Inside Jonathan Broxton's new Dodgers contract  —  Jonathan Broxton's new, $1.825-million contract with the Dodgers includes $200,000 in incentives based on games finished.  That means he'll probably be in line earn more than $2 million if he becomes the Dodgers' closer.

Mariners make a trade for reliever David Aardsma  —  Mariners general manager Jack Zduriencik continues to be busy making moves.  After signing Erik Bedard and Aaron Heilman to one-year deals to avoid arbitration, Zdruiencik also announced that the Mariners have acquired right-handed reliever David Aardsma …

Pirates to unveil new alternate jersey  —  Bucs will no longer wear red, sleeveless uniforms on select Fridays  —  PITTSBURGH — The Pirates' red uniforms, which have drawn notable ire from the public since being introduced in 2007, will be no more.  —  The Pirates will introduce …

Howard Wants $18 Million; Victorino, Blanton Sign  —  Compared to last year's offer, the Phillies doubled up what they want to pay Ryan Howard for the 2009 season.  Trouble is, Howard's price went up, too.  —  Teams and players exchanged arbitration numbers on Tuesday and the 2006 NL MVP …

Sullivan signs with Mets  —  Cory Sullivan, arguably one of the best defensive center fielders in Rockies' history, has caught on with the Mets, signing a one-year, $600,000 major league deal with $300,000 in incentives.  —  Sullivan was a career .279 hitter with the Rockies in four seasons …

Tom Verducci: Cold reality check for remaining free agents and more notes … Each passing day brings us closer to spring training and the remaining free agents to a cold reality check, if not forced retirement for a few.  —  The big money, except for what the Dodgers have socked away for Manny Ramirez, is gone.

Backe, Byrdak ink contracts with Astros  —  Righty gets one year at $1.55M, plus incentives; lefty gets $1M  —  HOUSTON — The Astros signed right-hander Brandon Backe to a one-year deal worth $1.55 million plus performance bonuses, general manager Ed Wade confirmed on Tuesday.

Potential Peavy deal remains elusive, and so does the pitcher himself  —  My car is poorly suited to a stakeout.  There's no heat, no air conditioning, no GPS device, no CD player, much less the invisibility option James Bond employed to make his Vanquish vanish in “Die Another Day”.

Church, Pagan avoid arbitration  —  Ryan Church and Angel Pagan avoided arbitration by agreeing to 2009 contracts, leaving only John Maine and Pedro Feliciano as arbitration-eligible players yet to agree to terms.  Church will earn $2.8 million, up from $2 million last season.

Fixing the free agent compensation system  —  It's like clockwork: Whenever the Yankees sign a big-name free agent, baseball writers across the country dust off the old “baseball needs a salary cap” article, change some names and numbers, send it in to their editor, and enjoy the rest of their day off.

Kubel agrees to a two-year deal  —  The Twins and outfielder/DH Jason Kubel have agreed on a two-year contract that will buy out his remaining two years of arbitration.  The deal is expected to be finalized either this weekend or early next week.  Terms of the agreement were not available.

Bartlett gets $1.98-million  —  SS Jason Bartlett avoided arbitration by settling with the Rays on a one-year deal for $1,981,250.  —  “I'm so happy to be done with that,” Bartlett said.  “Now I can just think about playing ball and having fun.  It's going to be another fun and exciting year.”

Nolasco agrees to one-year deal  —  Marlins right-hander to earn $2.4 million this season  —  MIAMI — A big piece of the Marlins' rotation is now under contract.  —  Florida reached agreement on a one-year deal with Ricky Nolasco early Tuesday afternoon, according to a baseball source.

Blue Jays agree to terms with three  —  TORONTO — The Blue Jays have agreed to terms with RHP Jason Frasor, INF Jose Bautista and RHP Jeremy Accardo on contracts for the 2009 season.  —  Frasor, 31, agreed to terms on a $1.45 million dollar contract for the 2009 season.

Players, clubs rush to settle arbitration cases  —  NEW YORK - Ryan Madson's $12 million, three-year contract was completed Tuesday by the Philadelphia Phillies, and Pittsburgh Pirates first baseman Adam LaRoche agreed to a $7.05 million, one-year contract as teams and players in arbitration rushed to settle cases.

Minor League Transactions  —  This installment considers all transactions reported by MLB between Jan. 13 to 16.  The previous installment is available here.  —  Atlanta Braves  —  Removed from 40-man roster: LHP Francisley Bueno  —  A native of Cuba who signed with Atlanta in 2006 …

Mets sign Church, four others  —  The Mets today announced they have avoided arbitration and signed outfielders Ryan Church and Angel Pagan to one-year contracts, also signing left-handed pitchers Tom Martin and Casey Fossum and catcher Omir Santos to minor-league free-agent contracts.

Heilman agrees to 2009 contract  —  The Mariners' final player eligible for arbitration was signed today.  Pitcher Aaron Heilman, who was part of the monster three-team trade for J.J. Putz, agreed to a one-year deal for this season.  —  “Aaron is a very versatile pitcher and is an important part of our pitching staff in 2009,”