Red Sox talking about Bay return  —  According to a team source, the Red Sox have had internal discussions about extending their organizational budget to potentially allow for another offer for free agent outfielder Jason Bay.  The discussed proposal to Bay would be in the vicinity four-year …

Yankees' Damon remains left out  —  There was a vacancy sign placed above left field at Yankee Stadium yesterday, but Johnny Damon's outlook on returning hasn't changed any.  —  On the same day the Yankees sent Melky Cabrera to the Braves as part of a deal that added Javier Vazquez to the starting rotation …

Source: the Pirates have made Octavio Dotel an offer  —  A source tells me that the Pirates have made an offer to Octavio Dotel to be their closer.  The offer: $3 million plus games-finished incentives.  Not a deal yet or anything, but it's out there.  —  Dotel has turned in back-to-back …

Baseball's Top 20 Prospects … Baseball America's Prospect Handbookis going to press, and it's hard to describe the book to my non-baseball friends (a short list, but I have had a few such discussions).  It's a book of 900 scouting reports on the game's top minor league players: 30 for each of the 30 major league organizations.

Sources say Washington Nationals, Matt Capps are close to one-year deal  —  The Washington Nationals are closing in on a one-year deal with Matt Capps, sources told ESPN The Magazine's Buster Olney.  —  Assuming the deal is completed, sources say that Capps — who was not tendered a contract …

Source: Braves give Glaus one-year deal  —  The Braves have reached agreement on a one-year contract with free agent Troy Glaus to play first base, according to a major-league source.  —  The deal, which also includes incentives, is pending a physical, the source said.

Boston Red Sox Top 10 Prospects  —  Boston Red Sox … After winning the World Series in 2007 and losing in Game Seven of the American League Championship Series the following year, the Red Sox looked poised to make another title run in 2009.  —  They got off to a 51-34 start …

Source: Los Angeles Angels, Fernando Rodney agree to 2-year deal  —  Former Detroit Tigers closer Fernando Rodney and the Los Angeles Angels have agreed to a two-year, $11 million deal pending a physical, a source told ESPNdeportes.com's Enrique Rojas.  —  The physical examination is scheduled to take place later Wednesday.

Read: The Mets All-Decade Team of the 2000s  —  Eric Simon of Amazin Avenue has started his look at the Mets All-Decade Team for the 2000s, beginning with catcher Mike Piazza, who played six seasons, stepped to the plate nearly 3,000 times and hit 157 home runs.

For Nick Johnson, return to NY Yankees was first choice … Nick Johnson returned to the Yankees on Wednesday, officially agreeing to a one-year, $5.5 million contract to rejoin the franchise under which he was drafted and developed.  —  “Just coming back to New York, (it's) a great place to play,” Johnson said.

Inbox: Did Dodgers pursue Halladay?  —  Los Angeles fans ask about DeWitt, contracts and more  —  Did the Dodgers really try to trade for Roy Halladay?  —  Actually, they did.  Perhaps more interestingly, sources claim that the Blue Jays preferred the Dodgers as trading partners …

PADRES: Hoyer plans to be busy after new year  —  Though several free agents the Padres targeted this offseason have signed with other teams, general manager Jed Hoyer remains confident that he'll be able to upgrade the team's 40-man roster over the next two months.

Dodgers President Dennis Mannion addresses state of the club  —  In a discussion of several topics, he says that the team's baseball and business decisions have not been impacted by the divorce proceedings between Frank and Jamie McCourt.  —  On Baseball  —  Randy Wolf never has been confused with Johan Santana.

Eight options for the Mets, post-"Baywatch"  —  For the Mets, there are already legitimate questions about whether Jason Bay is the right investment for their ballpark.  He is a below-average defender who hits for power and Citi Field is a place where deep fly balls and subpar outfielders will suffer.

An option year on Lackey deal  —  The Red Sox built in a “conditional club option” at the minimum salary for the 2015 season into John Lackey's contract to protect them in case Lackey gets hurt, according to salary information obtained by Boston.com.  —  Highlights of Lackey's $82,791,426 deal include …

We hear: John Lackey, Ellen DeGeneres, Larry Johnson & more...  That new Red Sox [team stats] hurler John Lackey's bride, Krista, may be rethinking her decision to urge her hubby to move to the Hub.  Because when Lackey and his lovely wife - a Maine native and University of New Hampshire grad …