Saturday Morning Links

Who's ready for some NFL playoff action? Yeah? Well, here are some baseball links instead to get you through the day.

• In case you missed it, Evan Grant reported on Thursday that the Rangers signed Mason Tobin to a minor league deal. As you may remember, Tobin opened the 2011 season with Texas prior to tearing his UCL, and figures to be a depth piece more than anything in the event that the entire Major League roster comes down with some new version of the swine flu when the 2015 season hits.
• Anthony Andro says on Twitter that Jurickson Profar has been cleared to begin throwing from 45 feet beginning on the week of January 19. Prior to that, Evan Grant had arguably the worst headline of the still-young year 2015: "Another positive MRI for Texas Rangers infielder Jurickson Profar". I could just be skittish from 2014, but the words "positive" and "MRI" aren't two things I want to see placed together in reference to any member of the Rangers for a very long time.
• There's a free article up at Baseball America about Cody Buckel's attempt to return from a serious case of the yips. Once a top prospect in the system, Buckel fell from the ranks when he suddenly couldn't throw strikes anymore. He's still attempting to make good on his once-immense promise, but from where I sit, he's still got a ways to go. Regardless, if he's ever able to put it all together, he could still be a valuable piece for the organization.
• Peter Gammons tweeted yesterday that two dozen teams were expected to attend to watch Alexi Ogando pitch in Tampa. Of course, that means we're only days away from confirmed reports that he's signed with Baltimore for the 2015 season.
• Finally, here's a Forbes article talking about how the NFL needs the Dallas Cowboys in the Super Bowl. Never mind that the "non-profit" league drew 111.5 million viewers for last year's event, the author focuses mainly on attendance in Arlington this season, seemingly forgetting that the event won't be played at AT&T Stadium.