Yankees behind Blue Jays in race for rights to Darvish  —  Having made a posting bid above $40 million and possibly close to $50 million, the Blue Jays are the favorites to land the negotiating rights to Japanese pitcher Yu Darvish.  —  There is a belief the Cubs also made a large bid …

Rockies To Sign Michael Cuddyer  —  Rockies GM Dan O'Dowd continued a busy offseason today by making his biggest move yet.  The Rockies have agreed to sign Michael Cuddyer to a three-year, $31.5MM deal.  —  Cuddyer, 32, hit 20 homers and posted a .284/.346/.459 line in 584 plate appearances for the Twins this past season.

Fielder should be Cubs' player to lose  —  Based on what we know — and admittedly, we know only so much — the Cubs are the front-runners to sign Prince Fielder.  —  No one should schedule a news conference at Wrigley Field.  These negotiations might only be in their early stages.

Tribe inks Pie, Lopez to Minor League deals  —  Both players extended non-roster invitations to Spring Training  —  CLEVELAND — Protecting the big league club by adding depth through Minor League signings has been an important approach for the Indians in recent years.  This offseason is no exception.

Orioles reassign 6 in scouting shakeup  —  Dan Duquette is taking the Orioles in a dramatic new direction, one that will renew the debate over the value of scouting vs. statistical analysis in baseball.  —  Duquette, the team's new general manager, essentially dissolved …

Barry Bonds Gets 2 Years Probation in Steroids Probe  —  SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Home-run king Barry Bonds was sentenced on Friday to 2 years probation, with no prison time, for his conviction on a single criminal count related to an investigation over steroids use in sports.

Al Alburquerque undergoes surgery on right elbow  —  The Detroit Tigers today made the following announcement regarding righthanded pitcher Al Alburquerque:  —  Alburquerque underwent a surgical procedure to have a screw inserted into his olecranon to stabilize a non-displaced stress fracture in his right elbow.

Mets asked MLB to stop ownership deal: book  —  Mets owner Fred Wilpon asked baseball commissioner Bud Selig to “play the bad cop” and help him scuttle a deal that could have resulted in him losing majority control of the team, a new bombshell book reports.  —  Earlier this year …

Chris Bosio is Cubs pitching coach  —  The Chicago Cubs completed their coaching shuffle on Friday, announcing new manager Dale Sveum's staff.  —  As expected Chris Bosio follows Sveum down from Milwaukee to take over as pitching coach.  The former big league pitcher was named Brewers …

La Russa: Pujols pained by decision  —  Image  —  Despite keeping his distance during the final volley of talks between the Cardinals and free agent icon Albert Pujols, former Redbirds manager Tony La Russa believes the divorce of the defending World Series champions from their three …