Infielder Hudson signs with Dodgers  —  All-Star second baseman costs team first-round Draft pick  —  PHOENIX — Free agents are on sale, and the Dodgers picked one up on the cheap Friday when they agreed with second baseman Orlando Hudson on a one-year contract, baseball sources confirmed.

Crede agrees to deal with Twins  —  Third baseman Joe Crede dives for the ball in 2005.  (Tribune archive photo)  —  Joe Crede was a fan favorite among White Sox fans for 61/2 seasons.  —  Now he will be playing for one of the Sox's biggest enemies.  —  Crede, 30, agreed to terms Friday night …

Rays sign Isringhausen to minor-league deal  —  The Rays have signed former All-Star closer Jason Isringhausen to a minor-league deal.  —  Isringhausen, 36, was with St. Louis last season, but did not pitch after Aug. 16 and had surgery Sept. 12 to repair a torn flexor tendon …

Assets of two New York Yankees frozen in financial fallout  —  TAMPA, Fla. — Yankees outfielders Johnny Damon and Xavier Nady are among the investors whose accounts were caught in a freeze by the government of a company affiliated with Robert Allen Stanford.

Several Yanks pick camp over Classic  —  Pitchers Ramirez, Veras latest to decline participation in tournament  —  TAMPA, Fla. — The Yankees have nine members of their 40-man roster listed as provisional participants for the World Baseball Classic, but numerous players are deciding to remain in camp instead and compete for jobs.

A's halt plans for ballpark village in Fremont  —  (02-20) 11:50 PST Fremont — Oakland Athletics officials today asked the City of Fremont to halt the planning process required to build a new stadium and move the team there, saying they want to reconsider their options.

Why Griffey chose Seattle over Atlanta … Drive 22 miles beyond Orlando, well past Walt Disney World and through a snarl of unlit dirt roads, and you begin to understand why the Atlanta Braves thought they had the inside track on a Hall of Famer.  —  Ken Griffey Jr.'s home in Windermere …

Finally, A Use for Twitter  —  Sean informed me a few days ago that he had been following “The Real Shaq” on twitter.  —  “You realize that ‘The Real Shaq’ is probably a 5'4 White, 14 year old emo kid who's getting his jolly's from the attention, right?”  I asked him.  —  “I don't know.

Brian Roberts signs $40M extension with Baltimore Orioles  —  FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — Brian Roberts has signed a $40 million, four-year extension so he won't have to worry about being traded anytime soon, nor will money be an issue in the foreseable future.  —  The Baltimore Orioles second baseman signed the extension Friday.

Son of Yankees VP trafficked steroids in 2002  —  The son of Yankees vice president Felix M. Lopez Jr. (above) pleaded guilty to trafficking steroids in 2002.  (Newsday / Audrey C. Pierson)  —  TAMPA, Fla. - The son of a Yankees senior vice president pleaded guilty to attempted steroid distribution charges …