O's trade Tejada to Astros  —  Team gets OF Scott, pitchers Albers, Patton, Sarfate, 3B Costanzo in return  —  Two years after he first suggested that he'd benefit from a change of scenery, Orioles shortstop Miguel Tejada finally got his wish as he was traded to the Houston Astros today …

Giants sign Rowand to five-year, $60 million deal  —  SAN FRANCISCO — Aaron Rowand wanted some longterm stability, and so did the San Francisco Giants.  —  Rowand agreed to a $60 million, five-year contract with the Giants on Wednesday, giving the club a center fielder without having to trade pitchers Matt Cain or Tim Lincecum.

Padres, Pirates deep in trade talks about OF Bay … Frustrated in their attempts to land outfielders this offseason, the San Diego Padres are deep into discussions with the Pittsburgh Pirates about a multiplayer deal that would be centered around All-Star outfielder Jason Bay.

Jeff Kent decides to return to the Dodgers  —  Download story podcast  —  The Press-Enterprise  —  LOS ANGELES - Second baseman Jeff Kent will return to the Dodgers next season, his agent announced Tuesday, deciding against retirement following a 2007 campaign that left him frustrated enough …

Sources: Floyd, Rays could have deal in place by weekend … The Tampa Bay Rays are in serious discussions with free-agent outfielder Cliff Floyd and could have an agreement in place by the weekend, baseball sources told ESPN.com.  —  The Rays have been looking for a bat …

Willie Randolph says Mets not giving up on Johan Santana or Erik Bedard  —  Willie Randolph insisted Tuesday that he is not giving up on landing Johan Santana or Erik Bedard, even though Mets GM Omar Minaya continues to prepare fans for a ho-hum winter by talking up Oliver Perez and John Maine.

Fukudome: The New J.D. Drew?  —  Hot-off-the-presses PECOTA projection for Kosuke Fukudome in Chicago:  —  PA R 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO SB CS BA OBP SLG EqA VORP WARP  —  465 80 30 4 15 58 70 94 9 3 .289 .401 .504 .303 29.2 4.4  —  PECOTA holds Fukudome's playing …

Beltran is baseball's tenth highest-paid player  —  Here's an AP-tabulated list of the highest-paid players in baseball.  Carlos Beltran checks in at No. 10.  —  Player, Club Years Avg.  Salary  —  Alex Rodriguez, NYY 2008-17 $27,500,000  —  Manny Ramirez, Bos 2001-08 $20,000,000

Rangers eye Japanese reliever  —  The Rangers may have lost out on their No. 1 Japanese free-agent target this winter, but it appears they won't come away empty-handed from their foray to the Far East.  —  While it appears outfielder Kosuke Fukudome will land with the Chicago Cubs …

Mets Invite Three To Camp  —  As the Mets try to trade catcher Johnny Estrada before tonight's deadline for non-tendering contracts, they invited three players with big-league experience to spring training.  —  Here's the team's release:  —  The New York Mets today signed catchers Raul Casanova …

School honors Yankees owner … TAMPA - New Yorkers may run hot and cold about Yankees owner George Steinbrenner.  But in Tampa, he's only loved.  —  So much so that the Hillsborough School Board made a spur-of-the-moment decision Tuesday night to christen in his honor the George Steinbrenner High School in Lutz.