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Baseball America:
Major League Rule 5 Draft Selections — First Round — Pick — Team — Player, Pos., Previous Org. — *1. — Devil Rays — Ryan Goleski, of, Indians — Stats/Skinny: Hit .306/.391/.557 between Double-A Akron and high Class A Kinston. Joins crowded A's outfield depth chart, but power potential gives him a chance
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Kevin Goldstein / Baseball Prospectus:
Rule 5 Draft — The major league portion of the Rule Five draft was expected to be a disappointment. Instead, it featured some excitement, with a few big names getting selected and some significant buzz being generated by the picks at the top, with 19 players selected over the span of seven minutes.
Discussion:
TigerBlog
Baseball America:
Hamilton Headlines Active Rule 5 — LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla.—Two days ago, a scout from a National League club alluded to Josh Hamilton as a possible Rule 5 pick. — But even he didn't sound serious. — "I could see it maybe . . . the tools are still there for the most part," he said.
Bryan Hoch / MLB.com:
Mets lose pair, add one in Rule 5 Draft — Impressive catching prospect Flores selected by Nationals — LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. — Jesus Flores, considered by some to be the Mets' top catching prospect, was selected by the Nationals in the Major League phase of Thursday's Rule 5 Draft.
Murray Chass / New York Times:
Talk of Misconduct Is Swirling Around Red Sox — The Boston Red Sox might think of the Yankees as the Evil Empire, but other people in baseball now seem to view the Red Sox as a team that feels it can operate outside the rules. — According to executives of several clubs …
Discussion:
6-4-2
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Gordon Edes / Boston Globe:
Getting dicey with Matsuzaka — Sox not as optimistic about chances to sign Japanese pitcher — LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. — With a week to go before the clock strikes midnight on the Red Sox' quest to sign Daisuke Matsuzaka, perhaps it should not surprise anyone that the Sox are feeling …
MLB.com:
Mets sign RHP Guillermo Mota — The New York Mets announced today that they have signed righthanded pitcher Guillermo Mota to a two-year, $5 million contract. — Mota, 33, went 3- with a 1.00 ERA in 18 games with the Mets after he was acquired along with cash considerations …
Discussion:
MLB Trade Rumors
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David Lennon / Newsday:
Mets resign Mota to two-year deal — Despite a 50-game suspension to start the season, the Mets came to terms with the righthander hours before the arbitration deadline. — LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. — Less than three hours before Thursday night's deadline to accept arbitration …
Discussion:
The Musings and Prophecies …
Barry M. Bloom / MLB.com:
Bonds, Giants agree on one-year deal — Slugger, 21 homers shy of Aaron, set to re-sign for $16 million — LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. — The Giants agreed in principle on Thursday to re-sign slugger Barry Bonds for the 2007 season, said a source with knowledge of the negotiations.
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Andrew Baggarly / Mercury News:
St. Louis expresses interest in the slugger — LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. - Barry Bonds and Albert Pujols, back to back? It's more than a fantasy league lineup — and more than a rumor. — St. Louis Manager Tony La Russa approached Bonds' agent, Jeff Borris, on Wednesday night and requested …
Steve Henson / Los Angeles Times:
Dodgers add two big names — Schmidt agrees to a three-year, $47-million deal and Gonzalez agrees to one-year deal as Colletti adds depth, enhancing attempt to trade for a slugger. — LAKE BUENA VISTA, FLA. — In the most impressive recovery of the winter meetings, the Dodgers bounced …
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ESPN:Royals, Meche agree to five-year deal
Discussion:
Associated Press, Bucs Dugout, Bad Altitude, Royals Review, Baseball Musings, Knuckle Curve, MLB Trade Rumors and True Blue LA
Ken Rosenthal / Fox Sports:
White Sox could trade Garland to Astros — ORLANDO, Fla. - The White Sox might not be done trading starting pitchers. — One day after sending right-hander Freddy Garcia to the Phillies, the White Sox were discussing sending right-hander Jon Garland to the Astros for center fielder Willy Taveras …
Discussion:
The Baseball Files
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Jayson Stark / ESPN:
The latest from the winter meetings … Things are wrapping up at the winter meetings in Lake Buena Vista, Fla. Stay tuned for the latest on trades, free-agent signings and the rumors we're hearing at Disney's Swan and Dolphin Resort: — All times ET — • The White Sox-Astros deal …
Discussion:
MetsBlog.com
Jose De Jesus Ortiz / Houston Chronicle:Garland deal stalls; Pettitte remains in talks
Discussion:
MetsBlog.com
Troy E. Renck / Denver Post:
Jennings faces domino effect — Orlando, Fla. - Philadelphia Phillies general manager Pat Gillick sat speechless in the front row of a news conference. It appeared the perfect reaction to the first major trade of the winter meetings involving a starting pitcher.
Discussion:
Bad Altitude, Purple Row, MLB Trade Rumors, MetsBlog.com, Can't Stop The Bleeding and Ben Maller's Sports …
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Ken Rosenthal / Fox Sports:
Mets want to trade for Haren ... not Harden — ORLANDO, Fla. - The A's pitcher coveted by the Mets is not right-hander Rich Harden, but right-hander Dan Haren, according to major-league sources. — Several reports have indicated that the Mets want to trade for Harden …
Kevin Kennedy / Fox Sports:
Red Sox overspent for Lugo, Drew — While there hasn't been a huge flurry of activity at baseball's annual winter meetings and no real significant trades, there has been enough noise coming from the free-agent market to open some eyes. — Not surprisingly, there has been significant money put …
Tony Massarotti / Clubhouse Insider:
Sox Lose Dotel — According to sources, right-hander Octavio Dotel has turned down an offer from the Red Sox to accept a one-year deal worth a guaranteed $5 million from the Kansas City Royals. — Dotel's deal also is believed to include as much as $2 million in incentives that could bring the deal to $7 million.
Discussion:
Pride of the Yankees, Pinstripe Alley, Royals Review, MLB Trade Rumors and The Joy of Sox
