O's trade Tejada to Astros  —  Team gets OF Scott, pitchers Albers, Patton, Sarfate, 3B Costanzo in return  —  Two years after he first suggested that he'd benefit from a change of scenery, Orioles shortstop Miguel Tejada finally got his wish as he was traded to the Houston Astros today …

Padres, Pirates deep in trade talks about OF Bay … Frustrated in their attempts to land outfielders this offseason, the San Diego Padres are deep into discussions with the Pittsburgh Pirates about a multiplayer deal that would be centered around All-Star outfielder Jason Bay.

Giants sign free-agent Rowand to five-year deal  —  SAN FRANCISCO — Aaron Rowand agreed to a five-year contract with the San Francisco Giants on Wednesday, giving the club the starting center fielder it sought this winter.  —  The 30-year-old Rowand is expected to bat fifth for San Francisco …

Jeff Kent decides to return to the Dodgers  —  Download story podcast  —  The Press-Enterprise  —  LOS ANGELES - Second baseman Jeff Kent will return to the Dodgers next season, his agent announced Tuesday, deciding against retirement following a 2007 campaign that left him frustrated enough …

Baseball: Kuroda appears to have chosen Dodgers: sources  —  Japanese free agent pitcher Hiroki Kuroda appears to have chosen the Los Angeles Dodgers as his new team, baseball sources said Wednesday.  —  Kuroda informed the Hiroshima Carp front office of his decision on Tuesday night …

Sources: Floyd, Rays could have deal in place by weekend … The Tampa Bay Rays are in serious discussions with free-agent outfielder Cliff Floyd and could have an agreement in place by the weekend, baseball sources told ESPN.com.  —  The Rays have been looking for a bat …

Yankees set to offer contracts to Wang, Betemit, Cano  —  The Yankees today will go through the formality of offering Chien-Ming Wang a contract for next season.  The right-hander hopes the arrangement will be for more than one season.  —  Via e-mail, Wang said yesterday that he would be willing …

Rangers eye Japanese reliever  —  The Rangers may have lost out on their No. 1 Japanese free-agent target this winter, but it appears they won't come away empty-handed from their foray to the Far East.  —  While it appears outfielder Kosuke Fukudome will land with the Chicago Cubs …

Milledge: I love the game, I play to win  —  Young center fielder introduced to media in Washington  —  WASHINGTON — Anthony Milledge Sr. wants everybody to know that his son, Lastings, is a good man, not the bad guy that was portrayed the last two seasons with the Mets.

School honors Yankees owner … TAMPA - New Yorkers may run hot and cold about Yankees owner George Steinbrenner.  But in Tampa, he's only loved.  —  So much so that the Hillsborough School Board made a spur-of-the-moment decision Tuesday night to christen in his honor the George Steinbrenner High School in Lutz.

Mets' Maine, Perez look to improve themselves  —  The Mets held their annual holiday party at Shea Stadium, distributing gifts to children representing New York City's five boroughs.  It's an annual, offseason, feel-good day in Flushing.  —  At this point in the Hot Stove League …

Cubs' lineup getting more dangerous  —  FOXSports.com, Updated 52 minutes ago  —  LIKE THIS STORY?  —  Now, imagine if the Cubs get Brian Roberts, too.  —  A trade for Roberts would transform an underachieving offense into one of the most potent in the National League.

A's are hoping for a healthy meeting  —  (12-11) 19:52 PST — When the A's convene today in Phoenix, the topic will be health.  If he gets very good news on that front, Oakland general manager Billy Beane might decide to decline offers for starters Dan Haren and, perhaps, Joe Blanton, and go for it in 2008.