Top News:
Jenifer Langosch / MLB.com:
Pirates add five to 40-man roster — Former top pick Walker could compete for job in Spring Training — PITTSBURGH — In preparation for the Rule 5 Draft on Dec. 11, Pirates general manager Neal Huntington finalized the team's 40-man roster on Thursday by filling all five open spots.
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Adam Rubin / Surfing the Mets:
Carp added to roster — The Mets have added first baseman Mike Carp to the 40-man roster, protecting him from selection in the Rule 5 draft on Dec. 11, at the conclusion of the winter meetings in Las Vegas. The Mets' 40-man roster now has 34 players, leaving room for free-agent additions.
Bart Hubbuch / Mets Blog:
Carp added to 40-man roster — The Mets elevated first baseman Mike Carp to their 40-man roster today, increasing said roster to 34 players. Carp, 22, hit .299 with 17 homers and 72 RBIs in 134 games for Double-A Binghamton en route to being named an Eastern League Postseason All-Star and is now playing winter ball in Venezuela.
Ken Mandel / MLB.com:
Utley to undergo hip surgery next week — Phillies star could miss Opening Day; Feliz should be ready — PHILADELPHIA — Chase Utley will have right hip surgery next week, a procedure that threatens his Opening Day availability and deals a potentially huge blow to the World Series champions' hopes of repeating.
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Associated Press:
Steinbrenner: Yanks' Sabathia offer has time limit — NEW YORK — CC Sabathia will have a deadline to accept the New York Yankees' contract proposal. — “We've made him an offer. It's not going to be there forever,” Hal Steinbrenner said Thursday after he was approved as the team's …
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Scott Miller / CBS SportsLine.com:
Hall spot for Moose? Era, as much as ERA, may help sway — Now as long as Mike Mussina stays retired and doesn't pull a Brett Favre ... Figures that a man most appreciated for throwing one of the best curveballs of his era would throw one last bender in saying goodbye.
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Alden Gonzalez / MLB.com:
Yanks add four to 40-man roster — Purchase contracts of Claggett, Garcia, Johnson, Dunn — The Yankees added four players to their 40-man roster on Thursday when they purchased the contracts of right-handed pitchers Anthony Claggett, Christian Garcia and Steven Jackson, as well as left-hander Michael Dunn.
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New York Times:
Volcker Gives Baseball an Update on the Economy — He stands 6 feet 7 inches, the size of a slugger, but Paul Volcker is a towering presence on Wall Street, not in Major League Baseball. Nevertheless, Commissioner Bud Selig recruited Volcker, the former chairman of the Federal Reserve …
Discussion:
ShysterBall
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Maury Brown / The Biz of Baseball:
Blackout Policy to Remain Through MLB Network Launch — Baseball fans, prepare for more frustration. — MLB owners, yet again, tabled restructuring the local and regional television territories for the league at today's quarterly owners meetings in New York, and in doing so …
Chicagosports / Hardball:
Sox to sign 19-year-old Cuban star Viciedo — Dayan Viciedo talks to the media during a press conference in Hialeah, Fla. in June. He defected and settled in South Florida in May. (AP photo) — The White Sox's collection of talented Cubans is growing.
For the Record:
QUOTE(#8): … ok..since when were they called fantastic 4? pavano won 18 btw n that was prolly his only 13+ win season. vazquez has the stuff 2 b good but was never a big-game player like lowe is. brown was good-grt but was past his prime when the yanks got him. as 4 jarret wright...does he still even pitch?
MLB.com:
Frank Wren chat transcript — Busy GM talks Hot Stove with Braves fans online … Wren: Welcome, everyone. It seems like the offseason has been going on for six months instead of a month and a half. I'll try to answer as many questions as possible. — glenn1981: What pitchers are you targeting, if any, in the trade world?
Postcards from Elysian Fields:
Four added to the roster — The Rangers have added pitchers John Bannister, Omar Poveda and Willie Eyre to the 40-mam roster along with infielder Jose Vallejo. To make room, the Rangers designated pitchers Kameron Loe and Wes Littleton for assignment. Loe is pitching in Japan.
