Top News:
ESPN:
Ryan Braun tests positive for PED — National League MVP Ryan Braun, who last season led the Milwaukee Brewers to their first division title in nearly three decades, has tested positive for a performance-enhancing drug and faces a 50-game suspension if the initial finding is upheld …
Discussion:
Baseball Prospectus, Drunk Jays Fans, Dodgers Blog, JSOnline, HardballTalk, The Seattle Times, Getting Blanked, Athletics Nation, NESN.com, Baseball Nation, Lone Star Ball, Disciples of Uecker, The Big Lead, baseballmusings.com, SI Tracking Blog, The Good Phight, Baseball Time in Arlington and Deadspin
RELATED:
Mike Axisa / MLB Rumors:
Ryan Braun Tested Positive For PEDs — Reigning NL MVP Ryan Braun has tested positive for a performance-enchancing drug, reports Mark Fainaru-Wada and T.J. Quinn of ESPN. YokalSports.com was the first to report the news (on Twitter). Braun is facing a 50-game suspension and is disputing the positive test through arbitration.
Discussion:
Lasorda's Lair, JSOnline, HardballTalk, Al's Ramblings and joy of sox
Fort Worth Star-Telegram:
Rangers, Kinsler talking new deal — General manager Jon Daniels has said throughout the off-season that retaining the core players from two World Series runs is the top priority for the Texas Rangers, though for now the process is in the preliminary stages.
Discussion:
HardballTalk, Lone Star Ball, Getting Blanked, MLB.com and Rangers Blog
RELATED:
Joey Matschulat / Baseball Time in Arlington:
Ian Kinsler's Next Big Deal — Times like these tend to call for some kind — any kind — of good news, and it appears that there may be a flicker of good news on the horizon for a team that just watched its 2012 division-winning chances slip dramatically and a disquieted fan base anxious …
Discussion:
MLB Rumors
Mike Axisa / MLB Rumors:
King's Latest: Yankees, Fielder, Rangers, McGehee — Here are some notes from George A. King III of The New York Post... - “I am ready to rock and roll,” said Yankees GM Brian Cashman while acknowledging that he still isn't optimistic about making a major pitching addition. “The Yankees are open for business.”
Discussion:
JSOnline
RELATED:
George A. King III / New York Post:
Yanks willing, waiting to make a deal — It makes no difference if they're in a hotel room in Dallas or their Yankee Stadium offices: the Yankees aren't abandoning their patient approach to altering the roster. — Brian Cashman departed the Winter Meetings Thursday not optimistic about signing …
Discussion:
Pinstripe Alley and Lone Star Ball
Ken Gurnick / MLB.com:
Source: Dodgers interested in Mets' Murphy — LOS ANGLES — Daniel Murphy of the Mets is the player the Dodgers tried to trade for at the Winter Meetings, according to a baseball source, and they might make another run at him. — Murphy was the unnamed player general manager Ned Colletti referred …
Discussion:
HardballTalk, MetsBlog.com and MLB Rumors
Michael Vega / Boston Globe:
Bobby Valentine: Bard to be prepped as starter in spring — Red Sox manager Bobby Valentine said reliever Daniel Bard, who projected as the team's closer after the departure of Jonathan Papelbon to the Philadelphia Phillies, would be prepped as a starter during spring training.
Discussion:
joy of sox
Doug Glanville / ESPN:
Sharing the gift of Albert Pujols — Sorry, Cardinals fans, but it's time to expose his otherworldly skills to the AL — As Scott Rolen and I leaned on the batting cage at home plate, we watched the hitter in the batter's box very closely. Rolen and I had our own language …
Discussion:
Halos Heaven and ESPN
ESPN.com:
Sources: Manny reinstated from retirement list — Manny Ramirez has officially been reinstated from the voluntary retirement list by Major League Baseball, sources told ESPN The Magazine's Buster Olney on Saturday morning. — Ramirez — Ramirez faces a 50-game suspension when he returns …
Alden Gonzalez / MLB.com Hot Stove Blog:
Morales will be tendered contract by Angels — The Angels will indeed tender Kendrys Morales a contract prior to Monday's deadline, general manager Jerry Dipoto confirmed during Saturday's introductory press conference for Albert Pujols and C.J. Wilson. — After finishing fifth in voting …
Discussion:
HardballTalk and MLB Rumors
Ben Nicholson-Smith / MLB Rumors:
Interpreting Scott Boras' Comments On Prince Fielder — There's more finesse to Scott Boras' sales pitch than there is to Prince Fielder's swing, but neither man holds back. In Dallas this week Boras argued that the free agent first baseman can invigorate a fan base and strengthen a lineup …
Discussion:
Drunk Jays Fans, BBTF's Baseball Primer … and JSOnline
RELATED:
Fred Goodall / Globe and Mail:
Matt Moore agrees eight-year deal with Rays — Two months after becoming the youngest starting pitcher to win a team's opening playoff game, Tampa Bay left-hander Matt Moore has agreed to an eight-year contract that could be worth up to US$39.75 million. — The 22-year-old made his major league debut …
Discussion:
Yahoo! Sports
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Mark Polishuk / MLB Rumors:
D'Backs Close To Acquiring Cahill, Breslow — 5:41pm: Neither Miley nor Borchering is involved in the trade, tweets Piecoro. — 5:22pm: Arizona may also send left-hander Wade Miley to Oakland along with Parker and Cowgill, tweets Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle.
