Holliday later said he declined the deal from the Rockies because he wanted stability for his family — even if accepting it would have meant he was assured of being in Colorado through 2013 — and as a result of the rejection has already been with three teams in the last 13 months, and if he doesn't return to St. Louis a fourth team will surface.

He then said he wanted out of Colorado because he wanted to be with a team committed to winning, which several of his former teammates took as a slap in the face, and did whisper about when the Rockies advanced to the postseason for the second time in three years in 2009.

Is there a value for a player being in a comfort zone? That's something only a player, not an agent, can say for sure.

Action about to heat up

It's been a slow winter so far, but that could change now.

With Saturday's deadline for tendering contracts having passed, teams now know who is available on the open market, and can start firming up their offers to try to fill needs.

The most intriguing non-tender is third baseman Garrett Atkins, who led Colorado in RBI four of the last five years, driving in at least 95 runs each of those four seasons, but lost his job to Ian Stewart in 2009. Given the $7.05 million contract he had last year, he no longer fits in the Rockies' budget. A player cannot be offered more than a 20 percent pay cut in arbitration.

As a non-tendered player, though, Atkins can be offered whatever a team wants to pay him. The expectation of Atkins being available undoubtedly slowed the bidding for free-agent third basemen such as Adrian Beltre. Atkins figures to have options that include Boston and Philadelphia.

The Cubs would be happy to find one team, any team, with anything close to serious interest in Milton Bradley, who received what was the most ridiculed contract of last year's free agents. The Cubs shelled out a three-year, $30 million guarantee, manager Lou Piniella convinced he could "handle" Bradley, but not understanding why the talented athlete has played for five teams in five years.

Told by the new owners that payroll has to be reduced before anyone can be added, the Cubs spent the winter meetings begging for someone to take Bradley. Tampa had some interest — unloading its own albatross, Pat Burrell — and those two would have offset salaries in 2010. While Burrell's deal is up in a year, Bradley has another year on his contract, and after spending $7.25 million to add closer Rafael Soriano, the Rays don't have the wherewithal to eat the $13 million guaranteed Bradley in 2011.

Cubs headed to Florida?

Executives from rival teams say the Ricketts family, which purchased the Cubs, is not using an offer to move spring training to Naples, Fla., as leverage against the folks in Mesa, Ariz. The Cubs' new owners are salivating over a move to Naples, even though it is isolated from other spring training teams as opposed to Mesa, because the new owners like the portfolios of Naples residents. If the Cubs do make the move they would be the first team in two decades to go from Arizona to Florida.

In that stretch, Florida-based teams that have moved to Arizona include the Chicago White Sox, Cleveland Indians, Texas Rangers, Los Angeles Dodgers, Kansas City Royals and, in 2010, Cincinnati Reds.