Top News:
Ben Goessling / The washington times Blogs:
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.
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Brian McTaggart / MLB.com:
Astros ship Rule 5 Draft pick to Marlins — Infielder Jimenez sent to Florida to complete Lindstrom deal — INDIANAPOLIS — The Astros completed their trade with Florida on Thursday by sending infielder Jorge Jimenez, who they selected in the Rule 5 Draft from Boston, to the Marlins as the player to be named later.
Jonathan Mayo / MLB.com:
Rule 5 could uncover hidden gems — Teams hope to land underrated talent in Thursday's Draft — INDIANAPOLIS — There were 21 players taken in the Major League phase of last year's Rule 5 Draft. Of those, six saw time in the big leagues during the 2009 season.
New York Post:
Yanks to pick Hoffman first in Rule 5 draft — Barring a last-second trade, the Yankees plan to take outfielder Jamie Hoffman from the Dodgers as the first pick in this morning's Rule 5 Draft, the Post has learned. — The Yankees obtained the pick earlier this week from the Nationals in exchange for Brian Bruney.
Matthew Cerrone / MetsBlog.com:Mets select Monasterios in Rule 5 Draft
Discussion:
Mets Merized Online
Fox Sports:
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.
Discussion:
Clubhouse Insider, Boston Globe, Surviving Grady, The Bottom Line, Red Sox Monster, The Fowl Balls, Full Count, SOX & Dawgs, Lone Star Ball and NESN.com
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Ian Browne / MLB.com:
Boston, Texas close to deal on Lowell — Move would allow Sox to pursue free agent Beltre at third — INDIANAPOLIS — While the Red Sox are still in left-field limbo, they appear to be on the verge of making a change at third base. — The Red Sox and Rangers — according to FoxSports.com …
Discussion:
YFSF
Dan Shaughnessy / Boston Globe:
Sox have a bridge to sell us — Fans shouldn't buy this approach — Storm the gates of Fenway Park. Cancel your NESN package. Stick your head out the window and say, “I'm mad as hell and I'm not going to take it anymore!” — Do not buy the bill of goods the Red Sox are selling.
Dave Cameron / FanGraphs Baseball:
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.
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Ben Nicholson-Smith / MLB Rumors:
Astros To Sign Brandon Lyon — 10:48pm: Rosenthal says the Astros agreed to sign Lyon for $15MM over three years. That's too much of a commitment in my opinion, but congrats to Lyon and his agent, Barry Meister. The Tigers get a supplementary rounder (not from the Astros) in next year's draft.
Discussion:
Bless You Boys, Yahoo! Sports, MLB Daily Dish, MyFox Houston, Detroit Tigers blog, The Crawfish Boxes, Jorge Says No! and TigerBlog
Mark Feinsand / NY Daily News:
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 …
Discussion:
MLB Rumors
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Ken Davidoff / Newsday:
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 …
Discussion:
Mets Merized Online, Amazin' Avenue, MLB Rumors, Circling The Bases, The 'Ropolitans and Mets Fever
Matthew Pouliot / Circling The Bases:
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.
Discussion:
ESPN, MLB Rumors, FanGraphs Baseball, U.S.S. Mariner, NESN.com, Yahoo! Sports, Mets Merized Online, My Pinstripes, MLB Daily Dish and Texas Rangers
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Toronto Sun:
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.
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Will Hill / TSN.ca:FOR THE THRILL OF IT: JAYS QUIET AS WINTER MEETINGS WRAP
Discussion:
Bluebird Banter
Mark Bowman / MLB.com:
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.
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Alex Speier / Full Count:
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.
Discussion:
Circling The Bases
RELATED:
John Shea / San Francisco Chronicle:
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 …
Discussion:
ESPN.com, El Lefty Malo, Can't Stop The Bleeding, Deadspin, MLB Rumors, USATODAY.com Sports News and Full Count
Chad Jennings / The LoHud Yankees Blog:
Cashman: “The next step isn't ready to happen now” — Right about now, Brian Cashman is boarding a plane out of Indianapolis, literally putting his active four days of the Winter Meetings behind him. This was the storm before the calm. — “I am definitely not in a position right …
Chad Jennings / The LoHud Yankees Blog:
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 …
