RICKEY TO BIG LEAGUE GMS: DON'T LOSE MY NUMBER  —  YES, he's a first-ballot Hall of Famer, but Rickey Henderson is not done.  —  If some major league team calls, Rickey still wants to play, be it with the A's or anybody, one day, one week, one season, whatever; his door is wide open.

METS' OFFSEASON FOUNDERING AS THE BRAVES SWIPE VETERAN  —  The Mets aimed Lowe, bid low and missed, leaving them little choice but to scroll lower on the free-agent depth chart.  —  One step forward for GM Omar Minaya with Francisco Rodriguez's addition to the bullpen last month …

Santana looks doubtful for WBC  — Johan Santana just completed a conference call with reporters a few minutes ago and it looks like he's doubtful for the World Baseball Classic as he recovers from offseason knee surgery.  Santana pitched the final month of last season with a torn meniscus …

Gross gets $1.255-million from Tampa Bay Rays  —  The Rays avoided arbitration with OF Gabe Gross by settling on a one-year, $1.255-million deal.  —  Gross, 29, hit .242 with 13 homers and 38 RBIs in 127 games for the Rays last season after being acquired in April from Milwaukee …

Mets said to reach deal with Cora  —  Infielder reportedly to sign a one-year, $2 million deal  —  The Mets have come to an agreement with infielder Alex Cora on a one-year, $2 million deal, according to a blog post at the Boston-based WEEI.com.  —  Cora, who has been with the Red Sox since mid-2005 …

Former Padres manager Gomez dies  —  Preston Gomez, the original manager of the major league Padres in 1969, died Tuesday morning in Fullerton.  He was 85.  —  Gomez never fully recovered from head injuries suffered in March when he was hit by a pickup truck while crossing a service station driveway in Blythe.

At what point is rotation depth a concern?  —  At the moment, here are the starting pitchers with more than a game or two of major-league experience the Yankees have available to them:  —  CC Sabathia, A.J.Burnett, Chien-Ming Wang, Joba Chamberlain, Phil Hughes, Ian Kennedy, Alfredo Aceves, Jason Johnson, Dan Giese, Kei Igawa.

Rockies re-sign Podsednik on minor-league deal  —  Scott Podsednik showed that he could stay healthy and proved he could be happy in a reserve role.  As a result, the Rockies re-signed the center fielder on Wednesday to provide outfield depth and speed at the top of the lineup following the departure of Willy Taveras.

Minor League Transactions  —  This installment considers all transactions reported by MLB between Dec. 24, 2008, and Jan. 12, 2009.  The previous installment is available here.  —  Arizona Diamondbacks  —  Signed: 2B Guillermo Reyes  —  Baltimore Orioles

How John Smoltz Convinced The Red Sox He Was Worth A Chance  —  The viewpoints of Nick Scherer and the Red Sox weren't all that different.  —  “When I think of a great pitcher,” said Director of Operations for the Georgia Tech baseball team, “I think of John Smoltz.”

Catching up with Benson  —  I had a nice chat last night with former Orioles pitcher Kris Benson, who surprised me with a phone call around 10 p.m. I didn't recognize the number and screened him.  —  Benson is throwing off a mound today after restricting himself to a long-tossing program …

Tigers avoid arbitration with Rodney  —  Fernando Rodney spent part of this winter playing with former Rockie Ray King in the Dominican Republic.  He's preparing for the possibility that he could be the Detroit Tigers' closer.  Detroit is still examining its free agent options …

Who's on first?  —  So Quis and I were at dinner last night (Chipotle...it was lovely) and we got to talking about the Padres 2009 infield.  More specifically...what's it gonna look like.  Obviously we know Adrian Gonzalez will be at first and Kooz will be at 3rd...but then what?

What's right move on Giants lefties?  —  Lowry, not Sanchez, could be moved in deal if arm holds up  —  SAN FRANCISCO — It has been widely assumed that Jonathan Sanchez will be the pitcher the Giants trade in their quest for a proven hitter if they can't sign a free agent.