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.

Talking some baseball over dinner last night  —  The 73rd annual Boston Baseball Writers Dinner was held at the Westin Copley last night.  A large crowd attended and had a chance to hear from assorted award-winners and guests including Ben Cherington, Bobby Valentine, David Ortiz, Jarrod Saltalamacchia, Ryan Lavarnway and Josh Reddick.

Source: A's interested in Manny Ramirez  —  ORLANDO — The Oakland Athletics are “very interested” in making Manny Ramirez their designated hitter next season, a source told ESPNDeportesLosAngeles.com.  —  Ramirez  —  Ramirez, 39, has been working out in Miami since December and has plans …

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.

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.

Rangers sign Hawpe  —  The Rangers have signed first baseman-outfielder Brad Hawpe to a Minor League contract.  He gives the Rangers some depth at first base in case Mitch Moreland is not ready.  —  The Rangers have scheduled a Major news conference for Friday night.  Wait a minute, that is for Yu Darvish.

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.

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.

‘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.

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.

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 …

Indians Acquire Kevin Slowey  —  4:49pm: The Rockies are sending $1.25MM to Cleveland in the deal, MLB.com's Jordan Bastian tweets.  That means the Indians will pay Slowey $1.5MM in 2012.  —  3:03pm: The Indians have acquired starting pitcher Kevin Slowey and cash considerations from the Rockies for right-handed reliever Zach Putnam.