Giants-Renteria Rumor False  —  By Tim Dierkes [November 24 at 6:00pm CST]  —  6:00pm: Additional denials have come in via Andrew Baggarly and Derrick Goold.  Baggarly says Renteria is the Giants' fallback for Furcal.  He notes that the Tigers would've loved to see Renteria sign today, as they're unlikely to offer him arbitration.

Sources: Initial offer to Varitek for one year  —  According to sources familiar with the negotiations, the Red Sox' initial contract offer to free agent catcher Jason Varitek this offseason was for one year.  It was not determined what the monetary worth of the offer would be …

LEAD: Baseball: Tazawa gets offer from Rangers, nearing decision+  —  TOKYO, Nov. 24 (AP) - (Kyodo)—(EDS: UPDATING WITH MORE INFO)  —  Highly regarded Japanese amateur pitcher Junichi Tazawa received a lucrative offer from the Texas Rangers on Monday and is expected to decide on his future shortly, his manager said.

Astros acquire Lumsden from Royals  —  Houston adds depth to stock of southpaw pitchers  —  HOUSTON — The Astros acquired left-hander Tyler Lumsden from the Kansas City Royals on Monday in exchange for a player to be named later or cash considerations.  The announcement was made by general manager Ed Wade.

Rockies add Baylor, four others to coaching staff  —  DENVER — The Colorado Rockies have added five coaches to their staff, including former manager Don Baylor as hitting coach.  —  The team also brought in Jim Tracy to serve as the bench coach and Rich Dauer as third base coach.

Minor foot surgery for P Redding … WASHINGTON (AP) — Nationals right-hander Tim Redding will have minor surgery on his left foot on Friday and is expected to be fully recovered by the start of spring training.  —  The operation will repair damage to the bone in the joint at the base of the second toe.

Kansas City Royals  —  Baseball America's Top 10 Prospects lists are based on projections of a player's long-term worth after discussions with scouting and player-development personnel.  All players who haven't exceeded the major league rookie standards of 130 at-bats or 50 innings pitched (without regard to service time) are eligible.

Yanks, White Sox, Nats Eyeing Odalis Perez  —  By Tim Dierkes [November 24 at 4:06pm CST]  —  ESPN's Enrique Rojas talked to free agent southpaw Odalis Perez, who said he has received offers from the Yankees, White Sox, and Nationals.  Perez intends to stay with the Nationals …

Judge throws out 3 counts in Bonds' perjury case  —  SAN FRANCISCO — As the Barry Bonds perjury case continues to move toward a March jury trial, the judge on Monday dismissed three of the 15 counts but left intact the bulk of the government's charges against the former Giants slugger.