Top News:
Joel Sherman / New York Post:
CC SABATHIA PICKS YANKEES — LAS VEGAS - CC Sabathia is not going to play on the West Coast. He is not going to play in the National League. CC Sabathia is going to be a Yankee, The Post has learned exclusively. — After three straight days of face-to-face meetings between GM Brian Cashman …
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Yahoo! Sports:
Opt-out clause key to Sabathia going to Yankees — Buzz up! — LAS VEGAS - Baseball's perennial high-rollers, the New York Yankees, scored the biggest coup of the winter meetings when CC Sabathia reached preliminary agreement on a deal that will pay him $161 million over the next seven years.
Jon Heyman / Sports Illustrated:
Yanks, Sabathia reach 7-year deal … LAS VEGAS — Free-agent pitcher CC Sabathia is about to sign with the Yankees, SI.com has confirmed. The deal being finalized now is expected to pay Sabathia about $160 million over seven years. — The two sides are on the verge of an agreement …
Jose Mota / Yahoo! Sports:
Nationals extend offer to Teixeira — Buzz up! — LAS VEGAS - The Washington Nationals have stepped boldly into the Mark Teixeira sweepstakes, making an offer to the free agent first baseman for seven years and $150 million, a highly placed baseball source said Wednesday morning.
Discussion:
LA Times Sports Blog, MetsBlog.com, MLB FanHouse, MLB Rumors, iYankees, PE.com, Federal Baseball and Hot Foot
Jayson Stark / ESPN.com:
Sources: Yankees close to deal with Sabathia — Sabathia And Yankees Very Close To A Deal — LAS VEGAS — CC Sabathia will be a New York Yankee. — The Yankees are “very close” to a preliminary agreement with Sabathia on Wednesday morning, following an in-person meeting between GM Brian Cashman …
Cork Gaines / MLB Rumors:
Sabathia Reaches Agreement With Yankees — By Cork Gaines [December 10 at 1:25pm CST] — 1:25pm: Sherman has more details on the Yankees' talks with Sabathia. — 12:49pm: Rosenthal talked to a rival exec who sees no upside to Sabathia's opt-out clause.
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Newsday:Brian Cashman meeting with CC Sabathia for third time
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Joe Strauss / St. Louis Post-Dispatch:
Search for a closer escalates — LAS VEGAS — Going where the free agent current takes them, the Cardinals have made the search for a veteran closer their priority after apparently bidding too little for free agent Francisco Rodriguez. — General manager John Mozeliak said Tuesday …
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David Lennon / On the Mets beat:
Inside the K-Rod signing — With the Mets about to make the Francisco Rodriguez signing official in a matter of minutes, new details have emerged about the speedy negotiations with the free-agent closer that resulted in the three-year, $37-million deal. — When K-Rod and his agent …
Discussion:
The 'Ropolitans
Paul Hoynes / Plain Dealer:
Cleveland Indians, Kerry Wood agree on $20 million deal - if he's healthy … If Kerry Wood passes a physical today or Thursday in Cleveland, he'll be the Indians closer. — The Indians have made Wood a two-year offer worth close to $20 million. The deal, contingent on Wood getting …
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La Velle / Twins Insider:
Twins could play a role in the Jake Peavy sweepstakes — Two persons with knowledge of negotiations said the Twins and Cubs talked yesterday about a deal for infielder Mark DeRosa - a potential move that would get the Twins involved in the most talked-about trade of the offseason.
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Paul Hagen / Philly.com:
Phillies Notebook: Phillies GM Amaro not concerned about Mets getting Rodriguez — LAS VEGAS - Now that the Phillies are busy designing their World Series rings, it's easy to forget that they didn't exactly dominate the National League East last season. — In fact, it took a torrid finish, coupled with another Mets collapse.
Jim Salisbury / Philly.com:Phils' Manuel gets extension; DeRosa deal still alive
Discussion:
The Good Phight
Nick Cafardo / Boston Globe:
Smoltz's wish list includes Boston — LAS VEGAS — John Smoltz wants to pitch for a team that could take him to the World Series. — He hopes that's still the Atlanta Braves, the team for whom he has pitched since 1988, but the 41-year-old free agent is considering the Red Sox …
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Matthew Cerrone / MetsBlog.com:Starting Pitcher: Perez for Five, Smoltz eyes Mets
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MLB Rumors
Duk / Yahoo! Sports:
BBWAA opens doors wider, admits four more Internet writers — Slowly but surely, the Baseball Writers Association of America is becoming more inclusive. The organization just held a meeting here at Bellagio and, for the second straight year, humbly voted to add a few Internet writers to their newspaper-dominated ranks.
Discussion:
Unfiltered, Hardball Times, MLB Rumors, Drunk Jays Fans, umpbump.com, Batter's Box Interactive … and The Poor Man's Analyst
Jack Curry / New York Times:
Baseball Finishes Second on Torre's Guys' Weekend — LAS VEGAS — Joe Torre did not go to baseball's winter meetings. The meetings came to him. — For the last 13 years or so, Torre has visited this gambling mecca in early December to play golf and craps and to bet on the horses with his own modern-day Rat Pack.
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Bill Ladson / MLB.com:
Little movement for rapid-talking Nats — Flurry of rumors yield no result as Kasten expects quiet Meetings — LAS VEGAS — General manager Jim Bowden was so busy trying to improve the Nationals on Tuesday that he politely cancelled his afternoon meeting with reporters at the Bellagio Resort.
Troy E. Renck / Denver Post:
Rockies' priority: pitching — Veteran reliever Embree agrees to one-year deal while team still purses Redding — LAS VEGAS — The Rockies' strategy at the winter meetings centers more on protecting leads than building them. — Colorado has agreed in principle on a one-year contract …
