Yankees agree to contracts with Gaudin and Logan  —  The Yankees have agreed to contracts with Chad Gaudin and Boone Logan, avoiding arbitration with their only remaining arbitration-eligible players.  —  UPDATE, 7:53 p.m.: The Yankees just sent this release.

Source: King Felix stays with Mariners  —  The Seattle Mariners have been shuffling the deck, but it looks like they'll keep their ace.  —  Hernandez  —  On the eve of exchanging salary figures for arbitration, right-hander Felix Hernandez has agreed to a multiyear contract with the team …

Umpires ratify labor agreement  —  Five-year deal with MLB lasts through end of 2014  —  SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — Members of the World Umpires Association voted late Monday night to ratify a new five-year contract with Major League Baseball that will extend to Dec. 31, 2014.

Florida Marlins could still trade Dan Uggla, signed to $7.8 million contract, by opening day  —  UPDATE: It has been a busy afternoon for the Marlins front office.  In the two hours since I initially posted this blog, they also signed pitchers Anibal Sanchez ($1,250,000) and Renyel Pinto ($1,075,000).

Peter Gammons: Red Sox Had Deal Done With Jason Bay During Season  —  Players and owners have had differing opinions on the severity of injuries when it comes to contract talks in Major League Baseball, and the Mets' Carlos Beltran isn't the only recent player to disagree with his team's view.

Gammons: Revenue gap widening  —  Concern grows for Marlins, Rays; Selig's meetings a success  —  We pass the ides of January and we start thinking about seeing Jason Heyward and Michael Stanton, Casey Kelly and Jason Donald in Spring Training.  —  We keep listening to Todd Thibaud's “We Love this Game.”

Opinion: Keith's No. 17, and other News to Come  —  In a post to Mets Merized Online, Ed Leyro argues that the Mets should retire No. 17, in honor of Keith Hernandez. … Note: There is a poll embedded within this post, please visit the site to participate in this post's poll.

Pirates trade Bixler, sign Donnelly  —  The Pirates have traded Brian Bixler to the Indians for Jesus Brito in an exchange of infielders, clearing space on the full 40-man roster for the signing of free-agent reliever Brendan Donnelly, which was made official this afternoon after he passed his physical.

Hope springs eternal, except for these teams  —  Tracy Ringolsby is a Hall of Fame baseball writer.  He is in his 34th year covering Major League Baseball, is a co-founder of Baseball America, and appears on pre- and postgame shows for Colorado Rockies games on FSN Rocky Mountain.

Clandestine campaign led to Valentine's demise  —  It was just about the time that Chiba Lotte Marines acting owner Akio Shigemitsu declared that Bobby Valentine could run his team “for life” that things began to go sour.  Until then, the former Texas Rangers and New York Mets manager …

Rockies sign Spilborghs to a two-year, $3.25-million deal  —  DENVER — The Rockies avoided arbitration with outfielder Ryan Spilborghs, signing him to a two-year, $3.25-million deal today.  —  Spilborghs, one of the team's more popular players, will make $1.3 million this season …

Top 10 offseason performances … While nearly 100 free agents remain available, it's probably too late for any team to transform its team or winter with what's left.  So it's time to assess the winters of the 30 teams — or at least the top 10 of them.  —  Here they are, the 10 best performances …