Top News:
Derrick Goold / St. Louis Post-Dispatch:
Cardinals sign All-Star Beltran — ST. LOUIS • All-Star outfielder Carlos Beltran finalized a two-year deal with the Cardinals on Thursday evening, a source familiar with the negotiations confirmed to the Post-Dispatch. — The switch-hitting outfielder brings some desired depth …
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Mark Polishuk / MLB Rumors:
Cardinals Agree To Two-Year Deal With Carlos Beltran — The Cardinals have addressed the Albert Pujols-sized void in their lineup by agreeing to terms with free agent outfielder Carlos Beltran. The contract is a two-year, $26MM deal that includes a full no-trade clause and will be finalized once Beltran passes a physical.
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MLB:
Carlos Beltran, Cardinals agree — Free agent outfielder Carlos Beltran has reached an agreement on a two-year deal with the St. Louis Cardinals. — Beltran — The $26 million deal includes a full no-trade clause, a source told ESPN.com's Jerry Crasnick.
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Matthew Leach / MLB.com:
Beltran reaches two-year deal with Cards — ST. LOUIS — A familiar face on the other side of the diamond, Carlos Beltran is finally going to be on the Cardinals' side. — The six-time All-Star, coming off an impressive rebound season, agreed to terms on a two-year contract with St. Louis on Thursday evening, pending a physical.
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JSOnline
Derrick Goold / St. Louis Post-Dispatch:
Cardinals' talks with Beltran intensify
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Marc Topkin / The Heater Feed:
Would Rays and Beltran be a good match?
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Boston Globe, MLB Daily Dish and MLB Rumors
Maury Brown / The Biz of Baseball:
Yankees Surpass $200 Million in Total Luxury Tax Payments — Damn, Yankees! The Bronx Bombers surpass the $200 million mark in Luxury Tax — payments, select “read more” to see year-by-year figures — The bill collector came calling today for clubs in Major League Baseball that broke the Luxury Tax threshold for the league.
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Pinstriped Bible …
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Associated Press:
Yanks, Red Sox hit with luxury tax — The New York Yankees have been hit with a $13.9 million luxury tax bill, their lowest since 2003. — The fee, assessed Thursday by Major League Baseball under its labor contract, is down from $18 million last year and $25.7 million in 2009, when the Yankees won the World Series.
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Dave Krieger / Denver Post:
Only fair to give Rockies some props in Hall voting — Strangely, the year before the Baseball Hall of Fame's year of the steroid abuser is the year of the Rockie. Three of them appear on the ballot for the class of 2012, constituting 11 percent of the nominees.
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ESPN.com:
Source: Nationals get Gio Gonzalez — Oakland Athletics left-hander Gio Gonzalez, highly coveted by a number of teams, was dealt to the Washington Nationals Thursday for four prospects, a team source told ESPN Insider Keith Law. — The Athletics will receive right-hander Brad Peacock …
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baseballmusings.com, ESPN, ESPN, MLB.com, MLB, Yahoo! Sports and Batter's Box Interactive …
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Ben Nicholson-Smith / MLB Rumors:
Nationals To Acquire Gio Gonzalez
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MLB.com:
MLB Network — Clubhouse Confidential serves as an open forum to discuss and debate the day's news and moves using modern statistical research and value projection. Don't understand the stats-speak? Check out the glossary of terms below. Catch up on highlights and interviews here.
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THE BOOK
Evan Drellich / MLB.com:
Block joins Uecker in Brewers' radio booth — Bob Uecker's partner in the booth in 2012 will move to Milwaukee from Los Angeles, where he worked on the Dodgers' postgame radio show last year. — Joe Block, a 33-year-old from Roseville, Mich., has been announced by NewsRadio 620 WTMJ …
Joe Frisaro / The Fish Pond:
Stanton, Morrison off limits — MIAMI — With Mike Stanton and Logan Morrison regarded as “off limits,” the Marlins are finding it difficult to trade for frontline starting pitching. — Miami pursued Gio Gonzalez for more than a month, but Oakland's asking price always included either Stanton or Morrison.
Discussion:
HardballTalk
Shannon Drayer / MyNorthwest.com:
Why you do not trade Felix Hernandez right now — Listen: Should the Mariners trade Felix Hernandez? — Mariners insider Shannon Drayer joined Matt Pitman and Jim Moore on the Kevin Calabro Show, where they discussed the implications behind a potential Felix Hernandez trade.
JonPaulMorosi / mlbbuzz:
Trade market for Rockies' Smith taking shape — Rockies outfielder Seth Smith, expendable after the team signed Michael Cuddyer, is drawing trade interest from the Mariners, Athletics, Braves, Mets, and Rays, major-league sources said. — Smith could earn close to $3 million in salary arbitration …
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Matthew Cerrone / MetsBlog.com:
Mets among 5 teams interested in Rockies OF Seth Smith
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