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 …

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 …

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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 …

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.

Rafael Perez named Director of Dominican Operations  —  Major League Baseball announced today that Rafael Perez has been named Director of Dominican Operations.  Perez will be based in MLB's office in Santo Domingo.  —  Perez, who previously served as Director of International Operations …

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 …

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.

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.