Top News:
Ben Nicholson-Smith / MLB Rumors:
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 …
RELATED:
Associated Press:
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP)— The Tampa Bay Rays have added a familiar bat to the middle of their lineup. — A person with knowledge of the agreement tells The Associated Press that slugger Carlos Pena has agreed to a $7.25 million, one-year contract to return to the team he posted impressive power numbers for four seasons.
Discussion:
MLB Daily Dish
Marc Topkin / St. Petersburg Times:
Tampa Bay Rays re-sign first baseman Carlos Pena — The Tampa Bay Rays have re-signed first baseman Carlos Pena, the Tampa Bay Times has confirmed. — Pena is pumped about the move, writing, “Sooooo excited ... !!!!!” in a text message and saying he's finalizing details now.
Discussion:
FanGraphs Baseball and MLB Daily Dish
Michael Baron / MetsBlog.com:
Could the Rockies trade for Justin Turner? — Troy Renck of the Denver Post says the Rockies had been trying to acquire Marco Scutaro from the Red Sox, but those talks have stalled and . Instead, Renck says, “it's more likely they get someone like Justin Turner than Scutaro now.”
Discussion:
Boston Globe
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Ben Nicholson-Smith / MLB Rumors:
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.
Discussion:
Puckett's Pond, Baseball Nation and MLB Daily Dish
T.R. Sullivan / MLB.com:
Yu mania makes debut at Rangers Ballpark — Japan's latest superstar import greeted with plenty of fanfare — ARLINGTON — Yu Darvish, in his first news conference at Rangers Ballpark, was able to show some flashes of humor. At one point, he talked about his first visit earlier this month.
Discussion:
SI Tracking Blog
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Peter Abraham / Boston Globe:
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.
Discussion:
MLB Daily Dish and Yahoo! Sports
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Associated Press:
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.
Discussion:
HardballTalk and JSOnline
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Tom Haudricourt / JSOnline:
Brewers' payroll pushing $100 million
Discussion:
Baseball Prospectus and MLB Rumors
ESPNdeportesLosAngeles com / MLB:
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 …
Discussion:
SI Tracking Blog and Deadspin
Chris Haft / MLB.com:
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.
Discussion:
McCovey Chronicles and Yahoo! Sports
Alden Gonzalez / MLB.com:
‘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.
Michael Baron / MetsBlog.com:
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.
Discussion:
HardballTalk, MLB Daily Dish and Drunk Jays Fans
T.R. Sullivan / Postcards From Elysian Fields:
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.
Discussion:
Foul Territory, Yahoo! Sports and MLB Daily Dish
