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 …

Going out a champ: La Russa says he's retiring  —  Tony La Russa is calling it a career after 16 seasons as manager of the St. Louis Cardinals.  —  La Russa  —  La Russa, 67, only days removed from winning his third World Series title, made the announcement during a Monday morning news conference.

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 …

Gaby Sanchez, Omar Infante hoping to win Gold Gloves for Marlins  —  Marlins fans shouldn't be surprised to learn that first baseman Gaby Sanchez and second baseman Omar Infante are among the finalists at their positions for Gold Glove Awards.  —  ESPN2 will televise the first-ever Rawlings Gold Glove Awards Show at 10 p.m. Tuesday.

Nationals name Davey Johnson manager for 2012  —  The Nationals this morning formally announced Davey Johnson as their manager for the 2012 season, exercising an option in his contract and continuing a tenure that began last season amidst upheaval and concluded with one of the most promising …

White Sox fill out coaching staff  —  CHICAGO — The Chicago White Sox made it official on the first business day following the completion of the World Series by naming Jeff Manto, Joe McEwing and Mark Parent to the coaching staff of new manager Robin Ventura.

Mets Make It Official: Citi Field to Shrink  —  Three seasons after the Mets opened Citi Field, they are making significant alterations, lowering walls and bringing in fences in an attempt to make it easier to hit home runs, and perhaps allow David Wright to regain his equilibrium as a player.

Agent says Chicago Cubs picked up option, but Aramis Ramirez will opt out  —  The Chicago Cubs have picked up the one-year, $16 million option on Aramis Ramirez's contract, but Ramirez will turn down the option and declare for free agency, according to his agent Paul Kinzer.

Royals exercise option on closer Soria  —  Hurler struggled at times in '11, to earn $6 million in 2012  —  KANSAS CITY — Joakim Soria's 2011 season wasn't up to his usual standards, but the Royals obviously see him as one of the game's premier closers.  —  So it was no surprise …

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.

Rays pick up option on RHP James Shields  —  As expected, the Rays have picked up the $7.5 million option for RHP James Shields for next season, according to agent Page Odle.  —  Shields, 29, is coming off a spectacular bounce-back season in which he racked up a major-league high 11 complete games …

Jays Exercise Encarnacion's Option, Decline Rauch's  —  The Blue Jays announced that they exercised their 2012 option for Edwin Encarnacion and declined their option for Jon Rauch.  Encarnacion obtains a $3.5MM salary instead of a $500K buyout and Rauch obtains a $250K buyout instead of a $3.75MM salary.

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.

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.