Top News:
Fox Sports:
Yankees, Damon would've been a solid fit — Ken Rosenthal has been the senior baseball writer for FOXSports.com since Aug. 2005. He appears weekly on MLB on FOX. — Talk about a dumb divorce. — The Yankees need Johnny Damon. Damon needs the Yankees. But so much for happily ever after.
RELATED:
Joel Sherman / NY Post:
Yankees sign Randy Winn; Damon done — The Yankees have reached a one-year contract with Randy Winn, The Post has learned. — The deal is believed to be in the $2 million range that the Yankees had allocated for the fourth outfielder job and shuts the door on — any late pursuit of Johnny Damon.
Tyler Kepner / New York Times:
It's Farewell to Damon After Yanks Sign Winn — For weeks, the Yankees insisted that they were down to their last $2 million in shaping their 2010 roster. That did not stop the perception that they would ultimately bring back Johnny Damon. Their decision Wednesday will change that.
Joel Sherman / NY Post: Hardball:3UP: Cone, Mets Rotation and Damon
Discussion:
Fack Youk, BronxBanterBlog.com, Bottom9 Baseball, Amazin' Avenue, The iYankees Blog and MetsBlog.com
Benjamin Kabak / River Avenue Blues:Yanks reach one-year deal with Randy Winn
Discussion:
No, You're a Towel, The LoHud Yankees Blog, Yankeeist, Pending Pinstripes, New Jersey Online, Fack Youk and TYU
Bryan Hoch / MLB.com:Girardi open to Granderson in left field
Discussion:
NY Daily News, BronxBanterBlog.com, TYU, The iYankees Blog, Phillies Nation and Bottom9 Baseball
Jonathan Mayo / MLB.com:
Breaking down the Top 50 Prospects — Pitchers, premium position players make grade in 2010 — MLB.com's Top 50 Prospect list is now public for all to see. Let the opinions fly. Should the game's top prospect be Braves outfielder Jason Heyward or Nationals fireballer Stephen Strasburg?
RELATED:
Bryan Hoch / MLB.com:
Yanks' Montero slugging, turning heads — Bat earns 20-fyear-old catcher coveted spot on prospect list — NEW YORK — Each loud drive off Jesus Montero's bat moves him a little closer to Yankee Stadium, and the Yankees can't help but wonder what the future will hold for the slugging catcher.
Keith Law / ESPN:
Ranking the top prospects (Nos. 1-25) … Welcome to the third annual ESPN.com ranking of the top 100 prospects in baseball. The No. 1 prospect for 2008, Evan Longoria, ended up winning the American League Rookie of the Year Award, and last year's No. 1 prospect, Matt Wieters …
Mike Puma / New York Post:
Tatis talk closing door on Delgado — PORT ST. LUCIE — Who's on first? — The answer to that question for the Mets is Daniel Murphy, but another name might soon be added to the mix. — According to an industry source, general manager Omar Minaya is deep into negotiations with Fernando Tatis …
Discussion:
Circling The Bases
RELATED:
Dan Connolly / Baltimore Sun:
Orioles, reliever Hendrickson agree to terms — Left-hander returns for one-year, $1.2 million deal — The Orioles shored up their bullpen and likely put the final touch on their 40-man roster before they head to spring training by agreeing to terms Wednesday with reliever Mark Hendrickson.
Adam Rubin / Surfing The Mets:
Smoltz could borrow Pedro's script — John Smoltz could choose not pitching over pitching for the Mets ... at least for now. But Smoltz isn't retiring yet. — An insider tells the Daily News he believes the 42-year-old Smoltz could follow the route Pedro Martinez went last season — wait and sign mid-season.
Tim Dierkes / MLB Rumors:
Yankees To Hire Kevin Towers — The Yankees will announce the hiring of former Padres GM Kevin Towers before spring, tweets Bob Nightengale of USA Today. ESPN's Buster Olney had been predicting this since October. — Towers planned to meet with the Yankees, Mets, Mariners …
Marty Noble / MLB.com:
Inbox: Were Mets wise to stay frugal? — Beat reporter Marty Noble answers fans' questions — Do you give credence to the thinking that because the 2009-10 free-agent class was below average the Mets chose not to spend a lot of money on average-at-best pitchers and/or position players …
David Waldstein / New York Times:
The Mets Play Hard to Get, This Time With Smoltz — PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. — John Smoltz, who turns 43 in May and would like to extend his Hall of Fame career, has received 2010 contract offers from several teams, his agent, Lonnie Cooper, said Wednesday. The Mets, however, are not among those clubs …
Craig Calcaterra / Circling The Bases:
The Dodgers deny that McCourt wants to sell; call me irresponsible — UPDATE: So this morning, I wrote the bit way down below, passing on a rumor I heard that Frank McCourt would like to sell the Dodgers once all of the McCourt v. McCourt litigation blows over. I trust my source on this, but the Dodgers took issue.
