Maine signs with Red Sox  —  John Maine will have a new team and a new role in 2012.  —  The Boston Red Sox confirmed Friday that they have signed Maine, a North Stafford High School graduate, to a minor-league contract with an invitation to spring training.

Source: MLB to decide division ties with one-game playoff  —  NEW YORK (AP) — A person familiar with the talks says baseball players and owners have reached an understanding that ties for division titles will be broken on the field under the new playoff format.

Scouting reports for the Top 10 Prospects (How to subscribe) … At first glance, the Mariners' 2011 season wasn't much better than the year before, which was arguably the worst in franchise history.  They finished 67-95, the third-worst record in baseball, had a 17-game losing streak and wound …

Mark Cuban, Dennis Gilbert out of Dodgers' ownership derby  —  Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban and local baseball executive Dennis Gilbert did not advance to the second round of the Dodgers' ownership bidding, according to two people familiar with the process but not authorized to discuss it publicly.

Of Hamilton, Adductors & The Future  —  A couple of weeks ago, Josh Hamilton disclosed that what had originally been reported as a groin pull and / or a sports hernia as he sucked it up and fought through the 2011 post-season in excruciating pain was actually neither a groin pull nor a sports hernia.

Picard seeks $83M payback from Mets owners  —  The trustee in the Bernard Madoff case wants a federal judge to order the owners of the New York Mets to fork over $83 million in fictitious profits received in the giant Ponzi scheme without having to wait for a scheduled March trial, new court filings show.

Yankees interested in Ibanez  —  The Yankees have their pitching pieces in place, now it's time to come up with one more left-handed bat.  —  The Yankees officially announced yesterday the signing of free agent right-hander Hiroki Kuroda to a one-year deal worth $10 million with another million in incentives.

Sources: Penny considering pitching in Japan  —  Veteran right-handed pitcher Brad Penny is weighing an opportunity to pitch in Japan, two baseball sources said Friday.  Penny, 33 and a veteran of 12 seasons in the major leagues, has had discussions with the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks in Japan's Pacific League, sources said.

Phillies ink Pierre to Minor League deal  —  In a small but potentially significant move, the Phillies signed speedy Juan Pierre to a Minor League contract with an invitation to Spring Training on Friday.  —  Pierre, 34, batted .279 as the everyday leadoff hitter and left fielder for the White Sox last season.

Keppinger ready for whatever role he's given  —  Rays finalize one-year deal with versatile veteran infielder  —  ST. PETERSBURG — Tampa Bay finalized a one-year, $1.525 million deal on Friday to bring veteran infielder Jeff Keppinger into the fold.  To make room on their 40-man roster …

Pence agrees to one-year deal with Phillies  —  Slugger was Philly's lone remaining arbitration-eligible player  —  The Phillies on Friday announced that they've agreed to terms with outfielder Hunter Pence, avoiding arbitration with their lone remaining player.