Top News:
John Tomase / Clubhouse Insider:
Beltre turned down more money to play for Sox — The Red Sox have always liked Adrian Beltre. For much of free agency, they just didn't like his price. — But that changed when Beltre decided one year in Boston was worth more in the long run than three or four somewhere else.
Discussion:
MLB Rumors, MVN, Red Sox Monster, Jorge Says No!, Circling The Bases, Twinkie Town and Sliding Into Home
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Chad Jennings / The LoHud Yankees Blog:
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 …
Peter Abraham / Boston Globe:
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.
Gordon Edes / ESPN:
Red Sox face competition for Beltre — The Boston Red Sox have made an offer to free-agent third baseman Adrian Beltre, according to a major league source, but are facing competition from other teams, a list that could include the Orioles, Athletics and Angels.
Howard Megdal / MLB Rumors:
Red Sox, Mets Discussing Castillo-For-Lowell? — 9:52pm: WEEI.com's Rob Bradford writes that a Castillo-for-Lowell deal is “not close.” He feels that it's most likely Lowell will have to prove his health in Spring Training before a trade occurs. Meanwhile, Yahoo's Tim Brown tweets that the Rangers …
Discussion:
WEEI, Sabernomics, Amazin' Avenue, Circling The Bases, Over the Monster and The Real Dirty Mets Blog
Gordon Edes / ESPN:
Beltre's price was right for Red Sox — Third baseman comes at a steep discount — Catch the ball and pitch. The next thing you know, the Boston Red Sox will rediscover the sacrifice bunt, as soon as the number crunchers demonstrate it is no longer an “inefficiency.”
Discussion:
Fenway West
Joe Strauss / St. Louis Post-Dispatch:
La Russa says deal or no deal this week — Amid growing signs that the Cardinals and free-agent left fielder Matt Holliday were on the brink of a franchise-record contract to keep the former batting champion in St. Louis, manager Tony La Russa acknowledged Monday that any deal should be finalized sometime this week.
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Fox Sports:
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.
MLB:Sources: St. Louis Cardinals close to deal with Matt Holliday
Discussion:
St. Louis Post-Dispatch
Alden Gonzalez / MLB.com:
Mets to unveil Bay on Tuesday — Outfielder passes physical; conference to be held at 11 a.m. — At about noon ET on Monday, the Mets officially secured one of their biggest reasons for optimism heading into next season. — The Mets announced a Tuesday news conference at 11 a.m. to unveil Jason Bay …
Discussion:
New York Magazine
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Sports Illustrated:
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 …
Discussion:
ESPN, Boy of Summer, Hardball Times, Walkoff Walk, Circling The Bases, Bottom9 Baseball, Camden Chat and The Good Phight
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Sports Illustrated:Class act, great numbers, but Edgar Martinez is no Hall of Famer
Discussion:
Circling The Bases
Jim Caple / MLB:Bert Blyleven should finally get Hall of Fame call
Discussion:
Purple Row, Amazin' Avenue, Federal Baseball, Bless You Boys, Bluebird Banter, Halos Heaven, Red Reporter, Gaslamp Ball and Brew Crew Ball
Thomas Harding / MLB.com:
Rockies ink one-year deal with Olivo — Club option for 2011 included for former Royals backstop — DENVER — The Rockies replaced a sparkplug with a sparkplug on Monday. — Unable to bridge a gap in negotiations with catcher Yorvit Torrealba, Colorado reached an agreement with Miguel Olivo …
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Dejan Kovacevic / PBC Blog:
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 …
Discussion:
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Raise the Jolly Roger, MVN, BUCCO Fans.com, MLB Rumors, Bucs Dugout and Where Have You Gone …
John Shipley / TwinCities.com:
Winter reports on pitcher Francisco Liriano have Twins manager Ron Gardenhire excited — If healthy, lefthander could earn a spot in starting rotation — Ron Gardenhire said Monday he's excited about having veteran Carl Pavano back in the rotation, but his eyes really lit up when discussing …
Discussion:
Circling The Bases
Doug Miller / MLB.com:
Strawberry to appear on ‘Apprentice’ — Slugger competing on reality show for charity of his choice — Will Darryl Strawberry be “hired” or “fired?” — No, the former Mets and Yankees slugger isn't up for a front-office position, but something a bit more television-friendly.
Discussion:
Mike Silva's …
