Top News:
John Schlegel / MLB.com:
MLB.com writers weigh in on 2013 HOF ballot — With Barry Larkin safe at home among the immortals in Cooperstown, the 2013 National Baseball Hall of Fame ballot is now up to bat and already delivering plenty of sock for those who will submit votes a year from now.
Discussion:
Baseball Nation
RELATED:
Jim Reeves / ESPN:
Juan Gonzalez gone from HOF ballots — Specter of steroids outweighed imposing numbers by former Rangers slugger … The slick promotional publication hit the mailbox sometime in late November or early December, just as it has for several years now. On the cover was the man we came to know and love as “Juando the Condo.”
Discussion:
Lone Star Ball and ESPN.com
Baseball Hall of Fame:
Barry Larkin Elected to the Hall of Fame
Discussion:
Bats and WasWatching.com
Carp / Rangers Report Blog:
Re-living the most remarkable season
Discussion:
HardballTalk, Getting Blanked and It's About The Money
David Kaplan / csnchicago.com:
Wood's time with Cubs appears all but over — While new Cubs baseball management has said all the right things about re-signing Kerry Wood as they go about the process of rebuilding a 71-win team, it appears that talking may be as far as they are going to go to get a deal done with the popular pitcher.
Discussion:
MLB Rumors, MLB Daily Dish, VFTB, River Avenue Blues, ESPN and Barry Larkin Nation
RELATED:
Paul Sullivan / Chicago Tribune:
Cubs boost depth by signing Maholm
Discussion:
FanGraphs Baseball, MLB Daily Dish, MLB Rumors and CBS Chicago
David Kaplan / csnchicago.com:
Tigers, Cubs talking Garza trade
Discussion:
Getting Blanked, DRaysBay, Call to the Pen, Bless You Boys, The LoHud Yankees Blog, MLB Rumors, HardballTalk and CBS Chicago
Buster Olney / MLB:
Source: Selig to be offered contract extension — Baseball commissioner Bud Selig will be offered an extension to his current contract, a highly placed source said, and baseball executives presume Selig will continue in the job. — Selig, 77, has one more year remaining on his current contract.
Discussion:
The LoHud Yankees Blog, Yahoo! Sports, Twins Fan From Afar, NESN.com and baseballmusings.com
Buster Olney / ESPN.com:
The battle over Jeff Bagwell — Buster Olney writes that Jeff Bagwell is seemingly close to the Hall of Fame — earning 56 percent of the votes this year — but yet so far because of the ramifications of his era and PED suspicions that some writers can't seem to overlook.
Discussion:
Federal Baseball, River Avenue Blues, Bronx Baseball Daily and The LoHud Yankees Blog
Alden Gonzalez / MLB.com:
With pieces in place, Halos likely done shopping — GM Dipoto not expecting to make any more ‘significant additions’ — ANAHEIM — Shortly after taking part in an informal luncheon to celebrate Howie Kendrick's four-year, $33.5 million extension on Tuesday, general manager Jerry Dipoto …
Discussion:
MLB Rumors, MLB Daily Dish and FanGraphs Baseball
RELATED:
Ben Nicholson-Smith / MLB Rumors:
Mariners Sign Aaron Heilman — The Mariners have signed Aaron Heilman to a minor league deal that includes an invitation to Spring Training, the team announced. Frontline represents the 33-year-old right-hander. ESPN.com's Jerry Crasnick first reported the move on Twitter.
Discussion:
Yahoo! Sports, MLB Daily Dish and Lookout Landing
Associated Press:
Mets sign Batista, Cabrera to minor league deals — NEW YORK - The New York Mets have agreed to minor league contracts with right-handers Miguel Batista and Fernando Cabrera, inviting both to spring training. — The 40-year-old Batista split last season between the St. Louis Cardinals and Mets, going a combined 5-2 with a 3.60 ERA.
Steve Gardner / USA Today:
Hall debate spawns a new stats superhero, Saberboy — What happens when a veteran baseball beat writer and a statistically inclined blogger get into a heated discussion on Twitter over the Hall of Fame voting? — The birth of a new comic book hero may not be the first thing that comes to mind.
Carroll Rogers / Atlanta Braves:
Bout time? Q and A with Braves third baseman Chipper Jones — It's a little less than six weeks from when Braves pitchers and catchers report for spring training on Feb. 19, and I haven't bugged Chipper Jones all offseason. What's up with that? — Well let's say that's remedied …
Discussion:
HardballTalk and Talking Chop
Ben Nicholson-Smith / MLB Rumors:
Brewers, Carlos Gomez Avoid Arbitration — The Brewers avoided arbitration with center fielder Carlos Gomez, agreeing to a one-year deal in the $2MM range, tweets Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports. The Boras Corporation represents Gomez, who had a projected salary of $1.8MM, according to MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz.
