Top News:
Fox Sports:
Sources: Orioles jump into Holliday sweepstakes — The Cardinals are not the only team pursuing free-agent left fielder Matt Holliday. — The Orioles have jumped into the bidding, though both the seriousness of their efforts and Holliday's desire to play in Baltimore are in question, major-league sources say.
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Jeff Zrebiec / Baltimore Sun:
O's nearing deal with reliever Gonzalez — Free agent was 5-4 with 2.42 ERA, 10 saves last season for Braves — Looking to solidify the back end of their bullpen, the Orioles are nearing an agreement on a two-year deal with free agent left-handed reliever Mike Gonzalez, according to industry sources.
Troy Renck / All Things Rockies:
Atkins agrees to $4.5 million deal with Orioles with club option — DENVER — Garrett Atkins found an good place to steer his career back on track, signing a one-year, $4-million deal with the Baltimore Orioles that includes an $8.5 club option with a $500,000 buyout.
Dan Connolly / Baltimore Sun:New targets flying low on O's radar, for now
Discussion:
MLB Rumors, Fox Sports, Mets Merized Online, The Schmuck Stops Here, MetsBlog.com, Purple Row, Denver Post and MASNsports.com
George A. King III / New York Post:
Yankees talk to Johnson about vacant DH role — The Yankees and Nick Johnson are talking about the sweet-swinging lefty and on-base machine replacing Hideki Matsui as the World Champions' DH on a one-year deal. — If a deal is completed, it would be an indication the Yankees will part with Johnny Damon …
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Tim Dierkes / MLB Rumors:
Yankees Continue Talks With Nick Johnson — We've known of the Yankees' interest in Nick Johnson since at least December 7th, when ESPN's Jayson Stark put them among seven teams to inquire. Today, George King of the New York Post has a little more detail on the Yankees' interest.
John Harper / NY Daily News:
New York Mets draw line at 5th year in deal for free-agent outfielder Jason Bay — Though all of New York seems to be waiting impatiently for the Mets to make a big move this offseason, they are negotiating at a deliberate pace with Jason Bay, apparently determined not to be bluffed …
Discussion:
TedQuarters.net, We're the Team to Beat, MetsMinorLeagueBlog.com, MetsBlog.com, Hot Foot and Sports Illustrated
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Mark Bowman / MLB.com:
Lowe resigned to likelihood of trade — Righty regards late-season woes as Braves' motivation — ATLANTA — When Derek Lowe entered this offseason, he found himself frustrated by an inability to correct his mechanical flaws and was determined to be more of an asset to the Braves during the final three years of his contract.
New York Post:
Don't be Bonilla-heads — Humor me for a second, Mets fans. I understand that there has been little to smile about and less to feel good about the past few years when it comes to your baseball team. — I recognize how miserable that Phillies-Yankees World Series was to endure …
Discussion:
Circling The Bases
Bill Conlin / Philly.com:
Phillies GM Amaro is master of the shell game — MONTY AND HIS Money Managers had themselves some week. They ran the greatest shell game since the days when big carnivals would roll into small towns, relieve the local yokels of the harvest money and move on.
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Jorge Arangure Jr / ESPN:
Aroldis Chapman awaits offers — On the surface, Aroldis Chapman's 30-minute workout on Tuesday for about 15 teams appeared to have accomplished very little. Because of bad weather, the workout took place indoors at the Baseball USA complex in Houston. Chapman wore sneakers for his bullpen session.
RELATED:
Mike Axisa / River Avenue Blues:Yanks trying to set up a private workout for Chapman
Discussion:
Pinstripe Alley
Dejan Kovacevic / PBC Blog:
Morning links: Clement's job to lose — Although the development that the Pirates are eyeing Kelly Johnson hardly is seismic, it does raise this possibility that some might find noteworthy: No matter who the Pirates get — if anyone — for that right field/first base role, it might be no more than a safety valve.
RELATED:
John Sickels / Minor League Ball:Pittsburgh Pirates Top 20 Prospects for 2010
Discussion:
Bucs Dugout
Dylan Hernandez / LA Times Sports Blog:
Dodgers exploring a deal for Aaron Harang — The Dodgers have started exploring a possible trade with the Cincinnati Reds for pitcher Aaron Harang, according to multiple baseball sources who spoke on the condition of anonymity because of the sensitive nature of the talks.
Discussion:
Dodger Thoughts, MetsBlog.com, MLB Rumors, True Blue LA, Memories Of Kevin Malone, Circling The Bases and Redleg Nation
Corey Brock / MLB.com:
Padres' Gonzalez is hot trade topic — Speculation surrounding All-Star first baseman, Red Sox — SAN DIEGO — After a respite at the Winter Meetings last week, when Adrian Gonzalez's name was scarcely mentioned, the Padres' All-Star first baseman is once again a hot topic.
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Ken Gurnick / MLB.com:
Dodgers land versatile Carroll — Right-handed hitter expects to back up second, third base — LOS ANGELES — The Dodgers bolstered their second-base situation by agreeing to a two-year contract with versatile infielder Jamey Carroll, pending a physical examination, agent Jonathan Maurer confirmed Wednesday.
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Dave Cameron / FanGraphs Baseball:
The Second Base Glut — Last year, bad defensive outfielders got a rude awakening in free agency, as Adam Dunn, Pat Burrell, and Bobby Abreu learned first hand that teams were beginning to value defense at positions besides catcher and shortstop. There were too many lumbering sluggers available …
The Huffington Post:
Godzilla Rocks Southern California — WHAT'S YOUR REACTION? — There's a line about Godzilla in the 1998 Hollywood remake that goes: “He's not some monster trying to evade you... If you find what he wants, then he'll come to you.” This week baseball's Godzilla found the contract he wanted …
Matthew Cerrone / MetsBlog.com:
Opinion: Stay Calm, We'll be Fine — Yesterday, I talked with a few people aware of what the Mets are doing, behind the scenes, and, despite how they are being portrayed in the media, not a single person seemed flustered or lacking in confidence. — The plan has always been …
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Joe Posnanski:
Make it Raines — This is going to be about Tim Raines ... but we're going to start with Bill James. People, of course, have many different opinions about Bill James. And because Bill is both a friend and a hero of mine, I admit to being hopelessly biased on the subject.
