Sources: Tribe interested in Pavano  —  The Cleveland Indians have emerged as a strong candidate to sign free-agent pitcher Carl Pavano, several baseball sources told ESPN.com.  —  Pavano, 32, is looking to rehabilitate his career after suffering numerous injuries in four seasons with the Yankees.

YANKS SET TO LOWER OFFER TO PETTITTE  —  Andy Pettitte's chances to return to the Yankees have dropped precipitously because in the aftermath of the Mark Teixeira signing the organization is now strongly inclined to lower the $10 million offer that the lefty already has been resistant to all offseason, the Post has learned.

Teixeira: ‘In the back of my mind, the Yankees were always the top’  —  The Yankees officially introduced first baseman Mark Teixeira at a press conference at the old Yankee Stadium this afternoon.  Here are few notable comments from the 28-year-old slugger, who agreed to an eight-year …

GIAMBI AGREES TO ONE-YEAR DEAL WITH ATHLETICS  —  RETURNS TO OAKLAND AFTER FAILED STINT IN THE BRONX  —  On the day the Yankees are introducing Mark Teixeira as their new first baseman, the man he is replacing has found a new home.  —  Jason Giambi has agreed to one-year deal with Athletics worth $4.5 million.

Cubs finalize Marquis-Vizcaino swap  —  Veteran sent to Colorado in move which creates salary flexibility  —  CHICAGO — The Cubs continued their offseason restructuring on Tuesday, sending pitcher Jason Marquis to the Colorado Rockies in exchange for reliever Luis Vizcaino.

Sources: O's, Uehara agree on multi-year deal  —  Likely slated for starting rotation, RHP would break ground as first Japan native to play for O's  —  The Orioles appear to have filled one vacant spot in their wide-open rotation while at the same time officially opening the door to the Far East.

Old guard squeezed in new market … The baseball actuarial tables have been rewritten.  As clubs continue to place greater value on young players under control (witness the new religion about not losing compensatory draft picks), the older free agent is being severely devalued.

YANKS SIGN JOHN RODRIGUEZ  —  Outfielder John Rodriguez, a native New Yorker who played two seasons with the Cardinals, was signed to a minor league contract by the Yankees, the Post has learned.  —  Rodriguez was originally signed by the Yankees in November 1996 and played in their minor league system through the 2004 season.

Padres prepared to find shortstop  —  GM Towers says he has interest in veterans Eckstein, Vizquel  —  SAN DIEGO — The Padres plan on solidifying their middle infield picture sometime next week, general manager Kevin Towers said on Tuesday.  —  “By next week, we would like to get that done,” Towers said.

MLB hands Yankees' Mitre 50-game suspension  —  New York Yankees pitcher Sergio Mitre has received a 50-game suspension for violating Major League Baseball's drug policy.  Like Philadelphia Phillies reliever J.C. Romero, Mitre claims he had no desire to break baseball rules and that he took …