Red Sox sign Pedroia to $40.5M extension  —  The Red Sox rewarded their newest MVP with an extension Wednesday.  —  Second baseman Dustin Pedroia has signed a six-year, $40.5 million extension with Boston through 2014 with a club option for the 2015 season, ESPN's Peter Gammons is reporting.

And the first free agent is ..... Russell Branyan.  (UPDATED with contract info).  —  The Mariners first free agent signing is third baseman/hitter Russell Branyan. … “Russell gives us a veteran left-handed bat with power and can be used as a first baseman, third baseman or designated hitter,” said Zduriencik.

UPDATED: Giants sign Howry  —  From beat writer Henry Schulman:  —  The Giants have signed reliever Bobby Howry, a right-hander and one of their former prospects, to a one-year contract.  The Associated Press pegs the deal at $2.75 million.  —  Howry, 35, is a power pitcher who has pitched …

Agent: SS Renteria closing in on deal with Giants … The agent for shortstop Edgar Renteria said Wednesday that he's making significant progress toward a deal that would bring the five-time All-Star to the San Francisco Giants.  —  “We're working on it and we're certainly much, much closer …

Cardinals ink lefty reliever Trever Miller  —  Free agent agrees to one-year deal  —  ST. LOUIS — The St. Louis Cardinals announced today that they have agreed to terms with free-agent relief pitcher Trever Miller on a one-year contract for the upcoming 2009 season.  Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

KHALIL GREENE TO BE TRADED TO THE CARDINALS  —  In a continuing attempt to reduce payroll, the Padres were closing in on trading their starting shortstop, Khalil Greene to the Cardinals.  Greene is due $6.5 million next year in the final season of his contract.

Hot Stove: CC and the Giants Edition  —  It's now nearly three weeks since the Yankees offered CC Sabathia 140 million of their hard-earned YES Network/New Yankee Stadium dollars.  You may have noticed that CC hasn't said yes.  —  Yet.  —  The Yankees still seem supremely confident that he will, one of these days, weeks or months.

One Man's Hall of Fame Vote  —  Now that it's OK to say you're a liberal without being forced to live in an underground bunker, I will go ahead and admit it: I am a liberal, especially when it comes time to vote for the Hall of Fame.  For the 12th straight December, I will have the privilege …

Agents Work to Avoid a Pay Cut for Pettitte  —  Before the Yankees ended their disappointing 2008 season, Andy Pettitte toured the new Yankee Stadium.  While he was in the spacious clubhouse, he picked out the locker that he said he wanted to use in 2009.  —  Whether or not Pettitte …

Braves not interested in Dunn  —  Contrary to a FOXSports.com report, the Braves aren't among the teams interested in Adam Dunn.  The Web site reported Wednesday that the Braves, Mariners and Nationals are among the teams showing interest in the free-agent outfielder.

Braves close to signing Dave Ross  —  Looking to improve the production they received from their backup catchers last year, the Braves are close to signing Dave Ross to a two-year deal worth approximately $3.5 million.  Ross confirmed the signing could come as early as Thursday.

Interview: Rick Peterson, Former Pitching Coach NY Mets, Oakland A's  —  Pitching, pitching, pitching.  As it is often heard throughout baseball, you can never have enough of it.  Seasons are often won or lost by the rotation and the strength of the bullpen.

Arbitration Offers  —  Teams had until Monday to decide whether to offer their free agents arbitration.  As I've written before, I consider this to be something of a bright-line test of competence for an organization, as the risks and rewards are clear, and in almost all cases favor making the offer.

Nationals still searching for identity … The Washington Nationals have gone through numerous incarnations since their big move across the border from Montreal in 2005.  —  They've been a scrappy, overachieving club under manager Frank Robinson.  They've handed out oversized checks …