Brewers avoid arbitration with Kottaras  —  Club tenders pacts to all of its arbitration-eligible players  —  The Brewers avoided arbitration with George Kottaras, signing the catcher to a one-year contract, and tendered contracts to all of their arbitration-eligible players.

Jeter's booty hauls  —  Not so classy, captain!  —  Yankee star Derek Jeter, one of New York's most eligible hunks since his split with longtime gal pal Minka Kelly, is bedding a bevy of beauties in his Trump World Tower bachelor pad — and then coldly sending them home alone with gift baskets of autographed memorabilia.

Mets, Struggling for Cash, Receive $40 Million Bank Loan  —  The owners of the Mets, needing cash and unable to turn to Major League Baseball for more financial help, received a $40 million loan from a major bank in the past six weeks.  —  The team described the arrangement as a “bridge loan …

Pujols' wife explains slugger's leaving St. Louis  —  Albert Pujols' wife Deidre, in an interview with a radio station with ties to the former St. Louis Cardinals slugger, said the couple was prepared to take less money to stay in St. Louis, but were greatly disappointed when the team initially offered him a five-year deal.

No awards for those who cheat  —  If Ryan Braun doesn't win his appeal, he doesn't deserve to be the NL MVP  —  After Ryan Braun's appeal of his positive test, if it is concluded that he broke the MLB's drug policy during the 2011 regular season, why can't we take back the MVP award?

Rangers not fishing for Fielder, Darvish  —  That counter-punch to the Los Angeles Angels that many expect from the Texas Rangers probably is not coming.  —  The Rangers are more focused on trading for a starting pitcher than signing free-agent first baseman Prince Fielder …

Sonnanstine non-tenderered, Howell gets contract  —  UPDATE, 12:37 AM: Executive VP Andrew Friedman explained the decisions, saying they were confident Howell could still regain his pre-surgery and that there was no longer room for Sonnanstine.  —  On Howell: Friedman noted how much a grind …

John Rocker Admits Steroid Use During Career  —  John Rocker's got a new book.  —  Hey, I'll give it a chance.  I love being surprised.  Oh, and maybe he was kind enough to mention me!  When the excrement hit the fan in 1999, I was one of the very few baseball writers who defended Rocker's right …

Source: Aramis Ramirez to Brewers  —  Former Chicago Cubs third baseman Aramis Ramirez will sign a three-year contract with the Milwaukee Brewers, pending a physical, according to a source familiar with the situation.  —  Ramirez played the last eight-plus seasons with the Cubs.

Mets cut Ronny Paulino and Mike Baxter  —  The Mets cut Ronny Paulino and Mike Baxter tonight (making them free agents), which puts the team's 40-man roster at 38.  —  Mike Pelfrey, Manny Acosta, Ramon Ramirez and Andres Torres were tendered contracts and offered salary arbitration.

Badenhop acquired from Marlins  —  The Rays added another potential piece to their bullpen, acquiring RHP Burke Badenhop from the Marlins for minor-league C Jake Jefferies.  —  Badenhop, 28, spent parts of the last four seasons in the majors, compiling a 13-15, 4.34 record.

Marlins catcher John Buck helps rescue two women from overturned car  —  Think the Marlins front office had an eventful week last week in Dallas?  Consider Marlins catcher John Buck's week.  —  He started the week by bagging a trophy-class deer (209 points on the Boone & Crockett scale) on a hunting trip in south Texas.

Angels tender contract to Kendrys Morales  —  The team will commit about $3 million to the switch-hitting first baseman, who hasn't played since breaking his left ankle in May of 2010.  Howie Kendrick, Erick Aybar and Alberto Callaspo are also tendered contracts.

Q&A with MLB Network's Brian Kenny  —  If you missed it, Friday's media column led off with a look at the MLB Network's “Clubhouse Confidential,” the network's innovative, sabermetrically-oriented program hosted by Brian Kenny, the incisive and opinionated former ESPN anchor and host.

D'Backs To Sign Takashi Saito  —  The Diamondbacks have agreed to sign right-handed reliever Takashi Saito, according to Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com (Twitter link).  The D'Backs were known to be targeting the CAA client, who drew interest from at least six teams this offseason.

Blue Jays Acquire Ben Francisco  —  The Blue Jays acquired outfielder Ben Francisco from the Phillies for minor league lefty Frank Gailey, announced the team.  The Jays also designated reliever Jesse Chavez for assignment.  —  Francisco, 30, hit .244/.340/.364 in 293 plate appearances for the Phillies this year.

Non-Tender Tracker  —  On average, each MLB team currently has about six arbitration eligible players.  I count 188 in total, from the White Sox and Astros with two each to the Giants with a dozen.  This winter, arbitration eligible players are those with at least two years and 146 days …