Top News:
Ken Davidoff / Newsday:
Mets banking on Zito's desire to pitch in Shea — A Mets contingent convened with Barry Zito and agent Scott Boras Tuesday in Southern California, furthering the Mets' effort to sign the free-agent lefthander. While it wasn't clear whether the Mets made their first offer …
Discussion:
MetsBlog.com
RELATED:
Michael Morrissey / New York Post:
ZITO'S SLIP IS SHOWING — There is doubt steeped all over Barry Zito's situation. Primarily, it is doubt about whether he would take less money in New York or more money in Texas. — But there also is doubt about the pitcher himself: Whether he's already slipping, whether he's worth …
Adam Rubin / NY Daily News:
Mets in L.A. to meet Zito — The Mets took their pitch to Barry Zito yesterday, flying to Los Angeles to court the free-agent pitcher. — Team officials remained hopeful the pitcher would eventually visit New York, but they had to go to agent Scott Boras' turf for their first face-to-face meeting with the lefthander.
Ben Shpigel / New York Times:
Mets Step Up Zito Effort by Making a House Call — When it comes to pursuing an elite free agent, there is no setting too exotic or remote for Mets General Manager Omar Minaya. He spent Thanksgiving 2004 wooing Pedro Martínez in the Dominican Republic, swung by Puerto Rico …
Dom Amore / Hartford Courant:
Igawa Closer To Joining Yanks' Rotation — The Yankees have two left-handed starters in place. — They have agreed to terms with Kei Igawa, according to a report in the Yomiuri Shimbun, a Japanese newspaper. Igawa would join Andy Pettitte, who's coming back after three seasons in Houston.
RELATED:
George King / New York Post:
DOUG: I DIG YANKS — Doug Mientkiewicz would love to play for the Yankees, but if he doesn't, the free agent says another team is going to get a completely healthy first baseman. — "I am doing great," said Mientkiewicz, who underwent back surgery in late August to repair a herniated disc that invaded his nerve root.
Evan Grant / Dallas Morning News:
Rangers' Gagne OK with a change — New Rangers closer says he's on track for pitching in the spring — ARLINGTON - Eric Gagne grew up idolizing John Wetteland. Now, he'll get the chance to imitate him. — The Rangers will ask Gagne, who signed a one-year deal worth $6 million in base salary Tuesday …
RELATED:
Kat O'Brien / Dallas Star-Telegram:
Rangers close deal — ARLINGTON — If Eric Gagné's confidence is any indication of his physical state, he could be ready to return to his dominant 2002-04 form. — The Rangers introduced the newly signed Gagné in a Tuesday news conference at Ameriquest Field in Arlington.
StarTribune.com:
White to sign with Twins — Rondell White and the Twins are close to a deal that would guarantee him $2.75 million next season, according to sources with knowledge of the negotiations. The deal is expected to be completed by the end of the week, pending him passing a physical.
Discussion:
MLB Trade Rumors
RELATED:
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette:
Agent says Pirates among top suitors for Suppan — By Dejan Kovacevic, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette — The Pirates' hot-and-cold pursuit of free-agent starter Jeff Suppan apparently is heating up again. — They are one of three teams making the most serious bid for his services …
Andrew Baggarly / Contra Costa Times:
Veteran Klesko a Giant; now what about Bonds? — Ex-Padre gets one-year deal; club still working on language of Barry's contract — Ryan Klesko became the latest in a swell of former San Diego Padres to follow manager Bruce Bochy up the coast Tuesday, when the Giants signed the veteran …
Discussion:
Baseball Musings
RELATED:
Tyler Kepner / New York Times:
Yankees Are Taking a Look at Loretta — The Yankees' search for a first baseman has veered from one veteran to another, with a homegrown player and a Rule 5 draft pick mixed in. The latest name to surface is Mark Loretta, a free agent, who spent last season as the second baseman for the Boston Red Sox.
Gordon Edes / Boston Globe:
Matsuzaka will give this a spin — Lifestyle issues aside, the biggest change Daisuke Matsuzaka may face here is pitching in a five-man rotation, according to lefthanded pitcher Alex Graman, a former Yankee farmhand who last season spent his first year in Japan as Matsuzaka's teammate on the Seibu Lions.
Dave Sheinin / Washington Post:
It's Official: Vidro Leaves Nats for Seattle — The Washington Nationals' offseason has been spent eliminating big, expensive, aging pieces and replacing them with smaller, cheaper, younger ones. So it was that on a day made notable by the official elimination of the longest-tenured …
RELATED:
Derrick Goold / St. Louis Post-Dispatch:Cards Notebook: Simontacchi, King sign minor league deals with Nats
Discussion:
Nationals Baseball Fan
