Papelbon not heading to a hearing  —  Jonathan Papelbon has a one-year deal in place with the Red Sox that would be in the neighborhood of $9 million.  (Update: The deal is for $9.35 million, with Papelbon getting a $50,000 bonus for 60 games finishes — he finished 59 in 2009.)

Molina Signing Deal To Stay With SF Giants  —  SAN FRANCISCO (CBS 5) ― In a surprising twist, Bengie Molina has agreed to a one-year, $4.5 million contract to stay with the San Francisco Giants, CBS 5 has learned.  —  Molina's family on Tuesday confirmed the deal that keeps …

Johnny Damon running out of options  —  Slowly but surely, one closed-out roster at a time, Johnny Damon's horizons keep shrinking.  On Tuesday, he found himself squeezed out from the Giants, who signed Bengie Molina and have officially exhausted their off-season treasury.

Fisk rips McGwire, calls steroids claim ‘a crock’  —  Hall of Fame catcher Carlton Fisk blasted Mark McGwire, Roger Clemens, Barry Bonds and other alleged or admitted steroid abusers Tuesday, calling McGwire's claim that steroids did not help him hit more home runs “a crock.”

Mets Looking To Add Two More Pitchers  —  Metsblog's Matthew Cerrone reports that the Mets are interested in signing John Smoltz and one of either Joel Pineiro or Ben Sheets.  Cerrone notes that “all three have legit interest in pitching for the Mets on short-term deals,” …

Rockies add Lo Duca on a minor league deal  —  DENVER — Amid the wave of contract signings, the Rockies are still looking for depth at the major and minor-league levels.  —  As I speculated around 4 p.m. this afternoon, they Rockies have now signed sign catcher Paul Lo Duca to a minor league deal.

Tom Verducci TomVerducciInside Baseball Bang for the buck: The five most efficient clubs of the past decade … The Yankees left little doubt that they were the team of the last decade, but what team was the most efficient from 2000 through 2009?  Did the Yankees get the most bang …

Closer Eric Gagne has tryout with Phillies  —  The Phillies' search for bullpen depth may take an interesting turn.  —  Former All-Star closer Eric Gagne told a French Canadian radio station that he has a tryout with the Phillies this afternoon in Arizona.

Street, Betancourt sign multiyear deals  —  The Rockies agreed to multiyear contracts with relief pitchers Huston Street and Rafael Betancourt, FOXsports.com has learned, giving the Rockies 11 players signed to contracts that tie them to the Rockies through at least 2011.

Reed, Register sign Minors deals  —  Jays add organizational depth heading into Spring Training  —  TORONTO — The Blue Jays added more organizational depth on Tuesday, signing outfielder Jeremy Reed and right-hander Steve Register to Minor League contracts that include invitations to attend Spring Training with the big league club.

Teammates laud Felix's new deal  —  Johnson calls ace's potential extension ‘incredible news’  —  Rob Johnson, who was Felix Hernandez's personal catcher for most of last season, said an impending contract extension for the Mariners ace right-hander is “incredible news” and that it removes a potential distraction going forward.

Phillies Thinking Multiyear Deal for Victorino  —  The Phillies exchanged potential salary figures with their three arbitration-eligible players Tuesday and appear to be working on a multiyear contract with at least one of them.  —  Sources indicated to CSNPhilly.com that the team was discussing …

Coffey, Brewers $750,000 apart  —  By Tom Haudricourt of the Journal Sentinel  —  Of the four remaining players in arbitration with the Brewers, the biggest gap in figures filed today is with reliever Todd Coffey, who filed for $2.45 million.  The club filed for $1.7 million, a difference of $750,000.