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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.
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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.
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.
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 …
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MLB Trade Rumors
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Sports Illustrated:
Mets, Mota close to two-year contract — LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. — The Mets are closing in on a two-year, $5 million deal for reliever Guillermo Mota, SI.com has learned. — The Mets previously enhanced their bullpen by obtaining Ambiorix Burgos from the Royals for starter Brian Bannister after losing Chad Bradford.
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 …
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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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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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.
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Bob Dutton / Kansas City Star:Royals appear close to one-year deal with Dotel
Discussion:
MLB Trade Rumors
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 …
Bob Dutton / Kansas City Star:
Royals reach agreement with Meche on five-year deal — The Royals provided a blockbuster conclusion to the winter meetings Thursday by reaching agreement with free-agent pitcher Gil Meche on a five-year deal believed to be worth $55 million. — "Gil Meche is a guy who we feel fits …
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Dodger Thoughts:
Candygram for Gonzo — Perhaps the most striking stat from the 2006 season of Luis Gonzalez was that he had a career-high 52 doubles at age 39. That's where a lot of his former home-run power went - with the rest disappearing into the ether, as Gonzalez registered his lowest slugging percentage since 1997.
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Jeff Zrebiec / Baltimore Sun:
Near-misses mark O's week … LAKE BUENA VISTA, FLA. // The lobby at The Walt Disney World Dolphin hotel, which bustled with activity all week, was mostly empty when Gregg Clifton and Terry Bross emerged from the elevator a couple of hours after midnight. — The representatives …
