Top News:
Thomasharding / Hardball in the Rockies:
Rockies acquire Lindstrom from Astros — The Rockies filled a key spot in their bullpen by acquiring right-hander Matt Lindstrom from the Astros. Full details will come soon. — Lindstrom, who turns 31 on Feb. 11, went 2-5 with a 4.39 ERA for the Astros last season.
Discussion:
MLB.com, FanGraphs Baseball, Baseball America, Bottom9 Baseball, Houston Chronicle, Mariners blog, HardballTalk, MLB Rumors and Yahoo! Sports
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Thomas Harding / MLB.com:
Rockies acquire Lindstrom from Astros — DENVER — The Rockies filled a key spot in their bullpen by acquiring right-hander Matt Lindstrom from the Astros on Thursday for two Minor League pitchers — left-hander Wes Musick, a former University of Houston standout, and right-hander Jonnathan Aristil.
Troy Renck / All Things Rockies:
Rockies trade for Astros' reliever Lindstrom
Rockies trade for Astros' reliever Lindstrom
Discussion:
Bottom9 Baseball
Matthew Leach / MLB.com:
Now is not the time for Rays to deal Garza — No sooner was the ink dry on Cliff Lee's new contract with the Phillies than the drumbeat began: with the Yankees and Rangers still seeking pitching, surely one of them would find a way to land the Rays' Matt Garza.
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Ken Davidoff / Newsday:
Yankees one of three teams pursuing Damon — The Yankees clearly are not Johnny Damon's first choice for 2011 employment, which makes sense. While the Yankees have expressed interest in bringing back Damon for next season, as Newsday reported on Wednesday, they don't have a clear, everyday role for him.
Discussion:
Fanhouse MLB Blog, HardballTalk and MLB Rumors
Wallace Matthews / ESPN:
GM: No ‘clear role’ for Johnny Damon
GM: No ‘clear role’ for Johnny Damon
Discussion:
TYU, HardballTalk, lenNY's Yankees and Bronx Baseball Daily
Fox Sports:
Don't exclude steroid users from Hall — Tracy Ringolsby is a Hall of Fame baseball writer. He is in his 35th year covering Major League Baseball, is a co-founder of Baseball America, and appears on pre- and postgame shows for Colorado Rockies games on FSN Rocky Mountain.
Discussion:
HardballTalk
Mark Polishuk / MLB Rumors:
Rangers Reach Agreement With Arthur Rhodes — The Rangers have agreed to terms with left-hander Arthur Rhodes. Steve Phillips of AOL Fanhouse (Twitter link) reports the deal is for one year with a vesting option for 2012, and the contract will be finalized once Rhodes passes a physical.
Discussion:
Cincinnati Reds, MetsBlog.com, HardballTalk and Redleg Nation
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Tim MacMahon / ESPN:
Reports: Rangers, Arthur Rhodes agree — Left-handed reliever Arthur Rhodes agreed to a one-year deal with the Rangers with a vesting option for a second season, according to multiple reports. — A Rangers spokesman said the club had nothing to report. Rhodes would have to pass a physical for the deal to become official.
Discussion:
Yahoo! Sports
Andy Martino / NY Daily News:
New York Mets may use D. J. Carrasco in back end of starting rotation to start 2011 season — In an offseason dedicated to finding creative solutions to their dearth of pitching, the Mets might already have signed free-agent rotation help: D.J. Carrasco, who the Mets have not ruled out as a back-end starter …
Discussion:
MetsBlog.com and HardballTalk
Ben Shpigel / New York Times:
Bronx? Cooperstown? Pettitte Is a Man of Many Questions — If Andy Pettitte has indeed thrown his last pitch, he will retire with more victories than Whitey Ford, a better winning percentage than Bob Feller, Juan Marichal and Tom Seaver, and the most postseason wins in baseball history.
Discussion:
HardballTalk
Thomas Harding / MLB.com:
Rockies ink three to Minor League deals — DENVER — The Rockies have agreed to terms on Minor League contracts with three players, outfielder Jeff Salazar and infielders Matt Macri and Tug Hulett, player development director Marc Gustafson said Thursday. — Salazar, who played 19 games …
Discussion:
MLB Rumors
Mark Polishuk / MLB Rumors:
Minor League Transactions: Rangers, Twins, Nats — Here are some minor transactions from the past week, courtesy of Baseball America's Matt Eddy... - The Rangers signed two former first-round draft picks in left-hander Zach Jackson and utility infielder Omar Quintanilla.
Discussion:
Scranton/Wilkes-Barre … and The LoHud Yankees Blog