Rangers win Darvish rights with record bid  —  The Texas Rangers won the rights to negotiate with star Japanese right-hander Yu Darvish by placing a record $51.7 million bid in a posting auction, sources told Yahoo! Sports.  —  Darvish's team in Japan, the Nippon Ham Fighters, will accept the bid …

Nats working hard to land Gonzalez  —  The Nationals, continuing their quest to add a left-handed starting pitcher, are pushing hard to land the Athletics' Gio Gonzalez, according to major-league sources.  —  Gonzalez, 26, is perhaps the hottest pitcher available on the trade market …

Source: Diamondbacks, Kubel reach deal  —  The Diamondbacks, continuing their impressive off-season, have reached agreement with free-agent outfielder Jason Kubel on a two-year, $15 million contract, according to a major-league source.  —  The deal, which is pending a physical, also includes an option for 2014, the source said.

BALCO founder Victor Conte: Ryan Braun is Dead in the Water  —  All eyes are still on Major League Baseball and National League Most Valuable Player Ryan Braun, who has tested positive for elevated levels of testosterone.  Braun is appealing the test and we really haven't heard anything …

Endy heading to Baltimore with one-year deal  —  Speedy free agent expected to be O's top reserve outfielder  —  BALTIMORE — The Orioles crossed an item off their offseason shopping list, bolstering their outfield depth by agreeing to terms with veteran Endy Chavez for one year, pending a physical.

Why the Angels should trade Abreu  —  Even before the Angels signed Albert Pujols, Bobby Abreu looked like their odd man out.  —  Now, with Kendrys Morales seemingly on the verge of a comeback, the Angels should consider trading Abreu rather than paying him $9 million to be a part-time DH.

Jocketty checking off items on to-do list  —  Reds GM expects to address bullpen before left field  —  CINCINNATI — Following the acquisition of pitcher Mat Latos from the Padres over the weekend, the Reds and general manager Walt Jocketty are far from through making moves.

The Cooperstown case for Jeff Bagwell  —  It's December, so for me that means its Hall of Fame month.  Early next month, Cooperstown announces the results of the annual BBWAA election.  With that in mind, last month I wrote a piece for THT, “The Cooperstown case for Tim Raines.”

The Atlanta Braves Are in a Legal Dispute With Disney Pixar Over Brave For Obvious Reason  —  In one of the biggest cases of “pick your battles,” the owners of the Atlanta Braves baseball team are reportedly “in negotiations” with Disney Pixar over the title of their next big release, Brave.