Braves trade Lowe to Indians … NEW YORK (AP) — A person familiar with the trade says the Cleveland Indians have acquired pitcher Derek Lowe from the Atlanta Braves for a minor league pitcher.  —  Lowe, who has 166 career wins, was acquired Monday for left-hander Chris Jones …

La Russa announces his retirement as skipper  —  Steps down after three titles in 33 seasons, 16 with Cardinals  —  Tony La Russa, the third-winningest manager in Major League history and most assuredly a future Hall of Famer, announced his retirement as a manager on Monday …

Official Elias Rankings  —  MLBTR has obtained the official Elias rankings for this offseason.  The list below includes all unsigned ranked free agents.  —  Once the regular season ended, the Elias Sports Bureau took all players over the 2010-11 period, divided them into five groups for each league …

Nationals exercise option on Johnson  —  The Washington Nationals announced on Monday they have exercised Davey Johnson's managerial option for the 2012 season.  Nationals executive vice president of baseball operations and general manager Mike Rizzo made the announcement.

Source says Yankees extend offer to Sabathia  —  According to a New York Yankees executive, the terms of a renegotiated deal for pitcher CC Sabathia were transmitted to his representatives over the weekend, but the team has yet to receive a response.  —  “We believe it is a very fair offer,” the executive said.

White Sox Exercise Option On Jason Frasor  —  The White Sox exercised their $3.75MM club option on reliever Jason Frasor, tweets Mark Gonzales of the Chicago Tribune.  —  The Sox have a good collection of relievers under contract for 2012, but exercising the option on Frasor makes sense since he has positive trade value.

Aramis to decline option, explore free agency  —  Chicago veteran expected to be top third baseman on market  —  CHICAGO — Aramis Ramirez is headed for free agency.  —  The Cubs announced Sunday night that they will exercise their side of the $16 million option for 2012.

Red Sox exercise 2012 option on Scutaro  —  Talk about a nice birthday present.  The Red Sox today picked up their $6 million team option on Marco Scutaro.  —  The shortstop, who turned 36 today, hit .299 with a .358 on-base percentage in 2011 over 113 games.  He hit .387/.438/.581 in September.

Pirates part ways with Maholm, Snyder, Doumit, Cedeno  —  The Pirates today severed ties with four of their most veteran players — pitcher Paul Maholm, shortstop Ronny Cedeno and catchers Ryan Doumit and Chris Snyder.  The team declined to exercise the players' contract options for 2012, making them free agents.

Rangers exercise option on Lewis for '12 season  —  ARLINGTON, Texas — Colby Lewis will be in a Texas Rangers uniform again in 2012 after the club exercised its option on his contract Monday.  —  Lewis will make $3.25 million next season.  —  Lewis, 32, has become a reliable rotation member …

Shortstop Jose Reyes one of seven NY Mets heading for free agency  —  Alderson & Co. hoping to bring back Chris Capuano  —  The Mets are content to let other MLB clubs set the market for start shortstop Jose Reyes.  —  Seven Mets were among the 148 major leaguers listed by the Players' Association …

Ranking postseasons: 1995-2011  —  It was fun while it lasted.  The 2011 postseason with its World Series for the ages is now over.  Its end brings a question to my mind—where does it rank among all postseasons?  —  More specifically, where does it rank among other postseasons of the three-round era: LDS, LCS, and World Series.

Hundreds of Thousands at Cardinals Parade, Rally  —  ST. LOUIS (AP) — A red sea of fans jammed downtown St. Louis Sunday to honor the World Series champion Cardinals and send a clear message to Albert Pujols: Please stay.  —  An official crowd estimate was not immediately available …

Lopez, Giants agree to two-year contract  —  The Giants have agreed to a two-year, $8.5 million contract with reliever Javier Lopez, who will receive $4.25 million per in 2012 and '13.  —  The deal, first reported by The Associated Press on Sunday afternoon, has yet to be officially announced by the team.