Bailey avoids arbitration with one-year contract  —  BOSTON — The Red Sox have avoided salary arbitration with Andrew Bailey by signing the closer to a one-year, $3.9 million contract, according to a baseball source.  —  The deal, which includes $100,000 in incentives, was first reported by CBS Sports' Jon Heyman.

MLB Declares Yoenis Cespedes A Free Agent  —  The bidding for Yoenis Cespedes can begin.  —  Major League Baseball informed teams today that Cespedes, a 26-year-old Cuban outfielder, is now a free agent.  Cespedes recently received his Dominican residency, a prerequisite for MLB to declare …

Rays close to deal with INF Jeff Keppinger  —  The Rays are closing in on a deal with INF Jeff Keppinger.  —  If negotiations are completed and he passes his physical it is likely to be announced by the end of the week.  —  Keppinger, 31, split last season between the Astros and Giants …

Sox to wear 1972 red throwback uniforms for Sunday home games  —  When Detroit and newly acquired slugger Prince Fielder come to U.S. Cellular Field in mid-April, the White Sox will counter with memories of former slugger Dick Allen.  —  The Sox announced Wednesday they will wear …

New Cubs pitching coach old-school  —  Nothing too fancy, Bosio just wants pitchers to get guys out  —  Pitcher Kerry Wood waves to the crowd at the Cubs Convention.  (Chris Sweda / Tribune Photo)  —  If you believe that printouts from Carmine II or Big (Cubbie) Blue …

Rockies and RHP Rafael Betancourt Agree on Contract Extension  —  Two-Year Contract Includes Option for 2014  —  The Colorado Rockies announced today that the club has agreed to terms on a contract extension with right-handed relief pitcher Rafael Betancourt through 2013, with an option for 2014.

Jose Bautista's drug testing seems something less than random  —  It's from the Dominican newspaper Hoy.  And because I forgot all that Spanish I knew 20 years ago, I'm using Google translate to read it.  —  But the upshot: Bautista spoke at a banquet the other night and noted that in the past two years …

St. Louis Cardinals' Carlos Beltran tells Met fans: Time to get over 2006 and move on  —  New Cardinal says he has moved on from NLCS failure  —  Carlos Beltran strikes out to end Mets hopes in Game 7 of NLCS against Cardinals, and now that he has joined St. Louis he says it's time for fans to get over it.

Wedge leaning toward moving Ichiro in lineup  —  Ackley an option to replace veteran in leadoff spot  —  Ichiro Suzuki, who has been entrenched atop the Mariners' lineup since arriving in Seattle in 2001, could find his name penciled in the lineup card in a place other than leadoff next season …

Reds, Masset Sign Extension  —  The Reds signed arbitration eligible reliever Nick Masset to a two-year extension, the team announced (on Twitter).  As MLBTR's Arbitration Tracker shows, Masset had filed for a $2.9MM salary through arbitration, while the Reds had countered with $2.1MM.

Teams said to have interest in Rangers' Uehara  —  ARLINGTON — The Rangers are still drawing considerable interest from other teams in reliever Koji Uehara, according to a Major League source.  —  A trade to the Blue Jays fell through when Uehara exercised his no-trade clause, and the Orioles have shown interest.

Cardinals sign Motte to one-year contract  —  ST. LOUIS — Compromise can be a beautiful thing.  Jason Motte and the Cardinals reached agreement Wednesday on a one-year contract for 2012, avoiding arbitration.  —  The deal is worth $1.95 million, according to CBSSports.com …

Reds acquire Valdez in swap with Phillies  —  In trade for infielder, club sends left-handed reliever Horst  —  CINCINNATI — The final item on the Reds' offseason wish list — a backup infielder who can play shortstop — appeared to be checked off on Wednesday.

In DC, new National Gio feels at home  —  Club introduces new southpaw in ballpark news conference  —  WASHINGTON — The Nationals introduced Gio Gonzalez to the local media at Nationals Park on Wednesday afternoon.  The news conference came a little over a month after they acquired …