Nats interested in free agent Jacobs  —  Slugging first baseman struggled with Royals last season  —  Nationals general manager Mike Rizzo said Wednesday on the MLB Network that he has interest in free-agent first baseman Mike Jacobs.  —  How Jacobs would fit in with the Nationals is a mystery.

WHAT HAPPENED WITH JASON BAY AND THE RED SOX  —  It was supposed to be the payoff for years of hard work and production.  Instead, Jason Bay's foray into free agency was nine months of chaos that still leaves the outfielder shaking his head.  —  The end of the story had Jason Bay standing …

Royals Reach Agreement With Rick Ankiel  —  FRIDAY, 8:04am: Ankiel can earn up to $500K in incentives this year, tweets Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports.  —  THURSDAY, 10:58pm: The Royals reached an agreement with outfielder Rick Ankiel on a one-year, $3.25MM deal, tweets Yahoo's Tim Brown.

Los Angeles Dodgers re-sign Vicente Padilla  —  The Dodgers finally completed their search for a fourth starter, re-signing Vicente Padilla to a one-year, $5.025 million contract after the veteran right-hander became a key member of their starting rotation down the stretch last season.

Source: The Phillies sign Shane Victorino for 3 years, $22 million  —  A source is telling me that the Phillies and Shane Victorino have reached a deal on a three-year, $22 million contract.  The team could announce it as early as tomorrow.  Jim Salisbury had reported earlier this week …

In Response to Murray Chass  —  Recently, former New York Times journalist and J.G. Taylor Spink Award winner Murray Chass took to the pages of his blog titled Murray Chass On Baseball to discuss Hall of Fame voting.  He addressed an array of topics, from Hall voting eliciting strong opinions …

Mesa unveils plan to keep Cubs; vote Monday  —  Mesa has a deal to keep the Chicago Cubs — and all it needs is for the team to sign it.  In what could be a telling decision by the team's executives, the Cubs told Mesa they will decide on an $84 million baseball complex shortly after the City Council formally endorses the deal Monday.

Free agent Jonny Gomes draws interest from Cubs—source  —  While popular speculation has focused on Jermaine Dye, the Cubs appear to be focused on free agent Jonny Gomes in their search for a fourth outfielder, according to a baseball source with knowledge of the Cubs' interest.

More Book Excerpts  —  More excerpts from the 2010 Baseball Prospect Book, for your reading enjoyment.  Remember that the actual comments in the book come with stats and a list of previous grades for that player.  —  Jai Miller, OF, Florida Marlins  —  Bats: R Throws: R HT: 6-4 WT: 195 DOB: January 17, 1985

Jack of all trades: M's GM building a winner  —  Zduriencik has acquired Figgins, Lee; extended Felix this winter  —  Barely a week has gone by this offseason without the Seattle Mariners making news.  Big news.  —  The Hot Stove league had just started to simmer when they announced the signing of All-Star infielder Chone Figgins.

Center Field Defense: A Closer Look  —  Last year my TotalZone ratings gave Torii Hunter an excellent +12 rating.  Due to an injury Torii only played 115 games in center, most of the other starts went to Gary Matthews Jr., who TotalZone absolutely hated out there for a -18 rating in only 435 innings.

AP Interview: Jenkins wants more McGwire apologies  —  Buzz up!  —  NEW YORK (AP)—Ferguson Jenkins says Mark McGwire owes an apology to all those pitchers who gave up his home runs.  —  The Hall of Fame ace sent an open letter to The Associated Press this week, telling the former home-run king …