Cubs trade twice: Hill to Orioles, Wuertz to A's  —  CHICAGO — The Cubs traded right-handed reliever Michael Wuertz to the Oakland Athletics for a pair of minor leaguers Monday and sent left-hander Rich Hill, their starter in Game 3 of the division series two years ago, to the Baltimore Orioles for a player to be named.

METS REACH TERMS WITH PEREZ  —  The Mets have reached agreement with Oliver Perez on a three-year, $36 million contract that will be finalized when the left-hander passes a physical, the Post has learned.  —  The Mets now know the likely composition of their rotation with Perez joining Johan Santana …

MLB commish Selig paid more than $18M in '07  —  NEW YORK — Baseball commissioner Bud Selig made more than all but three of his sport's players in 2007.  —  Selig received a raise of about $3 million to nearly $17.5 million that year, according to Major League Baseball's latest tax return.

Rangers near deal with Guardado  —  Veteran would give Texas another left-handed option in bullpen  —  ARLINGTON — With less than two weeks to go before Spring Training, the Rangers seem more likely to add reliever Eddie Guardado than starter Ben Sheets to their pitching staff when pitchers and catchers report on Feb. 14.

Floyd, Hernandez on Towers' wish list  —  The long list of unsigned free agents could produce two players for the Padres - left-handed hitter Cliff Floyd and starting pitcher Livan Hernandez.  —  Padres General Manager Kevin Towers said Thursday night the Padres were interested in the pair.

Phils hopeful of avoiding Howard arbitration  —  Salary arbitration hearings are scheduled to begin today in Phoenix, but the Phillies and Ryan Howard still have time to strike a deal before heading to the table.  —  The date of Howard's hearing has been a closely guarded secret …

Is There Anything To Like About Tim Redding?  —  A little while ago, the Mets extended a $2.5 million contract offer to Tim Redding, which he accepted.  At the time, it was assumed the Mets would add another starting pitcher, most likely on a far more lucrative deal.

Out Of Options 2009  —  By Tim Dierkes [February 2 at 9:22am CST]  —  Our list of players who are out of options for 2009 (and who have less than five years service time).  Out of options means these players have to clear waivers before being sent to the minors.

Heyman “Breaks” Another Story  —  Oh who would ever want to be king?  - Coldplay, Viva La Vida  —  Jon Heyman has done it again.  He broke another story on Friday when reporting that Jason Varitek had “reached a two-year agreement with the Red Sox.”  —  In typical Heyman fashion …

Jays used amphetamines: McNamee  —  Joe Torre and Tom Verducci's The Yankee Years is less salacious than the advance coverage suggested, but it has a brutally honest streak that reveals itself in some less than glowing references to the Toronto Blue Jays.  —  Brian McNamee, Roger Clemens's …

Captain caught no interest  —  Age, lack of production led to a cheaper return  —  Do we put too much value in how Jason Varitek handles the pitching staff?  Do we try to emphasize the intangibles because the basic skills - hitting, throwing - have deteriorated?