Sox, Drew close  —  Outfielder in line for $70m, five years  —  There is still contract language to be worked out, and some question about whether the fifth year of the deal is guaranteed.  But the Red Sox are nearing the completion of a deal with J.D. Drew that would pay …

What are the Orioles thinking?  —  There are two ways to view the Orioles' investment of nearly $42 million in relievers Jamie Walker, Danys Baez and Chad Bradford.  —  A. The Orioles, coming off nine consecutive losing seasons, needed to overpay each reliever in a three-year contract to attract him to Baltimore, or,

Cards get moving on shopping list  —  Plunging into a fast-moving market to fill two vacancies before a couple of coveted players got away, the Cardinals brought Adam Kennedy back to the flock and invited Kip Wells to be Dave Duncan's next revival.  —  Over the holiday weekend …

Wolf leaves Phillies to sign with hometown Dodgers  —  LOS ANGELES — Left-hander Randy Wolf couldn't pass up the opportunity to come home.  —  Wolf, who spent much of last season recovering from elbow surgery, finalized an $8 million, one-year contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers on Tuesday.

Crede tale all about cash and dash  —  Addition of Figgins' speed plus more salary space adds up  —  You didn't need an MBA to forecast the economic clash between Joe Crede and the White Sox.  It has been building for years.  —  The ending, however, is probably closer than I realized.

Yankees outbid Rangers for Japanese pitcher  —  NEW YORK - The New York Yankees won the bidding for Japanese pitcher Kei Igawa when the Hanshin Tigers accepted their offer of just more than $26 million on Tuesday.  —  Igawa, a 27-year-old left-hander, could compete for a spot in New York's rotation next season.

The worst deals this off-season ... so far  —  Baseball teams are in possession of a verdant and expansive grove of money trees.  —  What other explanation could there be for what we've seen transpire this winter?  Baseball owners, showing the fiscal restraint of Dennis Kozlowski on a meth bender …

Garcia re-registers on Mariners' radar  —  Price of pitchers in a dwindling pool improves Freddy's lot  —  The news just keeps getting worse for the Mariners.  They haven't signed a free-agent starting pitcher, nor are they particularly close to doing so.

Pirates pursuing free agent Suppan  —  Team signs Marte to two-year extension worth $4.7 million  —  By Dejan Kovacevic, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette  —  The Pirates are among a dozen teams pursuing free agent Jeff Suppan, the St. Louis Cardinals' best pitcher during their run to the World Series.

Bradford bolts bullpen for Baltimore  —  The Mets have lost one of the key pieces of their bullpen.  Chad Bradford has agreed to a three-year deal with the Orioles worth roughly $10.5 million, pending a physical, baseball officials said yesterday.  —  The righthanded Bradford, 32 …

Blue Jays: Barajas backed out after signing terms sheet  —  TORONTO (AP) — Blue Jays general manager J.P. Ricciardi claimed Wednesday that catcher Rod Barajas backed out of a deal with Toronto after signing a terms sheet with the team.  —  Toronto agreed to a $7.25 million …

Padres seeking slugger Ramirez?  —  Counsell spurns S.D.; Yanks get Igawa rights  —  The Padres haven't ruled out trading for Boston Red Sox left fielder Manny Ramirez despite concerns about his salary, his subpar defense, his reputation for being lackadaisical and his apparent preference to remain in the American League.

No Braves offer yet for Glavine  —  Tom Glavine wants to rejoin the Braves and the Braves want the 40-year-old left-hander back in their starting rotation.  But as of late Tuesday, a signing seemed far from imminent _ in fact, there was reason to doubt if it would happen at all.