Top News:
Tyler Kepner / New York Times:
Yankees Persuade Posada to Stay — The Yankees added a fourth year to Jorge Posada's contract offer late last night, and as soon as Posada completes the formality of taking a physical, he will officially return to the team. Posada has agreed to the terms of the deal, which would make him the highest-paid catcher in the majors.
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NY Daily News:
With Jorge Posada gone, Mets must unmask new plan — Despite huddling for a power lunch with Jorge Posada and his agents in Manhattan Monday, the Mets will be forced to make a contingency plan to fill their catching vacancy due to the five-time All-Star's pending return to the Yankees.
Tyler Kepner / Bats:
Rivera Has $45 Million Reasons to Stay — Somewhat lost in the excitement of Monday's news that Jorge Posada will return to the Yankees was the team's improved offer to closer Mariano Rivera: three years, $45 million. That should be plenty of cash for Rivera, like Posada, to return to the only team he's known.
Discussion:
MY BASEBALL BIAS
Bryan Hoch / MLB.com:
Posada reportedly re-signing with Yanks — Catcher stays off market, agrees to four-year, $52.4 million pact — NEW YORK — Jorge Posada reportedly has a new contract in hand and is set to stay in Yankees pinstripes. — The New York Daily News and The Associated Press reported late Monday …
Ben Shpigel / New York Times:
Monitoring Rodriguez, Mets Look for Trades — David Wright is one of the few Mets who spend the off-season in New York, which, naturally, makes it easier for him to attend the team's promotional events, oversee his charitable foundations and embrace the community endeavors that have helped …
Nick Cafardo / Boston Globe:
Market open on Lowell — Sox can't beat clock; others now free to bid — The most lucrative/costly time of the year in baseball - free agency - got under way early this morning for 153 players, one of whom was World Series MVP Mike Lowell. — Red Sox general manager Theo Epstein met …
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Ken Davidoff / Newsday:
Yanks' pursuit of Lowell to send A-Rod to Bosox? — Just last week, at the general managers' meetings, Brian Cashman said that he expected Mike Lowell to return to the Red Sox. — But free agents can negotiate with other clubs today, and Lowell, the Most Valuable Player of the 2007 World Series, is still a free agent.
Discussion:
SportsJustice
Nick Cafardo / Boston Globe:
No agreement at deadline for Lowell — Mike Lowell's agents and Theo Epstein could not reach an agreement about an hour before the midnight deadline in which the Red Sox had exclusive rights to negotiate with Lowell. — Lowell will now be a complete free-agent and can negotiate with other teams.
Discussion:
Over the Monster, American Legends, Yanksfan vs Soxfan, Crooked Pitch, WasWatching.com and The LoHud Yankees Blog
Anthony Castrovince / MLB.com:
Sabathia takes home AL Cy Young — Cleveland left-hander beats Boston's Beckett in voting — CLEVELAND — The Cy Young questions sprang up midseason, as C.C. Sabathia consistently put together dominant performances for an Indians team in contention for a division title.
Discussion:
Let's Go Tribe!
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Tom Singer / MLB.com:
AL Cy Young Award: A two-man race? — Competition appears to be between Beckett and Sabathia — Just when you thought the Yankees and the Red Sox had exhausted all possible manifestation of their intense rivalry ... there went the ballots for the American League Cy Young Award.
Joe / Around the Majors:
Twins trade for Craig Monroe — The Twins and Chicago Cubs have been discussing a trade that would send left fielder Craig Monroe to Minnesota for a player to be named, and an announcement could come as soon as today, the Star Tribune has learned. — UPDATE: It's official.
Rocky Mountain News:
KRIEGER: Writers' top NL rookie vote all hit, no field — On the Web site of the Baseball Writers Association of America, they posted a five-paragraph summary of the National League Rookie of the Year balloting Monday. — It contained a lot of numbers. Describing Ryan Braun's narrow victory …
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Gordon Wittenmyer / Chicago Sun Times:
With Jones traded, Cubs short on lefty hitters — Despite the rough treatment from fans and media in Chicago, outfielder Jacque Jones said he has ''no regrets'' about his two seasons with the Cubs, but he's looking forward to moving on to Detroit after Monday's trade to the Tigers.
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Chris Kline / Baseball America:
Philadelphia Phillies — Baseball America's Top 10 Prospects lists are based on projections of a player's long-term worth after discussions with scouting and player-development personnel. All players who haven't exceeded the major league rookie standards of 130 at-bats or 50 innings pitched …
Discussion:
Phuture Phillies
Jeff Passan / Yahoo! Sports:
Free-agent rankings — Here is the 144-man free agent class of 2008, broken down by position, with their overall ranking preceding their name and their opening day age appearing in parentheses. The ranking is based on a number of variables, including history, age and potential …
MLB.com:
Pirates hire Larry Corrigan as Special Assistant to General Manager — The Pittsburgh Pirates today announced that Larry Corrigan has been named Special Assistant to the General Manager. The announcement was made by Senior Vice President and General Manager Neal Huntington.
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