Top News:
Associated Press:
Red Sox agree to 4-year, $36M deal with Lugo — LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. — The Boston Red Sox reached a preliminary agreement Tuesday with shortstop Julio Lugo that would pay him $36 million over the next four years. — Details of the agreement were provided to The Associated Press …
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Sports Illustrated:
Manny trade talks 'all but dead' — Red Sox fail to find match for Hall of Fame slugger — LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. — The Red Sox are about to call a halt to the Manny Ramirez trade-a-thon, leaving five teams disappointed to varying degrees (six if you count the Yankees).
Adam Rubin / NY Daily News:
Mets fall short on Lugo — Set to deal Bannister for reliever — LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. - Despite the Mets' best pitch for Julio Lugo to become their everyday second baseman, he's going to the Red Sox to play shortstop. — Boston is expected to give the 31-year-old Lugo a four-year, $36 million deal.
Tracy Ringolsby / Rocky Mountain News:
Center field will be an inside job — Rockies unwilling to test market further to fill void in outfield — LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. - The Rockies have taken their search for help in center field internal. — "We've seen what has become (of) the center field market and we are not going to play …
Discussion:
Ben Maller's Sports …
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Joe Strauss / St. Louis Post-Dispatch:
Cards stay in bidding, view options — LAKE BUENA VISTA, FLA. — The Cardinals added new definition to "creative" Tuesday when general manager Walt Jocketty and manager Tony La Russa introduced Braden Looper as a candidate for next season's rotation. — The suggestion comes as the Cardinals continue …
RELATED:
Joe Strauss / St. Louis Post-Dispatch:
Post-Dispatch's Hummel named to Hall of Fame — The Baseball Writers Association of America this morning announced Post-Dispatch baseball columnist Rick Hummel as winner of the Spink Award, and with it enshrinement into the writers' wing of the National Baseball Hall of Fame.
T.R. Sullivan / MLB.com:
Rangers won't go too high on Zito — GM Daniels spending cautiously; team eyes several options — LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. — The Rangers are talking to Scott Boras about free-agent pitcher Barry Zito. — One side doesn't want to talk about $100 million. The other side probably wants to talk about that and much more.
RELATED:
Ken Rosenthal / Fox Sports:Market for veteran closer Gagne is heating up
Discussion:
Extra Bases, Daily Herald, Al's Ramblings, The 26th Man, Lone Star Ball and The Cub Reporter
Henry Schulman / San Francisco Chronicle:A Giant move for Zito? SF may be looking at signing winter's biggest free agent
Discussion:
MetsBlog.com
ESPN:
Source: Mets to get Burgos from Royals for Bannister — The New York Mets have agreed to a deal with the Kansas City Royals that will send right-handed starter Brian Bannister to Kansas City for right-handed reliever Ambiorix Burgos, ESPN's Steve Phillips reports.
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Bryan Hoch / MLB.com:
Mets turn attention to Mulder — Waiting to hear from Zito, team officials meet with Cards lefty — LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. — While the Mets wait to hear more about Barry Zito's interest, the organization has moved forward with another one of pitching coach Rick Peterson's former pupils, left-hander Mark Mulder.
Paul Sullivan / Chicago Tribune:
Jacque: Exit, stage right — Much-maligned Jones may get wish—trade; Cubs leaders for Lilly — ORLANDO — Jacque Jones never could understand why Cubs fans refused to give him the benefit of the doubt after his slow start in April. By September, he had let it be known he wouldn't mind a new address in 2007.
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George King / New York Post:
SEXSON MIGHT BE 1ST OPTION — While the Yankees met with Shea Hillenbrand's agent yesterday, another option at first base surfaced. And while Richie Sexson is an expensive alternative, it could be one for the Yankees. — The Mariners have let teams know they are looking to move Sexson …
Jayson Stark / ESPN:
No life remaining in Manny trade rumors … LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. — It's getting to be an annual December tradition, right up there with the winter solstice, gridlock in the mall parking lot and the latest in bad Santa Claus movies: — Red Sox head for the winter meetings …
Discussion:
The Feeding the Monster Blog
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ESPN:
Maddux agrees to 1-year, $10M deal with Padres — LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. — Greg Maddux and the San Diego Padres reached agreement Tuesday night on a $10 million, one-year contract. — The deal for the four-time Cy Young Award winner contains a $6 million player option for 2008.
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Ed Eagle / MLB.com:
Notes: Bucs in no hurry to make moves — Pirates' surplus of young pitching has teams interested — LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. — In a market where productive pitchers with relatively little big-league service seem to be coveted as much as established starting starters and middle-of-the-lineup boppers …
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Baltimore Sun:
Angelos' baseball instincts once again are off base — Sometimes, the Orioles just crack me up. Peter Angelos is believed to have quashed a proposed trade that would have sent Brian Roberts and Hayden Penn to the Atlanta Braves for young slugger Adam LaRoche and infielder Marcus Giles …
Discussion:
Baseball Musings
Sports Illustrated:
Winter Meetings Notes — Dodgers may turn to Schmidt; Brewers, too — LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. — The Mariners and Dodgers have been viewed as co-favorites for Jason Schmidt, who already has turned away the Yankees and is thought to want to remain on the West Coast.
