Padres acquire free-agent pitcher Jon Garland  —  Free agent pitcher Jon Garland is apparently becoming a Padre.  —  Padres President Tom Garfinkel, speaking at a Military Appreciation Luncheon Tuesday afternoon at the Torrey Pines Hilton, said the Padres have signed the 30-year-old free agent …

A's sign Ben Sheets  —  Free agent right-hander Ben Sheets has signed with the A's, CBSSports.com has learned.  —  Sheets agreed to terms on a one-year deal for $10 million, plus incentives.  He passed a physical today, and the deal is expected to be announced this afternoon.

Yankees deal for outfielder Golson  —  Infielder Hilligoss sent to Rangers to complete trade  —  The Yankees added to their outfield depth Tuesday, acquiring Greg Golson in a trade with the Texas Rangers.  —  New York, which gave up Minor League infielder Mitch Hilligoss in the deal …

New York Mets eye upgrades as John Smoltz, catchers on radar  —  PORT ST. LUCIE - When Johan Santana delivers the first pitch of the Mets' season on April 5, Omir Santos very well could be behind the plate to receive the offering.  What's more, John Smoltz could follow Santana in the rotation.

Cubs Reach Agreement With Xavier Nady  —  12:57pm: SI.com's Jon Heyman tweets that Nady will make $3.3MM in 2010 plus an additional $2MM in incentives tied to games played.  —  11:41am: Tim Brown of Yahoo! Sports tweets that the team has reached an agreement with Nady on a one-year deal, pending a physical.

Minnesota Twins, Jim Thome agree to incentive-heavy contract  —  The Minnesota Twins have agreed to a one-year incentive-laden contract with veteran slugger Jim Thome, a person with knowledge of the situation told the Pioneer Press today.  —  The Thome-to-the-Twins speculation began on Friday …

Modest surprise: Ronnie Belliard returning to Dodgers  —  The Blake DeWitt train will have more stops before it reaches its intended destination.  Ken Gurnick of MLB.com is reporting that Ronnie Belliard has re-signed with the Dodgers on an $825,000 deal.  —  The Dodgers now find themselves …

The day DiMaggio got a hit off Satchel  —  Joe DiMaggio was a prospect, a promising one for sure, but he still was two months shy of making his New York Yankees spring-training debut.  —  Leroy “Satchel” Paige was a Negro Leagues pitching sensation whose exploits seemed the stuff of myth until they actually were seen.

Rockies monitor utility market, with Melvin Mora high on list  —  The Rockies' front office met early this offseason and identified the players it would like in a bench role.  They calculated that a handful of players could fall into their laps if they exercised patience.

A tale of two baseball cheaters  —  Why is it the best of times for Mark McGwire but the worst of times for Pete Rose?  —  ESPN.com  —  Mark McGwire is back in.  But Pete Rose is still out?  —  Major League Baseball continues its hit streak of hypocrisy.

Why Damon is still available … If we were to create a “no-tool player” — a Frankenstein's monster crudely stitched together using only the worst individual skills possessed by active major leaguers — we might give him the foot speed of one of the senior Molina brothers.  We might give him the glove of Adam Dunn.

Source: Cubs set to acquire IF Tracy  —  The Chicago Cubs will announce on Wednesday that they have signed former Arizona Diamondbacks infielder Chad Tracy to a minor league contract, according to a major league source.  —  If Tracy makes the Cubs' big-league roster, he would earn $900,000 …

Sox agree to terms with Hermida  —  The Red Sox today agreed to terms with outfielder Jeremy Hermida on a one-year, non-guaranteed contract for the 2010 season, thus avoiding salary arbitration.  Arbitration hearings would have started Feb. 1.  —  The sides agreed to a $3.345 million deal for 2010 …