Terry Francona Joins ESPN; Multi-faceted Role Includes Sunday Night Baseball Analyst  —  Terry Francona, two-time World Champion manager of the Boston Red Sox, has joined ESPN in a multiplatform role which will include serving as an analyst for Sunday Night Baseball, the network's exclusive national game of the week.

Marlins, Albert Pujols rep meet twice  —  How serious are the Miami Marlins about their push to sign Albert Pujols?  The team scheduled a second meeting of the day with Pujols' agent, Dan Lozano, for Monday night.  —  The two sides met for about a half-hour Monday afternoon …

Ron Santo Elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame by Golden Era Committee  —  Chicago Third Baseman to Be Inducted in Cooperstown, July 22, 2012  —  DALLAS, TX — Ron Santo, a nine-time All-Star who amassed 342 home runs and five Gold Glove awards, has been elected to the National Baseball Hall …

Marlins Get a Potential Bargain in Jose Reyes  —  Before the off-season started, we asked you guys to project how much the primary free agents would sign for this winter.  The FanGraphs Crowd tabbed Jose Reyes for a six year, $101 million contract.  Tonight, he signed with the Marlins …

Source: Dodgers closing in on deal with Harang  —  DALLAS — The Los Angeles Dodgers are close to an agreement with free-agent right-hander Aaron Harang, a deal that would give them a rotation full of established starters and likely would push rookie Nathan Eovaldi to the bullpen or the minor leagues to begin the season.

AP source: Twins keep Matt Capps for $4.75 million  —  DALLAS (AP) - A person familiar with the negotiations tells The Associated Press that closer Matt Capps and the Minnesota Twins have agreed to a $4.75 million, one-year contract.  —  The person spoke on condition of anonymity Monday because the deal had not yet been announced.

Five teams in hunt for C.J. Wilson  —  The Rangers are one of five teams in the hunt for free-agent left-hander C.J. Wilson, but they might have to offer six years to snag him.  —  A major-league source said that one of the other four suitors has made an offer of six years.

Trade interest heats up for Rockies' Smith  —  DALLAS — Rockies outfielder Seth Smith is drawing interest from multiple clubs, Rockies general manager Dan O'Dowd said Monday, the opening day of baseball's Winter Meetings.  —  It's not a guarantee that the Rockies will deal Smith …

APNewsBreak: MLB Avg Salary Up 2.7 Pct to $3.1M  —  DALLAS (AP) — The average major league salary increased 2.7 percent this year to nearly $3.1 million, the largest rise since 2008.  —  The 913 players on Aug. 31 rosters and disabled lists averaged $3,095,183, the Major League Baseball Players Association …

Meetings update: Transcript of Maddon media session  —  Maddon with his new brown hair, talking in the meda room.  Photo by Marc Topkin.  —  Here is the MLB-provided transcript of Rays manager Joe Maddon's 30-minute session with the media on Monday:  —  Q. Could you kind of just contrast …

Reds not pursuing Jurrjens, source says  —  DALLAS — Although there is a report to the contrary, the Reds do not appear to be going hard after Braves starter Jair Jurrjens.  —  A tweet from SI.com and MLB Network reporter Jon Heyman on Monday night said the Reds were “very interested” …

Blue Jays ready to get down to business  —  This is why it's good to have “people” to do stuff for you.  Alex Anthopoulos rolled into the Hilton Anatole on Sunday night for baseball's winter meetings, flying past the check-in counter and into an elevator pursued by a pack of Japanese reporters …