB teams that are interested in signing him.

Yoenis Cespedes has established residency in the Dominican Republic, the first step in becoming eligible to be signed ... and he may have already been granted free agency by the MLB front office.

Reminder alert ... MLB.com is unveiling their list of the top 50 prospects in the game on the MLB Network (9:00pm CST) Wednesday night. The top 100 prospects in the game will be available on MLB.com soon after the telecast.

Here is the update ... including more on Yoenis Cespedes.

With the recent off-season departures of Aramis Ramirez and Carlos Pena, the Cubs have a markedly different lineup than that of recent seasons.

Not only do the Cubs stand little means of replacing their production with players such as Bryan LaHair and Ian Stewart, they lack really any power production outside of ... wait for it ... Alfonso Soriano.

As we near the Caribbean World Series, Obregon continued its drive to defend their title with the help of Marco Carrillo, Oswaldo Martinez, and Alfredo Amezaga. Kyle Smit may have pitched the game of his life as Mayaguez inched closer to the series, while Juan Apodaca and former Cubs' farmhand Austin Bibens-Dirkx tried to keep Zulia's hopes afloat.

In Australia, the Brisbane Bandits made a desperate last minute push for the playoffs with Ryan Searle leading the way.

To find out how your favorites fared, look inside this week's Down on the Farm Report.

The week following the convention was a busy seven days for the Chicago Cubs. Theo Epstein and Jed Hoyer avoided arbitration with six of the seven arbitration eligible players for the upcoming season ... only Matt Garza remains unsigned.

The Cubs continued to sign free agents to minor league contracts. News surfaced Friday that the Cubs had signed utility outfielder Matt Tolbert. Bruce Levine confirmed the signing of Tolbert to a minor league contract that includes an invite to big league camp. Tolbert joined Alfredo Amezaga, Joe Mather, Edgar Gonzalez, Jason Jaramillo and Rodrigo Lopez on the list of players that has signed a minor league contract with the Cubs that includes a NRI to Spring Training. The Cubs are expected to announce the full list of non-roster invitees to big league camp this week ... and both Brett Jackson and Trey McNutt should be among the prospects in the system that receive NRIs.

The Cubs have not announced the corresponding move in order to make room on the 40-man roster for Kerry Wood. The Cubs' big league roster currently stands at 40 players, with one contract pending.

The Cubs picked up a draft pick when Carlos Pena signed with the Rays. Matt Garza discussed his future, trade rumors and the Cubs on XM Radio and Jason McLeod spent a little time on ESPN 1000.

Here is the update ...

Before looking ahead to the upcoming season, it is time to take a look back at the CCO's Top Cubs Prospects prior to the 2011 season.

The Cubs' system had its ups and downs a year ago mainly due to injuries to several of the Cubs' top prospects, especially on the pitching side.

Brett Jackson, Trey McNutt and Chris Carpenter topped the CCO's list of the top prospects in the Cubs system last February ... let's see how the top names down on the farm performed in 2011.

With the first month of the New Year dwindling down, Spring Training is not far away. Pitchers and catchers officially report to Fitch Park in less than a month (February 18) ... and the Cubs front office still has a lot of work to do.

The Cubs have one arbitration eligible player that is unsigned for next season ... and it is the best starter on Dale Sveum's staff, Matt Garza. As it turns out, the arbitration figure Garza filed Tuesday was higher than the $10.255 million that was reported. Garza actually submitted a $12.5 million figure and the Cubs filed a $7.95 million number. Garza earned $5.95 million in his first season with the Cubs.

Over the last seven days there have been three minor league contracts that have been leaked to the mainstream media. The Cubs signed Alfredo Amezaga, Jason Jaramillo and Rodrigo Lopez to one-year minor league contracts that include non-roster invitations to big league camp. Lopez will receive $900,000 if he makes the team and will be paid $235,000 if he pitches in the minors during the upcoming season. Justin Berg also received a non-roster invite to Spring Training but the right-hander is recovering from Tommy John surgery and will likely not be ready to pitch in a month.

The Cubs are expected to announce the complete list of non-roster invites to big league camp next week. And speaking of Spring Training, the Cubs released their broadcast schedule for the upcoming Cactus League.

While opening a discussion for all the different ways that "Baseball Is Better", here's the update ...

According to reports from Bruce Levine and Jon Heyman, Matt Garza filed for $12.5 million arbitration figure for the upcoming season, not the $10.225 originally reported. The Cubs offered $7.95 million.

Matt Garza was paid $5.95 million last year.

The CCO's look at the Cubs' farm system this off-season continues with Minor League Ball's ranking of the Cubs' top prospects.

Minor League Ball released their list soon after the Anthony Rizzo-Andrew Cashner trade was announced and also includes what the Cubs received from the Reds in the Sean Marshall deal.

John Sickels pointed out that even before the Marshall and Cashner trades, the Cubs' system had some good things happening and he thought the system as a whole was underrated. Sickels said the weakness in the system is the lack of impact players (position players and starting pitching) close to the big league level ... same as Baseball America and Baseball Prospectus.

Brett Jackson topped Minor League Ball's list with Anthony Rizzo, Javier Baez, Matt Szczur and Trey McNutt rounding out the top five.

The Chicago Cubs avoided arbitration with six players on Tuesday. Jeff Baker ($1.375 million), Blake DeWitt ($1.1 million), Geovany Soto ($4.3 million), Ian Stewart ($2.3755 million), Chris Volstad ($2.655 million) and Randy Wells ($2.705 million) received pay increases from their 2011 salary. The Cubs exchanged salary arbitration figures with Matt Garza but did not agree to a contract. Garza submitted a $10.255 million arbitration number and the Cubs countered with $7.95 million. Garza was paid $5.95 million last season.

With Volstad's salary figure for 2012 settled, the Cubs can complete the trade for Carlos Zambrano. The Cubs will end up paying $15.345 million of Zambrano's $18 million salary for the upcoming season.

Speaking of compensation ... according to a report from the Sun-Times, the Cubs and Red Sox have asked Bud Selig to set compensation for Theo Epstein. The Red Sox have asked for the nearly three-month stalemate to be resolved by the commissioner. The request for the compensation to be settled was apparently made last month by the Red Sox's President and CEO Larry Lacchino.

The Cubs have not announced the corresponding roster move in order to officially add Kerry Wood to the 40-man roster. The Cubs and Wood agreed to a one-year contract for $3 million that includes a club option for 2013 worth $3 million last week ... and announced the deal at the convention.

Pitchers and Catchers officially report to Fitch Park in one month ... February 18.

Here's the update ...