Rangers' revival is gaining steam  —  The Yu Darvish contract drama will end this week.  Our fascination with the Texas Rangers will not.  —  For a once-irrelevant franchise, that's an achievement to rival the consecutive pennants.  —  Darvish and the Rangers must agree on a deal by 5 p.m. ET Wednesday …

An interview with Robert Creamer  —  He was born when Babe Ruth was in just his third season as a Yankee slugger.  He went to his first baseball game when John McGraw and Wilbert Robinson were still managing.  His tenure at Sports Illustrated began months before the first issue of the magazine printed in 1954.

Villanueva inks one-year deal, avoids arbitration  —  The Blue Jays have agreed to terms on a one-year contract worth $2,277,500 with pitcher Carlos Villanueva, thus avoiding salary arbitration with the right-hander.  —  Villanueva appeared in 33 games (13 starts) last season for the Blue Jays, posting a 6-4 record and a 4.04 ERA.

Erick Aybar, Angels do one-year deal  —  The Los Angeles Angels have shelved discussions about a long-term contract with Erick Aybar, at least for now, by agreeing Tuesday to a one-year deal with the Gold Glove shortstop to avoid arbitration.  —  The deal is for $5.075 million, a source told ESPNDeportesLosAngeles.com's Enrique Rojas.

Report: Reds, Ludwick reach 1-year, $2.5M deal  —  Ryan Ludwick and the Cincinnati Reds agreed to a $2.5 million, one-year contract Monday, according to a person with knowledge of the deal.  —  Ludwick  —  The person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity Monday night …

Josh Lewin leading candidate to replace Wayne Hagin  —  According to Newsday's Neil Best, “Josh Lewin has emerged as the leading candidate to replace Wayne Hagin alongside Howie Rose in the Mets' radio booth.”  —  Last month, Mike Puma of the New York Post said WFAN recently auditioned Jim Duquette …

Marlins reach one-year deal with Oviedo  —  Club comes to terms with Mujica; Anibal, Bonifacio remain  —  MIAMI — Juan Carlos Oviedo has yet to be removed from MLB's restricted list, but the 29-year-old reliever does have a contract for the upcoming season.  —  The Marlins avoided arbitration with Oviedo on Tuesday.

Choo among five avoiding arbitration with Tribe  —  All-Star shortstop Cabrera, lefty reliever Perez unsigned  —  CLEVELAND — It has been more than two decades since the Indians went to an arbitration hearing.  Cleveland now sits two signatures away from maintaining that negotiation streak for another offseason.

Brewers Avoid Arbitration With Francisco Rodriguez  —  The Brewers announced they've avoided arbitration with reliever Francisco Rodriguez, signing the Scott Boras client to a one-year deal.  K-Rod had accepted the team's arbitration offer rather than continue as a free agent.

Craig Counsell, the 1997 Marlins World Series hero, calls it a career  —  Congratulations to Craig Counsell, who is retiring today to take a job in the Milwaukee Brewers front office.  —  Counsell played all or part of 16 seasons, with just three of those in Florida.

Herzog is off the disabled list  —  After his recovery from a serious fall in late September, Whitey Herzog finds himself reading a lot these days.  —  “I spend about 2½ hours reading the paper that's about a third as big as it used to be,” said Herzog.

Dodgers strike 1-year deals with Ethier, Loney  —  Los Angeles Dodgers right fielder Andre Ethier and first baseman James Loney avoided arbitration on Tuesday by agreeing to terms on one-year contracts.  —  Ethier will receive $10.95 million this season and an additional $25,000 for each of 600 and 625 plate appearances.

Phillies and Cole Hamels avoid arbitration with $15 million deal  —  Cole Hamels is entering his final season of arbitration eligibility and the 28-year-old left-hander will avoid a hearing by agreeing to a one-year, $15 million deal with the Phillies.  —  Hamels earned $9.5 million last season …

Rockies trade Smith to Oakland for two pitchers; offer deal to Jamie Moyer  —  Seth Smith spent the winter in wonderland.  On Monday, the questions and uncertainty ended.  —  With the outfielder viewed as a luxury item after the signing of free agent Michael Cuddyer, Smith was traded …