Top News:
Tyler Kepner / New York Times:
Cashman Meets With Teixeira; Sabathia Is on Deck — The gridlocked free-agent market is slowly starting to move, and the Yankees are helping push it along. General Manager Brian Cashman traveled to Washington on Thursday to meet first baseman Mark Teixeira, and he will meet C.C. Sabathia …
RELATED:
Buster Olney / ESPN:
New GMs turning to sabermetrics — • The Red Sox are meeting with CC Sabathia sometime in the next few days, and so will Yankees GM Brian Cashman, who reportedly met with Scott Boras, the agent for Mark Teixeira and Derek Lowe. It's unclear whether the Red Sox are seriously interested …
Discussion:
MLB Rumors, Mets Merized Online, MetsBlog.com, Boston Herald, JSOnline and Sliding Into Home
Mark Feinsand / NY Daily News:
Yankees go for Derek Lowe — While the CC Sabathia waiting game continued and the Braves made an official offer for A.J. Burnett, Brian Cashman decided to get aggressive in his pursuit of another top free-agent pitcher: Derek Lowe. — Cashman met with agent Scott Boras Thursday …
Tyler Kepner / New York Times:
Sabathia Is Keeping Yanks' Offer in His Pocket — There was an episode of “Curb Your Enthusiasm” in which Larry David desperately tried to give away a sweaty $50 bill he got from a friend's sneaker. The money was legal tender, but nobody wanted it. The Yankees know the feeling.
Peter Abraham / The LoHud Yankees Blog:
If Plan B is offense, it might not work — Baseball economics expert Vince Gennaro invited me to Manhattanville College last night to attend the final session of a grad school sports management class he taught. Two groups of students presented their final projects.
Ken Davidoff / Newsday:
YANKEES: Cash puts on the press — Heads west, meets with Boras and sets up chat with Sabathia — With the Hot Stove League finally intensifying, Brian Cashman headed west yesterday, trying to get a jump on the competition. The Yankees' general manager met with agent Scott Boras …
Discussion:
Boston Herald
Anthony Castrovince / MLB.com:
Tribe inks Ohka to Minor League deal — Veteran starter's contract includes Spring Training invitation — CLEVELAND — Don't file it in the high-profile bin, but the Indians have signed a pitcher. — The pitcher in question is right-hander Tomo Ohka, a veteran of nine Major League seasons …
Discussion:
MLB Rumors
RELATED:
Anthony Castrovince / MLB.com:
White Sox ink righty Van Benschoten — Former No. 8 overall pick signed to a Minor League deal — The White Sox have brought a former first-round Draft pick into the fold. — Right-hander John Van Benschoten, who was taken by the Pirates with the eighth overall pick in the 2001 First-Year Player Draft …
Discussion:
Hardball Times
David O'Brien / Atlanta Journal-Constitution:
Braves await decision from A.J. — Now what? — Well, we take a deep breath and wait. — The Braves made the first big offer to A.J. Burnett, a four-year deal with a fifth-year option and salaries that average out to about $15 mill per season if the deal is maximized by the vesting option.
RELATED:
T.R. Sullivan / Postcards from Elysian Fields:
The Hall of Fame ballot...Ron Santo belongs and other matters. — The Hall of Fame ballot is supposed to be in the mail. I haven't received it yet but should shortly. Not sure on who I will vote for but no doubt others have their opinion. — Really, you don't know for sure until …
Discussion:
Out Of Left Field
RELATED:
Fox Sports:
CC, Burnett in no hurry to make decisions — CC Sabathia and A.J. Burnett are accepting all offers. But when will they actually sign? Ken Rosenthal has the difficult answers.
Tracy Ringolsby / Rocky Mountain News:
Economy puts a hurt on market — In recent weeks, several agents have downplayed the possible impact of the nation's financial problems on baseball. — Actions, however, speak louder than words, and in this case, the actions are that owners are proceeding with caution this offseason.
Dejan Kovacevic / Pittsburgh Post-Gazette:
Wilson could restructure contract for Dodgers — Tigers also in mix, make fresh offer for Pirates' shortstop — The Detroit Tigers ramped up their pursuit of Pirates shortstop Jack Wilson, but the Los Angeles Dodgers remain very much in the mix. — And the latter is the case, in large part, because of money matters.
Discussion:
MLB FanHouse, Tiger Tales, PBC Blog, Bless You Boys, whygavs.com, Hot Stove Blog, U.S.S. Mariner, Inside the Dodgers, MLB.com and Detroit Free Press
Bill Chastain / MLB.com:
Rays expanding reach to Brazil — Partnership formed to build country's first MLB-run academy — ST. PETERSBURG — The Rays are spreading their wings to Brazil. — On Thursday, the Rays announced they have built a partnership with the city of Marilia, Brazil, that will include construction …
Rany / Rany on the Royals:
Glass. — After the season ended, I was hoping to hand out quick, Whitlock-like end-of-season grades for everyone associated with the Royals, but ran into a time crunch instead. (Although a comparison of Tony Pena's 2008 with Eddie Drummond's 2007 might have been interesting, in a grisly-car-wreck sort of way.)
Hot Stove Blog:
Good morning, K-Rod shoppers — More trades — the vast majority apocryphal — are made in the days preceding the Winter Meetings than at any other time of year. And some of them make sense, too. The reiterated availability of Mariners closer J.J. Putz — is any member of last-place team …
