Rays To Sign Carlos Pena  —  The Rays have agreed to sign Carlos Pena to a one-year deal that will bring the powerful first baseman back to Tampa Bay, Jon Heyman of CBS Sports reports on Twitter.  He'll obtain approximately $7.25MM, Heyman reports.  Yahoo's Tim Brown reported earlier …

Brewers OF Aoki cashes in on longtime ‘dream’  —  TOKYO — Even with a significant cut in salary, Japanese outfielder Norichika Aoki is pleased to be a Milwaukee Brewer.  —  “I'm just happy to get the opportunity to play in the major leagues,” Aoki said at a news conference on Friday.

Brewers' Ryan Braun, NL MVP, pleads case to special panel Thursday trying to avoid 50-game suspension after failing drug test with elevated testosterone level  —  Brewers slugger wants to start season  —  Ryan Braun is trying to avoid a 50-game suspension from Major League Baseball.

Romo, Giants avoid arbitration with deal  —  SAN FRANCISCO — Right-hander Sergio Romo avoided salary arbitration by agreeing to a one-year, $1.575 million deal, the Giants announced on Friday.  —  Romo's accord left right-hander Tim Lincecum as San Francisco's only unsigned arbitration-eligible player.

Indians' Carmona released from jail  —  The Cleveland Indians pitcher known as Fausto Carmona made issued a tearful apology Friday as he was released following his arrest for allegedly using a false identity to play baseball in the U.S.  —  “I ask for the forgiveness of my fans …

‘Lach’ finds special place back with Angels  —  Halos happy to draw on former pitching coach's expertise … ANAHEIM — Like he'll say about so many of those on his first staff, general manager Jerry Dipoto calls Marcel Lachemann a baseball treasure.  More specifically, though, Lachemann is an Angels treasure.

Indians Acquire Kevin Slowey  —  The Indians have acquired starting pitcher Kevin Slowey and cash considerations from the Rockies for right-handed reliever Zach Putnam.  The Rockies announced the moves, which Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports first reported on Twitter.

As 2012 MLB Season Approaches, Blackout Policy Likely to Remain  —  File this one in the “broken record” department: prepare for yet another season of MLB's blackout policy remaining in place.  —  The reason for the broken record?  This story has been written repeatedly for years.

Detroit Tigers GM Dave Dombrowski: Prince Fielder ‘not a good fit’  —  LANSING — After the season-ending injury to Victor Martinez, speculation has turned to whether the Tigers would sign free-agent first baseman Prince Fielder to fill the void.  —  Martinez hit .330 and drove in 103 runs for the Tigers last year.

Mets among four teams interested in Jeff Francis  —  Jerry Crasnick of ESPN says the Mets are among four teams “keeping tabs” on LHP Jeff Francis.  —  Francis, 31, went 6-16 with a 4.82 ERA 183 innings over 31 starts for the Royals last season.  Although he allowed 224 hits, he allowed just 39 walks while striking out 91.

Cherington confident about Red Sox's rotation  —  BOSTON — The Boston Baseball Writers' Association of America dinner, which took place Thursday night, is always the first hint that Spring Training is finally in the not-too-distant future.  And when it comes to the 2012 Red Sox …

Prospect Watch: Top 10 catchers  —  Recently traded to Mariners, Montero heads list again … The name atop this year's Top 10 catching prospects list is the same as in 2011, but the team isn't.  The biggest offseason prospect splash happened recently, with Jesus Montero going from the Yankees to the Mariners.

Q&A: Larry Walker on his Hall of Fame snub  —  Former Colorado Rockies and Montreal Expos outfielder Larry Walker received only 22.9 per cent of support recently from the Baseball Writers' Association of America in his second year of eligibility, well shy of the required 75 per cent …