Red Sox add McClure, Ochoa and Royster to coaching staff  —  The Red Sox announced their coaching staff today.  As was previously reported, Jerry Royster is the new third base coach and Bob McClure the pitching coach.  Alex Ochoa will be the first base coach.  —  Tim Bogar moves to bench coach.

Holidays mean family time for ballplayers  —  Long-running traditions renewed every winter for Major Leaguers  —  They treasure those “opening” days of holidays past, filled with joy by presents ranging from Jered Weaver's first drum set to Mike Matheny's BB gun to Vinnie Pestano's original PlayStation 2 …

For Mets, Vast Debt and Not a Lot of Time  —  The finances of major professional sports teams exist largely as the secrets of privately held companies, except for the community-owned Green Bay Packers, who report their profits without a hint of resistance.  —  But elements of the Mets' finances …

Reds acquire Marshall for Wood, prospects  —  Cincinnati sends Sappelt, Torreyes to Chicago for lefty reliever  —  CINCINNATI — Seeking to shore up the back end of their bullpen, the Reds on Friday completed the trade that acquired lefty reliever Sean Marshall from the Cubs.

PADRES: Club to re-engage in extension talks with Maybin  —  SAN DIEGO — The Padres will restart contact extension talks with Cameron Maybin next month, two sources confirmed.  —  General manager Josh Byrnes and representatives for the center fielder recently had a “broad” …

Baseball lucky to have had McLane around  —  Drayton McLane slipped out the backdoor that final day in Milwaukee last month, off to a life out of the spotlight after 17 years as the owner of the Houston Astros.  —  I'm taking this opportunity to say now what I didn't have the chance to say then.

Duquette on Fielder: “We're monitoring the market”  —  The week between Christmas and New Year's tends to be fairly uneventful in baseball.  I'd often volunteer to be on call during that stretch so the other Orioles beat writer at The Sun could relax and celebrate the holiday with his family.

Posada more likely a backup plan  —  There's a Spanish-language report today from ESPNDeportes.com that the Rays are among the teams interested in former Yankees star Jorge Posada, including quotes from Posada's father confirming their interest.  —  But from the Rays' perspective …

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.

Beane On Stadium, Payroll, Draft, Trades, Free Agents  —  Athletics GM Billy Beane spoke to reporters after the Gio Gonzalez trade was made official earlier today.  Here's a recap of the news...  - “We're putting a team together as if we're going to have a new stadium,” said Beane according to MLB.com's Jane Lee (on Twitter).

White Sox could still deal Gavin Floyd  —  Even after signing John Danks to a contract extension this week, the White Sox remain open to trading fellow starting pitcher Gavin Floyd, according to sources.  —  The White Sox surprised people in baseball (even some in their own organization) …

Fox granted stay; Dodgers can't sell TV rights for now  —  The Dodgers must immediately halt their sale of the team's television rights, a U.S. District Court judge ruled Friday.  —  In granting to Fox Sports a stay of a U.S. Bankruptcy Court decision that permitted the Dodgers to shop …