Pirates sign LaRoche, three others  —  The Pirates this morning signed first baseman Adam LaRoche on a one-year contract worth $7.05 million, thus avoiding salary arbitration.  He can make an additional $100,000 in performance bonuses based on plate appearances.

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.

Papelbon's $6.25 million contract makes history  —  The Boston Red Sox have signed closer Jonathan Papelbon to a one-year contract worth $6.25 million Tuesday, the largest deal in history for a closer who was eligible for arbitration for the first time.  —  Papelbon

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.

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.

Lefty Wolf turns down D-Backs  —  It looks like free agent left-hander Randy Wolf won't be the answer to the Diamondbacks' search for another starting pitcher.  —  Just as right-hander Jon Garland did last week, Wolf in recent days turned down an offer from the Diamondbacks.

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.

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 …

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.

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.

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.”

Yankees sign Nady for one season  —  Brian Cashman is on vacation this week.  But there are still deals to be done and the Yankees have agreed to a one-year, $6.55 million contract with Xavier Nady.  —  Nady made $3.35 last season, so he nearly doubled up.  —  Brian Bruney and Melky Cabrera are next in line.

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.