Nats will select Kroenke first in Rule 5  —  The Nationals will take Yankees reliever Zach Kroenke first overall in the Rule 5 draft on Thursday and offer him back to New York as the player to be named later in the trade that sent Brian Bruney to Washington, according to a source familiar with discussions.

Sources: BoSox ready to send Lowell to Texas  —  The Rangers and Red Sox reached preliminary agreement late Wednesday night on a trade that will send Mike Lowell to Texas for catcher/first baseman Max Ramirez, major league sources told FOXSports.com.

Anaheim Angels, Philadelphia Phillies join New York Yankees in Roy Halladay trade talks  —  Now that Andy Pettitte is back in the fold, will Brian Cashman go for the kill and trade for Roy Halladay?  —  If he does, he's in for serious competition from some familiar faces as it appeared Wednesday night …

The Worst Signing Of The Winter  —  I'm one of those people who doesn't really enjoy Saturday Night Live sketches, because to me, the joke is made in the first 15 seconds and then just repeated over and over for the next several minutes.  You drive a Dodge Stratus and you think that makes you important - okay.

Source: Harden to join Rangers on one-year, $7.5 million deal  —  Update 2: Craig has confirmed that the deal is with the Rangers.  One year, $7.5 million with the option for 2011.  —  Update: Craig's source is hearing one-year, $7.5 million with an $11.5 million option for 2011.  Possibly with the Mariners.

Blue Jays sign speedy outfielder Joey Gathright  —  INDIANAPOLIS — General Manager Alex Anthopoulos will return to 1 Blue Jays way with more than an Indy 500 T-shirt bought at the airport.  —  The Blue Jays signed free-agent outfielder Joey Gathright yesterday.

Ken Davidoff's baseball insider  —  Yankees, Mets, trade rumors and more MLB musings … Head home today, weather permitting.  It has been an extremely productive week for the Yankees, obviously, and not so much for the Mets.  —  Found out an interesting nugget about the Mets …

Braves trade reliever Soriano to Rays  —  Atlanta to receive righty Chavez; deal is pending physicals  —  INDIANAPOLIS — It appears that Braves general manager Frank Wren will be able to exit this year's Winter Meetings on Thursday without having to spend any more time focusing on trading Rafael Soriano.

Source: Five-Year Offer Could Close a Deal With Bay  —  INDIANAPOLIS — While Scott Boras held court on Wednesday afternoon in the lobby of the Indianapolis Downtown Marriott to discuss the virtues of his clients (such as Matt Holliday and Adrian Beltre), Joe Urbon, the agent for Jason Bay, remained inconspicuous.

Bonds' agent concedes slugger's playing days are over  —  Barry Bonds' agent finally acknowledged Wednesday that the home run king is done playing baseball.  —  “It's two years since he played his last game, and if there was any chance he'd be back in a major-league uniform …

Rockies closing in on three-year deal for Iannetta  —  INDIANAPOLIS — The Rockies are close to signing Chris Iannetta to a three-year contract for in excess of $8 million that would carry him though his arbitration years, capping what would be a successful winter meetings.

About Jamie Hoffmann  —  The Rule 5 draft is a bit of a crapshoot.  The Yankees (essentially) had the first pick in today's draft and took Jamie Hoffmann, a guy who was generating absolutely no media buzz until 15 minutes before the selection.  I talked to another executive who said his team …

Rockies will attempt to reach resolution with Torrealba today; Updates on Contreras, Giambi; Astros sign Majewski  —  INDIANAPOLIS — The Rockies will meet with Yorvit Torrealba's agent today in hopes of reaching a resolution on a two-year contract.  The team also remains interested in bringing …