Top News:
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.
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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.
J.J. Cooper / Baseball America:
Rule 5 Draft, Pick By Pick — RULE 5 DRAFT — ROUND ONE — Pick — Selecting — Team — Player — Original Team — The Skinny — Physical grinder with big league experience could stick as extra outfielder. — No. 2 — Pirates — John Raynor, of — Marlins
Discussion:
redsminorleagues.com
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.
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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Jose De Jesus Ortiz / Houston Chronicle:
Astros reach one-year deal with third baseman Feliz — INDIANAPOLIS — Heading to the winter meetings Sunday night, Ed Wade's ability to maneuver while trying to build the 2010 Astros revolved around Jose Valverde. Once the star closer declined arbitration late Monday night and LaTroy Hawkins bolted …
Discussion:
Yahoo! Sports
Ben Nicholson-Smith / MLB Rumors:Astros To Sign Brandon Lyon
Discussion:
Bless You Boys, MLB Daily Dish, Yahoo! Sports, Detroit Tigers blog, MyFox Houston, The Crawfish Boxes, TigerBlog and Jorge Says No!
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:
MLB, Boston Globe, Clubhouse Insider, Surviving Grady, The Bottom Line, The Fowl Balls, Red Sox Monster, SOX & Dawgs, Full Count, Lone Star Ball, 6-4-2 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
New York Post:
Mets will make offers to Bay, Molina — Ticket sales are lagging and fans are screaming for the Mets to make a meaningful acquisition. And, poof, they suddenly were acknowledging making an offer to Jason Bay. — So was this merely a ploy to change the subject or was this a clear change of course this offseason?
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Alex Speier / Full Count:Source: Five-Year Offer Could Close a Deal With Bay
Discussion:
Circling The Bases
Bryan Hoch / MLB.com:
Cashman holding off on next move — Yankees may pursue Damon, but only at right price — INDIANAPOLIS — The Yankees have used the Winter Meetings to move closer to the finish line of the offseason, but they will still have ground to cover if Johnny Damon is to return for the 2010 season.
Discussion:
Bombers Beat
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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 …
Discussion:
True Blue LA, Dodger Thoughts, The Pinstriper, Respect Jeter's Gangster and Pinstripe Alley
Fox Sports:
Sources: Phils, Angels lead chase for Halladay — To ink Harden? — • Sources: Brewers agree with Wolf | Hawkins — • Sources: Astros nearing 3-year deal with Lyon
Discussion:
MLB Rumors, The Zo Zone, Batter's Box Interactive …, NESN.com and The Real Dirty Mets Blog
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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
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, Mets Today, The 'Ropolitans and Mets Fever
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.
Discussion:
The Yankee Universe, The Big Lead, The iYankees Blog, Keep Your Sox On and Dan Shaughnessy Watch
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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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, Deadspin, Can't Stop The Bleeding, MLB Rumors, USATODAY.com Sports News and Full Count
T.R. Sullivan / MLB.com:
Texas gets Ray; Harden awaits physical — Veteran Millwood dealt to Baltimore which set up move — INDIANAPOLIS — The Rangers added right-handed reliever Chris Ray to their bullpen on Wednesday and are on the verge of adding free agent right-hander Rich Harden to their starting rotation.
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