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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
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 …
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Gordon Edes / Boston Globe:
Red Sox map out next step for long term — Matsuzaka and a closer are at the top of team's shopping list — LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. — As Daisuke Matsuzaka prepared to fly from Tokyo for an arrival in Los Angeles tomorrow for the final phase of negotiations with the Red Sox …
Bob Dutton / Kansas City Star:Royals appear close to one-year deal with Dotel
Discussion:
MLB Trade Rumors
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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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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Associated Press:
Staying Put: Bonds to re-up with Giants for $16 million — NEW YORK — Barry Bonds and the San Francisco Giants reached agreement on a $16 million, one-year contract Thursday night that will keep the controversial slugger in the Bay Area to take aim at baseball's home run record.
Newsday:
Astros play deal or no deal — Trade for pitcher falls through, keeping them in Pettitte hunt — LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. - A pair of New York reporters, one from Newsday, approached Astros president Tal Smith yesterday morning and asked him about Andy Pettitte.
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Joe Capozzi / Palm Beach Post:
No deals, but Marlins believe progress was made — LAKE BUENA VISTA — Marlins General Manager Larry Beinfest was giving reporters an update on Florida's progress at the winter meetings Thursday when one of his assistants interrupted. — "Did you tell them about Bonds?'' Marlins VP Dan Jennings asked Beinfest.
Discussion:
FishStripes
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Juan C. Rodriguez / Sun-Sentinel:
Rule 5 yields Labandeira, 2 other picks — Infielder was suspended for amphetamines — · The Marlins opted to spare somebody the burden of living up to Dan Uggla's Rule 5 legacy. — Thursday's Winter Meetings-culminating Rule 5 Draft was over in less than 40 minutes and did not feature …
Discussion:
FishStripes
Phil Rogers / Chicago Tribune:
Sox will gamble on youth — GM Williams plans to oversee a complete overhaul of rotation — ORLANDO — Win fast, White Sox. — And White Sox fans, go ahead and make plans to be busy with something other than watching baseball games in late-summer 2009, if not also '08.
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Ken Davidoff / Newsday:
A-Rod's the meal ticket — LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. - When Yankees general manager Brian Cashman dined with Scott Boras on Wednesday night here, they were accompanied by an even more high-profile guest: Alex Rodriguez. — "Cash and I were going to have dinner and Alex was in the area, so I gave Alex a call," Boras said.
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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 …
Bill Ladson / MLB.com:
Ohka offered Major League contract — Right-hander will begin second stint with club if he agrees — LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. — The Nationals have offered free agent Tomo Ohka a Major League contract, MLB.com has learned. If he agrees to the deal, Ohka will begin his second stint with the organization.
Discussion:
William F. Yurasko
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Nick Cafardo / Boston Globe:
Epstein working to save the season — LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. — There are turning points in everyone's baseball career, and this may be Theo Epstein's. — He is the general manager who led the Red Sox to their first world championship in 86 years, and we certainly will give him props …
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 …
