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.

It's Official: The Phillies sign Shane Victorino for 3 years, $22 million  —  UPDATE: The deal has now been announced by the team.  —  Thursday, 8:02 P.M.: A source is telling me that the Phillies and Shane Victorino have reached a deal on a three-year, $22 million contract.

Buzz: The Mets are Up to Somthing  —  This morning, on Twitter and Facebook, I said, “Yep, the Mets are up to something, and close to making a deal... fingers crossed.”  —  I hope it is good news, as we, fans, could use it.  —  Yesterday, I heard a lot of bizarre hot stove rumors …

If Delgado a no-go, Mets may tab Tatis  —  The Mets' hunt for another first-base option includes a longtime favorite of general manager Omar Minaya.  —  According to an industry source, if Carlos Delgado is not re-signed, Fernando Tatis is a strong candidate to rejoin the Mets next season.

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 …

Seeing Is Disbelieving  —  Last week, after years of public curiosity about what was hidden behind Mark McGwire's testimony to Congress in 2005, McGwire admitted he indeed had a secret.  He conceded that his career was marked by intermittent steroid use, even during 1998, the year he broke Roger Maris' single-season home run record.

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.

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.

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.

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.