Red Sox agree to deal with Beltre  —  The Red Sox have agreed on a deal with third baseman Adrian Beltre, a source told the Globe.  The deal is for one year with Beltre holding an option for the second year.  —  Peter Gammons is reporting that Beltre would be paid $9 million in 2010.

Plenty of talent still up for grabs — for the right price  —  The holidays are over, but Baseball's shopping season is not.  —  More than 100 free agents remain unsigned, including several of the biggest names — and virtually all of Scott Boras' clients.  —  Spring training begins in approximately six weeks.

Explaining my Hall of Fame ballot … Normally at this time I reveal my Hall of Fame ballot.  This time, I'll spend most of the time explaining it.  —  Already, my ballot has been met with considerable ridicule on Twitter and other cyberspace spots.  And at the risk of further ridicule …

Jason Bay passes physical; New York Mets to introduce outfielder Tuesday  —  Free-agent outfielder Jason Bay has passed his physical exam and will be introduced as the newest New York Met on Tuesday at Citi Field, the team announced Monday.  —  Bay, 31, reached agreement with the Mets …

Shanahan could be introduced Tuesday  —  Mike Shanahan is expected to be named head coach of the Redskins, according to sources in the organization, and, barring unforeseen glitches, will likely be introduced in a news conference Tuesday.  —  That timeline makes sense, they said …

Q&A with Matt Capps  —  Matt Capps agreed to a one-year, $3.5 million deal with the Nats some time around 1 a.m. on Christmas Eve.  He was visiting family in Asheville, N.C., at the time.  Hours later, he went to the local mall in hopes of buying a Nats hat at the Lids store.  But they were already sold out.

Shelley Duncan signs with the Indians  —  Look out Cleveland.  The storm is coming through.  And it's running right up on you.  —  Turns out, The Band had it right all along.  —  Shelley Duncan has signed with the Cleveland Indians.  Their depth chart lists two young players …

Finalists for Frick Award announced  —  Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum to name winner Feb. 1  —  The 10 finalists for the 2010 Ford C. Frick Award were announced on Monday, a slate of beloved baseball broadcasters that consists of Billy Berroa, Skip Caray, Tom Cheek, Jacques Doucet …

Pirates sign Burres, Cotts, Yates  —  The Pirates have agreed to terms on minor league contracts with pitchers Brian Burres, Neal Cotts and Tyler Yates.  All will be invited to spring training.  —  Burres, a 28-year-old left-hander, was 6-7 with a 4.76 ERA for the Blue Jays' Class AAA affiliate …

Rockies finalize one-year deal with Olivo  —  DENVER — Yorvit Torrealba's time with the Rockies is over.  After unable to reach terms on a two-year contract, the club moved on Monday, signing free agent Miguel Olivo to a one-year deal with a club option.  —  Terms of the deal were not disclosed …

The Year and the Decade to Come  —  First off, I hope everyone had a fantastic holiday season.  As it turned out, 2009 was a successful year for Prospectus Entertainment Ventures, but this coming year has the potential to be the biggest for us since the year we went to a premium product …

Is Javier Vazquez Unclutch?  —  Throughout his career it has been intimated that Javier Vazquez has the stuff of an ace but the track record of a back of the rotation starter.  He has excellent peripheral numbers (3.45 K/BB), a better than league average ERA (107 ERA+) and averages well over 200 innings per season.