Sabathia, Sheets, Shouse offered arbitration  —  By Tom Haudricourt of the Journal Sentinel  —  The Brewers have decided to offer salary arbitration to three of their free agents — CC Sabathia, Ben Sheets and Brian Shouse.  They will not offer arbitration to Eric Gagne.

Sources: Hampton agrees to contract with Astros … Pitcher Mike Hampton has agreed to terms on a one-year deal with the Houston Astros pending a physical exam, two baseball sources told ESPN.com.  —  The contract will pay Hampton a base salary of about $2 million plus incentives, a source said.

Braves don't offer Smoltz arbitration  —  Club declines to make option available for only classified free agent  —  ATLANTA — As expected, the Braves didn't offer arbitration to any of their free agents.  All Major League teams had until midnight ET on Monday to make arbitration offers to their respective free agents.

Mets didn't get their money's worth with Pedro  —  It was four years ago that Pedro Martinez was lured to New York by the Mets, a $53 million check stuffed in his pocket.  Pedro wasn't just a free-agent prize; to the Mets he was The One.  —  Now, 32 wins and no world championships later …

Mariners hire two coaches, offer Ibanez arbitration  —  The Seattle Mariners have hired Ty Van Burkleo as bench coach, Lee Tinsley has first base coach and offered outfielder Raul Ibanez arbitration.  —  Van Burkleo worked as Oakland's hitting coach last year on a coaching staff that included new Mariners manager Don Wakamatsu.

Tigers decline to offer arbitration to Edgar Renteria  —  The Tigers have declined to offer salary arbitration to any of their free agents, the team announced today.  —  Shortstop Edgar Renteria, a Type A free agent, was the only player whose status appeared to be in question over the past week.

To surprise of no one, Padres decline to offer salary abitration to Hoffman  —  The Padres, as expected, declined to offer salary arbitration to closer Trevor Hoffman on Monday.  —  As a result, another club can sign Hoffman without forfeiting a draft pick, and the Padres can negotiate …

The Yankees offer ... nobody  —  That's right, nobody.  So forget those draft picks.  —  More to come ...  UPDATE, 5:27 p.m.: It came down to economics.  The Yankees did not want to risk going to arbitration with any of their players given the salaries they made last season.  To refresh your memories:

Cone looks to win over Hall voters  —  Cy Young winner with five Series rings on ballot for first time  —  NEW YORK — The Mets' dominance of the National League the previous season still resonated with their opponents in March 1987.  No team felt the sting more than the Cardinals …

Yanks sure could use their other closer in Sabathia derby  —  Maybe Joe Torre could have closed the deal with CC Sabathia.  After all, he has a great reputation with players.  —  Perhaps he could have convinced Sabathia that pitching for the Yankees would be a wonderful experience.

A's letting deadline pass on arbitration  —  Club declines to offer any of its four eligible free agents  —  OAKLAND — As expected, the A's on Monday night announced that they will not offer arbitration to any of their four free agents: left-hander Alan Embree, righty Keith Foulke …

Mariners make free-agent offer  —  GM keeping position player's name under wraps  —  SEATTLE — Mariners general manager Jack Zduriencik told reporters on Monday that he has made an offer to a free-agent position player and hopes to know something “in the next 24 to 48 hours.”

Rangers offer Bradley arbitration  —  Team declines to do so with Jennings, Wright, Vazquez  —  ARLINGTON — The Rangers have offered free-agent outfielder/designated hitter Milton Bradley arbitration but declined to do so with three other players.  —  Bradley, who is a Type B free agent, has until Sunday to accept the offer.

Angels offer arbitration to Teixeira, K-Rod  —  ANAHEIM, CALIFORNIA (TICKER) —The Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim on Monday protected themselves should any of their coveted free agents decide to leave this winter.  —  The Angels announced that they have offered salary arbitration …