Bonds, Giants finally complete deal  —  SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - Barry Bonds and the San Francisco Giants completed a $15.8 million, one-year contract Monday night after the slugger spent hours at the ballpark being examined by team doctors.  —  A baseball official confirmed the deal …

Rockies end talks to trade Helton  —  Red Sox won't give up a top prospect, ending trade talks  —  Todd Helton dropped by Coors Field on Monday and went through his normal winter workout with several other Rockies players.  —  Nothing had changed for Helton.  —  "Just a normal day," he said.

Rangers move Arias to outfield  —  Sammy Sosa expected to sign minor league deal with Rangers today  —  egrant@dallasnews.com  —  ARLINGTON - The switch is officially on.  —  On the first day of the Rangers' mini-camp, prospect Joaquin Arias traded in the infield dirt for the nearly frozen tundra of center field.

Pittsburgh Pirates Roundtable #10  —  Hello all, and welcome to the first PPR hosted at MVN.  We're still trying to work out a few bugs, but I figured I'd post our most recent effort now for your viewing pleasure.  —  You can visit http://mvn.com/mlb-pirates/roundtable for the most recent roundtables.

County cries foul at Royals' new pitch  —  The team wants to use public funds to purchase a $900,000 high-tech video coaching system.  —  When St. Louis Cardinals slugger Albert Pujols just misses launching a home run, he can dash into his clubhouse and scrutinize his at-bat before the next batter digs in.

Pitchers Sanchez, Johnson slowed by sore arms  —  Two of the five members of the Marlins' starting rotation, right-handers Josh Johnson and Anibal Sanchez, are dealing with throwing arm injuries that could put a crimp in their spring training plans.  —  Though the injuries aren't considered serious …

Weaver finalizes deal with Mariners  —  SEATTLE (AP) — Jeff Weaver passed his physical on Monday and finalized a one-year contract with the Seattle Mariners worth $8,325,000.  —  The deal with the includes $1 million in performance bonuses for the 30-year-old right-hander …

Best Young Catchers of 2007  —  Welcome to a new feature here at The Hardball Times.  Over the next two months, I will contribute a position-by-position prospect list.  These will differ from traditional lists in two ways.  First, anyone under 25 is eligible.

Dodgers finalize one-year deal with reliever Tsao  —  LOS ANGELES — The Los Angeles Dodgers finalized a one-year contract Monday with reliever Chin-hui Tsao, the Taiwanese right-hander plagued by arm injuries throughout his brief career with the Colorado Rockies.

The HBP Explosion (That Almost Nobody Seems to Have Noticed)  —  It is a violent event.  It's inherently dangerous: Always it causes pain, often it causes injury and sometimes it causes serious, career-threatening injury.  It remains the only play ever to have taken the life of a major league player …

UNDERPAID SLUGGER TO GET JUST REWARDS SOON  —  MANY PHILLIES fans seem to be exuding a sense of dread that Ryan Howard will not be adequately rewarded for the most spectacular second-year slugging performance in baseball history.  —  On the face of it, there is room for fans with long memories to be concerned.

Zimmerman Remains Upbeat About Lineup  —  While Washington Nationals third baseman Ryan Zimmerman was on his way to driving in 110 runs as a rookie last season, there was one constant.  Leadoff man Alfonso Soriano, enjoying a season in which he became just the fourth player to hit 40 homers …

Williams stocks Sox's pen with Cell-friendly power arms  —  No more gimmick pitches or attempts to trick team officials or trainers.  —  In a span of two years, the White Sox's bullpen has undergone a dramatic transformation that borders on an in-your-face, hard-throwing style similar …

Yankees to help build interest in baseball in China  —  BEIJING — The New York Yankees agreed Tuesday to send coaches, scouts and trainers to China to help boost interest in baseball, furthering a push by the major leagues into one of the world's fastest-growing sports markets.