Cubs Acquire Aaron Heilman For Cedeno, Olson  —  By Tim Dierkes [January 28 at 11:39am CST]  —  11:39am: ESPN's Jerry Crasnick says the Mariners acquired Cedeno and Garrett Olson from the Cubs for Heilman.  Essentially, the Cubs moved two out of options players in Cedeno and Felix Pie …

Agent: Manny Ramirez should be signed by the start of spring training  —  Manny Ramirez should be signed by the start of spring training, his agent said Tuesday night.  —  “I can't put a timetable on this, but I know that spring training is a long time away,” Scott Boras said.

Sox's Lester, Yankees' Chamberlain In Fairfield  —  FAIRFIELD - The various Yankees acquisitions this winter do not worry Jon Lester.  A potential Red Sox subtraction does.  —  “I don't want to think about that,” Lester said, when asked about the possibility of losing catcher Jason Varitek.

Cone spills juice on Torre's clubhouse  —  Joe Torre claims in the new book he wrote with Sports Illustrated's Tom Verducci that he didn't know his Yankee teams were fueled by steroids and other performance-enhancing drugs.  —  But in “The Yankee Years,” David Cone said the players had a good idea about who was juicing.

Chicago Cubs' Alfonso Soriano OK with not being leading man  —  Left fielder also says he wants to play all 162 games  —  Just into the third year of an eight-year, $136 million contract, it is becoming clear Alfonso Soriano has no leg to stand on—so to speak—in insisting he bat leadoff.

D-backs may be closing in on Garland  —  Free-agent right-hander could fill void left by Johnson's departure  —  PHOENIX — The D-backs and free-agent pitcher Jon Garland are closing in on a deal, according to an industry source.  —  Garland, 29, turned down a contract offer from the club two weeks ago …

Jim Bowden is MLB's Worst General Manager  —  Once Bill Bavasi was finally fired by the Seattle Mariners, Jim Bowden officially took over the title of worst general manager in baseball.  —  Bowden was a terrible hire for a rebuilding franchise like the Washington Nationals.

Melvin: no interest in Perez  —  By Tom Haudricourt of the Journal Sentinel  —  With so many folks showing interest in the rumors that the Brewers might be interested in signing free agent lefty Oliver Perez, I checked with general manager Doug Melvin.  —  This was his short but to the point reply …

Jimenez in for long haul  —  O'Dowd believes that signing the pitcher to a $10 million deal is a worthwhile gamble.  —  The Denver Post  —  Ubaldo Jimenez doesn't so much pitch as put his foot on the accelerator.  No one lastseason threw more pitches over 95 mph than the right-hander.

Clearing spot for Pettitte, Yanks designate Wright for assignment  —  CBSSports.com wire reports  —  NEW YORK — Left-hander Chase Wright was designated for assignment Tuesday by the New York Yankees to clear a roster spot for Andy Pettitte.  —  The 25-year-old was a combined 10-3 …

Royals Ink Villarreal To Minor League Deal  —  By Drew Silva [January 27 at 5:37pm CST]  —  According to Troy Renck of the Denver Post, the Royals have signed right-hander Oscar Villarreal to a minor league contract.  —  The deal is worth $400K and includes an invitation to spring training.