Top News:
Matt Eddy / Baseball America:
Scouting reports for the Top 10 Prospects (How to subscribe) — Omar Minaya seemingly could do no wrong in the early part of his tenure as Mets general manager. He lured premium free agents Carlos Beltran, Pedro Martinez and Billy Wagner to Queens with rich contract offers.
Discussion:
MetsBlog.com, New Jersey Online, Patrick Flood, Amazin' Avenue and MetsMinorLeagueBlog.com
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Mike Puma / New York Post:
Mets armed for trade — Mets on Twitter — Tweet — As the Mets continue to search under every rock for a starting pitcher, there is a growing sense help won't come from the free-agent scrap heap. — Though free-agent righty Chris Young remains squarely on general manager Sandy Alderson's radar …
Discussion:
Mets Merized Online, MetsBlog.com, MLB Rumors and NBCSports.com
Andy Martino / NY Daily News:
Mets moving slowly on free agent starting pitcher Chris Young …
Mets moving slowly on free agent starting pitcher Chris Young …
Discussion:
HardballTalk
Mike DiGiovanna / LA Times Sports Blog:
Angels owner explains refusal to meet Crawford's asking price; team makes ‘significant’ offer to Beltre — The Angels never made a formal contract offer to outfielder Carl Crawford, and owner Arte Moreno said Friday that, contrary to previous reports, he was not willing to match the seven-year …
Discussion:
Boston Globe, HardballTalk, MLB Rumors, Fanhouse MLB Blog, Full Count and Rotoworld.com
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Enrique Rojas / MLB:
Edgar Renteria dislikes Giants' $1M offer — ORLANDO — Edgar Renteria understands the best part of his major league career is over and baseball is a business, but he still hoped for better treatment from the San Francisco Giants after helping the team to the World Series in October.
Discussion:
Fanhouse MLB Blog, HardballTalk, The Mighty Quinn Media Machine and MLB Rumors
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Mark Polishuk / MLB Rumors:
Renteria: Giants' Offer Showed “A Lack Of Respect”
Renteria: Giants' Offer Showed “A Lack Of Respect”
Discussion:
McCovey Chronicles, The Fish Pond and Bugs & Cranks
Ben Nicholson-Smith / MLB Rumors:
Astros To Sign Bill Hall — The Astros have agreed to sign Bill Hall to a one-year deal worth about $3MM that includes a mutual option for 2012, according to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (on Twitter). The agreement is pending a physical. The Yankees and Dodgers were among the teams pursuing Hall …
Paul Sullivan / Chicago Tribune:
Wood back in ‘family’ — Reliever signs 1-year deal for $1.5 million to return to Cubs — Kerry Wood with Ryan Dempster at Ron Santo's funeral. (Steve Green, Associated Press / December 10, 2010) — In what may be remembered as the Pizza Summit, Kerry Wood and Cubs general manager …
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Bill Ladson / MLB.com:
Nationals targeting Lee to fill first-base void — NEW YORK — The Nationals are “actively” pursuing free-agent first baseman Derrek Lee, according to a baseball source, while another indicated that Lee is the club's top target to play the position. The Nationals are one of several clubs interested in Lee's services.
Discussion:
MLB Rumors and HardballTalk
JonPaulMorosi / mlbbuzz:
Sources: Tigers looking at Penny, other veteran starters — The Detroit Tigers' everyday lineup looks complete, now that they have agreed to a one-year contract with Magglio Ordoñez. — But they are still trying to upgrade their starting rotation, major-league sources told FOXSports.com.
Discussion:
HardballTalk and MLB Rumors
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Ben Nicholson-Smith / MLB Rumors:
Tigers To Re-Sign Magglio Ordonez
Tigers To Re-Sign Magglio Ordonez
Discussion:
Bless You Boys, Tiger Tales, HardballTalk and Fanhouse MLB Blog
Matthew Cerrone / MetsBlog.com:
Orlando Hudson signs with Padres — The Padres have signed free-agent 2B Orlando Hudson to a two-year, $11.5 million deal, according to Ken Rosenthal of FoxSports.com. — There is not much of a market for Hudson, according to ESPN.com. — The Mets are not interested, at least as far as I can tell.
Discussion:
Yahoo! Sports, MLB Rumors and Gaslamp Ball
Fox Sports:
A's acquire Nats slugger Willingham — Ken Rosenthal has been the senior baseball writer for FOXSports.com since Aug. 2005. He appears weekly on MLB on FOX. Follow him on Twitter. — The A's, continuing their quest to upgrade their offense, have acquired outfielder Josh Willingham from the Nationals.
Discussion:
Athletics Nation, Federal Baseball and baseballmusings.com
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Adam Kilgore / Nationals Journal:
Mike Rizzo and Josh Willingham on the trade
Peter Abraham / Boston Globe:
Sox add Jenks to the mix — The Red Sox firmly believe relief pitchers are not worth a contract of longer than two years. History shows such deals usually come to be regretted. — General manager Theo Epstein paid the steep price for his convictions yesterday when striking a deal with righthander Bobby Jenks.
Discussion:
Chicago Breaking Sports, sox1fan.com, SawxBlog and The Big Lead
Sports Illustrated:
Two best remaining targets on the market … This offseason has been, for the most part, a mystery. The Carl Crawford signing with the Red Sox was slightly surprising in that most folks had him pegged for the Angels, the Jayson Werth deal with the Nationals was very surprising in that nobody …
Discussion:
HardballTalk and Texas Rangers
Stephen Nohlgren / St. Petersburg Times:
Tampa chamber agrees to take up Rays stadium debate — TAMPA — When the Tampa Bay Rays reached the World Series in 2008, Mayor Mike Nutter of Philadelphia picked up the telephone to propose a traditional wager with his counterpart in this region. — Let's see ... Tampa Bay ... that's area code 813, right?
Discussion:
HardballTalk and Rays Index
Chris Haft / MLB.com:
Hall won't beckon, but Rueter had fine career — Southpaw's tenure with Giants marked by reliability, winning — SAN FRANCISCO — Kirk Rueter knows he won't be enshrined in Cooperstown. But he'll remain entrenched as a success in San Francisco. — Rueter, who spent 10 …
Bill Ladson / MLB.com:
Nats, Gaudin come to terms on Minors deal — WASHINGTON — The Nationals agreed to terms on a Minor League contract with Chad Gaudin on Friday, extending the right-hander an invitation to Spring Training. — This past season, Gaudin posted a 1-4 record and a 5.65 ERA with the Yankees and Athletics.
Discussion:
Yahoo! Sports
Ben Nicholson-Smith / MLB Rumors:
A's Claim Phil Humber — The A's claimed Philip Humber off of waivers from the Royals, according to Bob Dutton of the Kansas City Star (on Twitter). The Royals had designated Humber for assignment earlier in the week. — Humber, 28 next week, posted a 4.15 ERA in 21 2/3 big league innings this year.