Top News:
Tim Dierkes / MLB Rumors:
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.
Discussion:
Extra Baggs, Bless You Boys, Tiger Tales, MVN, El Lefty Malo, The Detroit Tiger Weblog, McCovey Chronicles and Hot Foot
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Henry Schulman / SFGate:
Renteria? Furcal? Honus Wagner? — UPDATE: Talked to Bobby Evans, the Giants' director of player personal, and he also said there is no deal, although he did confirm the team continues to talk to Renteria, Furcal and others. — WFAN, a radio station in New York, is reporting the Giants …
Tim Brown / Yahoo! Sports:
Furcal's agent: No contract offer from A's — The agent for Rafael Furcal called “bogus” a report out of the Dominican Republic claiming the Oakland Athletics had offered the free-agent shortstop a four-year, $48 million contract. — Agent Paul Kinzer also shot down a rumor the Mets …
T.R. Sullivan / MLB.com:
Rangers enter Tazawa sweepstakes — Organization among four teams courting Japanese pitcher — ARLINGTON — The Rangers are one of four teams that have made serious offers to Japanese free agent pitcher Junichi Tazawa, his manager told the Kyodo News in Japan.
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Tim Dierkes / MLB Rumors:
Odalis Perez Rumors — By Tim Dierkes [November 24 at 9:24pm CST] — 9:24pm: I can't remember a day where so many rumors were floated and then debunked. The latest: Perez's agent and a source familiar with the team's thinking tell MLB.com's Bill Ladson that no multiyear deal is in the works with the Nationals.
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Bill Ladson / MLB.com:
Agent denies Perez deal in the works — Left-hander waiting to see how free-agent market plays out — WASHINGTON — Agent Martin Arburua denied an ESPN.com report stating that the Nationals are working on a multi-year deal for his client, left-hander Odalis Perez.
T.R. Sullivan / MLB.com:
Baylor returns as Rockies hitting coach — DENVER — Don Baylor is returning to the Rockies, this time as their hitting coach. — Baylor was one of four coaches named to manager Clint Hurdle's staff on Monday. Also hired were bench coach Jim Tracy, third-base coach Rich Dauer and bullpen coach Jim Wright.
RELATED:
Associated Press:
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.
Rob Iracane / Walkoff Walk:
Baseball Yatra is Great Success: Pirates Sign Rinku and Dinesh — My favorite new Japanese baseball blog NPB Tracker has the biggest and best news of the week: the Pittsburgh Pirates have signed our favorite Indian contest winners Rinku Singh and Dinesh Patel to minor league contracts!
Discussion:
Associated Press, Deadspin, NPB Tracker, Fox Sports, SPORTSbyBROOKS, MLB FanHouse, Bucs Dugout and Where have you gone …
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Jenifer Langosch / MLB.com:
Bucs sign pair of Indian hurlers — Patel, Singh earn contracts after being discovered at contest — PITTSBURGH — The Pirates, who have emphasized a need to find talent via every available outlet, have gone where no team has gone before. — On Monday, the Pirates signed two young Indian pitchers …
Discussion:
Bugs & Cranks
Tim Dierkes / MLB Rumors:
Astros Acquire Lumsden — By Tim Dierkes [November 24 at 4:36pm CST] — According to MLB.com's Jim Molony, the Astros acquired lefty pitching prospect Tyler Lumsden from the Royals for a player to be named later or cash considerations. The Royals had designated him for assignment a few days ago …
Discussion:
Bottom9 Baseball
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Rob Bradford / WEEI Blogs:
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 …
Discussion:
MLB FanHouse, Center Field, SOX & Dawgs, Over the Monster, Fire Brand of the …, ShysterBall, Fenway West and Bugs & Cranks
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David O'Brien / Atlanta Journal-Constitution:
Hanson tops off an overwhelming year — Sure, we knew that Tommy Hanson could dominate Single-A and Double-A hitters, after a 2008 season in which the Braves' top-rated pitching prospect went 11-5 with a 2.41 ERA in 138 innings between Myrtle Beach and Misssissippi.
Discussion:
Bottom9 Baseball
