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 …

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.

Brewers ink deal with Bourgeois  —  Speedster signs Minor League contract with invite to Spring Training  —  MILWAUKEE — The Brewers signed speedy outfielder/infielder Jason Bourgeois to a Minor League contract on Monday and invited him to big league Spring Training.

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.

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.

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.

Mailbag: Pitching remains top priority  —  Beat reporter T.R. Sullivan answers Rangers fans' questions  —  Do you foresee any trade involving either Kevin Millwood or Vicente Padilla that could happen this offseason and to what possible teams, with what possible players?

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.

Brian NcNamee and lawyers give evidence in Roger Clemens probe  —  Agents from the FBI came to New York in September to collect cheek-swab DNA samples from Brian McNamee and his lawyers as part of the ongoing investigation into whether Roger Clemens perjured himself before Congress.

Boras: Sox haven't begun Varitek talks  —  Scott Boras, the representative for free agent Jason Varitek, told the Globe's Nick Cafardo this afternoon that the Red Sox have not begun any negotiations with the 36-year-old catcher.  —  Boras also said he knows nothing of a reported one-year offer made by the ballclub to Varitek.