Yankees reach deal with Jones … The Yankees have reached an agreement with veteran outfielder Andruw Jones on a one-year deal worth $2 million plus $1.2 million in performance bonuses.  —  Jones, 33, is a veteran of 15 seasons in which he has made five All-Star teams and won 10 Gold Glove awards.

Reds, Cueto Agree To Four-Year Extension  —  6:30pm: Reds GM Walt Jocketty says the deal is not done but confirms that the sides are close, tweets John Fay of the Cincinnati Enquirer.  —  5:22pm: The Reds and right-handed pitcher Johnny Cueto have agreed to a four-year contract extension worth $27MM …

Francona: Scutaro is the shortstop  —  Red Sox GM Theo Epstein said last week that while Marco Scutaro is the incumbent shortstop, Jed Lowrie could challenge for playing time in spring training.  —  Manager Terry Francona didn't get that memo.  —  “Scutaro's our shortstop,” …

The Yankees and Bullpen Allocation  —  When the Yankees announced their signing of Rafael Soriano, General Manager Brian Cashman admitted that he wasn't fully behind the move.  Rarely has an announcement of a big-ticket signing come with such an admission from the team's General Manager:

Colombia has a passion for many things, including baseball  —  Longtime baseball man tells how the Latin American country has a passion for the game  —  The Casa De Abuela, or “Grandmother's House,” is a $60-a-night hotel in Turbaco, a community outside of Cartagena, Colombia.

Reyes likes NYC, but no contract during season  —  Yesterday at Citi Field, Jose Reyes told reporters he is not interested in talking about his contract during the season.  —  “I want to be focused trying to help this team win,” he explained.  “I just want to play baseball for now.”

Blue Jays Sign Dominican Lefty Labour  —  The Blue Jays have agreed to terms with 16-year-old Dominican lefthander Jairo Labour for $350,000.  —  Labour, who is 6-foot-4, 185 pounds, became eligible to sign when the 2010 international signing period opened on July 2, but he developed …

Phillies centerfielder Victorino isn't down after down year  —  TRUE OR FALSE: The Phillies have one of the best lineups in baseball.  —  Correct answer: Maybe.  —  Depends on whether it includes the Chase Utley who has made five straight All-Star teams, led the league in runs scored …

CBA Year  —  The collective bargaining agreement (CBA) between Major League Baseball (MLB) and the Major League Baseball Players Association (MLBPA) expires on Dec. 11, 2011.  That means from now until a new contract is reached, we will be hearing about negotiations, what the players want to gain, what the owners hope to accomplish.

Harper No. 2 among top outfield prospects  —  Angels' Trout could develop fast; Harper ready to get started … Outfielders come in all shapes and sizes.  Some are speedy, top-of-the-lineup types, others are big bashers.  The ultimate prize, of course, is a five-tool outfielder.

Who Gets the Scoop?  Major League Reporters, Ranked.  —  Ever wonder if there were standings ranking America's best baseball reporters?  —  Wonder no more.  This actually took a few hours, but I've compiled the standings of Major League deals broken to the public by reporter by scouring MLBTR …

Giants Sign Jeff Suppan To Minor League Deal  —  6:25pm: The Giants have finalized the minor-league deal with Suppan, tweets Mychael Urban of CSNBayArea.com.  —  12:58pm: The Giants are close to signing Jeff Suppan to a minor league contract with an invitation to Spring Training …

Four Mets pitchers train with FDNY  —  They wore official FDNY protective gear, not elf apparel.  But four pitchers from the New York Mets got into the act of dropping down the side of a building Thursday, too, pulling a page from Yankees general manager Brian Cashman's playbook.