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 …

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.

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 …

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

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 …

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.

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 …

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.”

Yankees invite 20 to spring training  —  This release from the Yankees:  —  YANKEES INVITE 20 PLAYERS TO 2009 SPRING TRAINING  —  The New York Yankees announced today that they have invited 20 non-roster players to 2009 Spring Training in Tampa, Fla. The list includes four pitchers …

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?

Scully pulls up his own chair  —  Dodgers announcer watches a replay of his broadcast of Larsen's World Series perfect game and offers a review.  —  Vin Scully recently watched the MLB Network replay of the perfect game pitched by Don Larsen for the New York Yankees against the Brooklyn Dodgers in the 1956 World Series.

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.