Marlins, Willis agree to deal prior to exchanging figures … Dontrelle Willis reached agreement Monday on a one-year, guaranteed $6.45 million contract with the Florida Marlins, a day before he was scheduled to exchange salary arbitration figures with the club.

Rangers bring in Sosa for look  —  Former slugging star, out of baseball in 2006, works out for team  —  Free agent Sammy Sosa worked out for manager Ron Washington and hitting coach Rudy Jaramillo on Monday, Rangers spokesman Gregg Elkin confirmed.  —  He worked out in the indoor batting cages …

Sheffield Makes Noise Again, This Time in a Book  —  In an autobiography to be published this spring, Gary Sheffield, a player famous for voicing his displeasure, describes his relationship with Barry Bonds, his link to the Bay Area Laboratory Co-Operative steroid distribution case …

Hall of Famer Sutton to Be a Voice for the Nationals  —  With the Washington Nationals and Baltimore Orioles both set to broadcast their games this season on MASN, the Nationals chose Hall of Fame pitcher Don Sutton as their color commentator.  Together with Jim Palmer, it gives the network a Hall of Fame pitcher in each team's booth.

Does Tom have Secret he'd like to share?  —  Has Tom Brady [stats] traded up?  Word from San Diego is that supermodel Gisele Bundchen - who once professed her admiration for the New England Patriots [team stats] QB/QT - was outside the Pats' locker room after Tom & Co. shocked the Chargers on Sunday.

City gets '09 All-Star Game  —  The Cardinals celebrated their 2006 World Series title on Monday night at the annual baseball writers banquet and got an extra gift when Commissioner Bud Selig announced that Busch Stadium would be the host for the 2009 All-Star Game.

Second player needed for LaRoche deal, but who?  —  Pirates, Braves still stuck on Atlanta first baseman  —  By Dejan Kovacevic, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette  —  The Pirates are, by all accounts, casting a wide net in their search for a left-handed power bat, particularly in light …

Opting for low risk  —  Always looking for yet another low-risk, high-reward piece to the puzzle, general manager Omar Minaya will add Jorge Sosa to his pitching ranks this week when the Mets formally announce his one-year, $1.25-million deal for next season.

Mets Clear a Comeback Trail for Sierra  —  How can you like a guy like this?  —  Rubén Sierra is batting in the ninth inning of a game against Texas, the last game before the All-Star Game last July.  Minnesota is down by three runs with a runner on second base, two out and Joe Mauer on deck.

Little could get contract extension  —  With the Dodgers' chances of landing a power hitter before spring training dwindling, extending the contract of Manager Grady Little is one of the few loose ends.  —  Little and General Manager Ned Colletti have developed such a strong relationship that neither man considers the matter urgent.

Salary arbitration still performs key role  —  Decades-old process was drawn up in the reserve clause era  —  Salary arbitration turns 33 years old this year and still performs two of its original purposes: It removed a contentious word from the baseball dictionary, and it allowed players to receive …

VORP 1, Mr. Scott: PECOTA Projections Now Available  —  Well, now that BPro's PECOTA projections are available (the actual page is here), we can learn a few things:  — PECOTA projects a huge drop in Jered Weaver's ability in the second year of his major league career …

Hall of Famer Fingers disputes tax delinquency  —  MILWAUKEE — Hall of Fame pitcher Rollie Fingers disputed his status as one of Wisconsin's largest tax delinquents, insisting in an online journal that he had income taxes withheld from every paycheck when he played for the Milwaukee Brewers in the 1980s.