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.

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”.

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.

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.”

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.

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.