Top News:
George A. King III / New York Post:
Blue Jays believed to outbid Yankees, others for 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 Yu Darvish. — There is a belief the Cubs also made a large bid on the right-handed pitcher …
Discussion:
MLB Rumors, HardballTalk, Baseball Nation and Bluebird Banter
RELATED:
Bob Elliott / Toronto Sun:
SPORTS BASEBALL — Jays frontrunners for Darvish? — The bidding is in for the right to negotiate for Yu Darvish and several industry sources believe the Jays have outbid the Yankees and Rangers. (US Presswire, files) TORONTO - — Where will free agent Yu Darvish land?
Gerry Fraley / Rangers Blog:
Signs point toward Toronto as winner of rights to Darvish — The growing consensus among officials with several major-league clubs is Toronto will surpass the Texas Rangers and win the negotiating rights to Japanese righthander Yu Darvish. — Without having direct knowledge of the offers …
Discussion:
baseballmusings.com
Bruce Levine / ESPN:
Source: Cubs bid on Yu Darvish — The Chicago Cubs are one of numerous teams to put in a bid on Japanese pitcher Yu Darvish, according to a major league source. — Darvish, 25, was posted by the Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters earlier this week. Bidding closed Wednesday, and the Ham Fighters have until Tuesday to accept a bid.
Discussion:
LA Times Sports Blog
Jon Heyman / CBSSports.com:
Notebook: Rangers might grab Fielder with kick at the finish
Discussion:
River Avenue Blues, Pinstripe Alley and MLB Rumors
Troy E. Renck / Denver Post:
Rockies favorite to land Cuddyer, their primary target — LAS VEGAS — With their best and final offer on the table, the Rockies were growing increasingly confident Thursday night that they would land free agent outfielder Michael Cuddyer. — The Rockies have extended themselves as far as they will go …
Discussion:
MLB Rumors and Purple Row
RELATED:
Around the Majors:
Twins haven't ruled out Cuddyer's return; hope rising internally — There is growing hope within the Twins organization that they might be able to re-sign Michael Cuddyer, despite already signing free agent outfielder Josh Willingham to a three-year, $21 million deal.
Discussion:
Nick's Twins Blog, AaronGleeman.com, Seattle Times and HardballTalk
Jerry Crasnick / MLB:
Willingham signs 3-year, $21M deal with Twins
Discussion:
Twinkie Town and Yahoo! Sports
Fox Sports:
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.
Discussion:
MLB Rumors and HardballTalk
Joe Strauss / St. Louis Post-Dispatch:
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 …
Discussion:
HardballTalk
Fox Sports:
Reds need to pull trigger on a trade — The Cincinnati Reds need to make like the Arizona Diamondbacks. — D-backs GM Kevin Towers, calling the NL West “wide open,” made a bold move to obtain right-hander Trevor Cahill this month and still could add right-hander Hiroki Kuroda or re-sign lefty Joe Saunders in free agency.
Discussion:
MLB Rumors and Redleg Nation
Ben Badler / Baseball America:
MLB, Union Form International Talent Committee, Move Toward International Draft — Major League Baseball has taken another step toward its goal of implementing an international draft. — MLB and the MLB Players' Association today announced they have formed an International Talent Committee …
Discussion:
River Avenue Blues
RELATED:
Ben Nicholson-Smith / MLB Rumors:
MLB, MLBPA To Talk International Acquisitions
Discussion:
Yahoo! Sports
Josh Kosman / New York Post:
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 …
Discussion:
Amazin' Avenue and FanGraphs Baseball
Brian McTaggart / MLB.com:
Melancon leaves Houston with mixed emotions — HOUSTON — Mark Melancon was eating a vacation lunch on a Cancun beach with his uncle on Wednesday when his wife walked up to him with a concerned look on her face. Melancon immediately thought the worst, thinking something was wrong with the couple's baby daughter, Brooklyn Marie.
Discussion:
Boston Globe, Over the Monster and The Soxaholix
