Top News:
George / Fox Sports:
Why would Uggla reject Marlins' offer? — Dan Uggla will have some options now that he turned down Florida's latest offer. — Ken Rosenthal has been the senior baseball writer for FOXSports.com since Aug. 2005. He appears weekly on MLB on FOX. Follow him on Twitter.
RELATED:
Gordon Edes / ESPN:
Source: Red Sox eye Jayson Werth — BOSTON — The Red Sox, as expected, have contacted agent Scott Boras regarding their interest in free-agent outfielder Jayson Werth, according to a baseball source. — There was no word yet on whether the team was pursuing outfielder Carl Crawford, although that would appear to be a no-brainer.
Discussion:
Phillies Nation, MLB Daily Dish, Pirates Prospects and NESN.com
Tim Dierkes / MLB Rumors:
2011 Top 50 Free Agents — It's time for the fifth annual MLB Trade Rumors Top 50 Free Agents list! The entire list of available free agents can be found here. — A note before we begin - this is a complicated puzzle, and I'll be satisfied if I'm correct on a quarter of these guesses.
Discussion:
Sports Illustrated, Bucs Dugout and Pirates Prospects
Christian Red / NY Daily News:
Jorge Posada plans to be starting catcher, says Yankees should wrap up Derek Jeter contract talks — He is entering the last year of his four-year, $52.4 million contract, and he's logged a lot of miles on his 39-year-old body. — But when blue-chip Yankee catching prospect Jesus Montero's name …
Discussion:
HardballTalk, Sliding Into Home, Subway Squawkers, TYU, BronxBanterBlog.com, LADY AT THE BAT and River Avenue Blues
RELATED:
Mark Feinsand / NY Daily News:
Yankees touch base with Cliff Lee, face competition from Brewers, Rangers, Cubs, Phillies and Angels — The Cliff Lee Sweepstakes is officially underway and not surprisingly, the Yanks haven't wasted any time to get in. — Now that baseball's most attractive free agent is allowed …
Discussion:
Lone Star Ball and NESN.com
Associated Press:
Report: Yankees call Cliff Lee's agent
Discussion:
mlbbuzz, The Captain's Blog, MLB Rumors, USA Today, Bronx Baseball Daily, Mets Merized Online, MetsBlog.com and River Avenue Blues
Michael S. Schmidt / New York Times:
Yankees Start the Wooing of Lee Immediately
Discussion:
Pinstripe Alley, NoMaas.org and New Jersey Online
Michael Baron / MetsBlog.com:
Mets Hire Paul DePodesta as VP — The Mets have hired Paul DePodesta as Special Assistant to the General Manager, and he will serve as Vice President of player development and amateur scouting. — DePodesta had been serving as a special assistant to the baseball operations department for the San Diego Padres.
Discussion:
Yahoo! Sports and Kranepool Society
RELATED:
Andy Martino / NY Daily News:
Clint Hurdle, Don Wakamatsu, Tim Teufel and Ken Oberkfell on Sandy Alderson's interview list — The Mets' managerial search returns to New York Tuesday, when GM Sandy Alderson will begin another series of meetings with candidates. The team has not yet made a schedule public …
Discussion:
MLB Rumors, MetsBlog.com, Fanhouse MLB Blog and Mets Merized Online
Maureen Mullen / Comcast SportsNet:
Source: Mets to interview Red Sox coach DeMarlo Hale for manager's job
Discussion:
Boston Globe, The House That Dewey Built, MLB Daily Dish and New York Post
Jon Heyman / Sports Illustrated:
A's win bidding for Japan's Iwakuma — The Oakland A's have taken another step in filling out one of the game's most intriguing starting rotations in winning the bidding for Japanese pitcher Hisashi Iwakuma, SI.com has confirmed. — Agent Don Nonura tweeted Monday that the A's had won …
Discussion:
Yahoo! Sports, Kranepool Society and Baseball-Reference Blog
RELATED:
Aaron Gleeman / NBCSports.com:
A's win exclusive rights to negotiate with Japanese pitcher Hisashi Iwakuma
Discussion:
SFGate, HardballTalk, Mets Merized Online, NESN.com and Halos Heaven
Jeff Sullivan / Lookout Landing:
A's Win Rights To Hisashi Iwakuma?
Discussion:
Baseball Time in Arlington, U.S.S. Mariner, Seattle Times and Athletics Nation
Charlie Samuels / Yahoo! Sports:
Derrek Lee has surgery on his right thumb — has had surgery to repair a torn ligament in his right thumb, an injury that appeared to limit his production for much of the 2010 season. — Lee, who turned 35 in September, is expected to recover in advance of spring training.
Discussion:
HardballTalk, Talking Chop and Chicago Breaking Sports
Jon Paul Morosi / Fox Sports:
Washburn considering MLB comeback — Although he didn't pitch this year, left-hander Jarrod Washburn never formally announced his retirement. — That was probably wise. — Washburn told FOXSports.com on Monday that he is considering a comeback. — “I honestly am very happy …
Discussion:
MLB Rumors and HardballTalk
Kevin Goldstein / Baseball Prospectus:
Pittsburgh Pirates Top 11 Prospects — System In 20 Words Or Less: The 2010 draft and one international signee transforms the system with a trio of ultra-high ceiling teenage arms. — Five-Star Prospects — 1. James Taillon, RHP — 2. Stetson Allie, RHP — Four-Star Prospects
Discussion:
Bucs Dugout, Pirates Prospects, Pittsburgh Lumber Co. and Where Have You Gone …
Andy / Baseball-Reference Blog:
Hit By Pitch vs Home Runs — It turns out that there is a fairly strong correlation between HBP rates and HR rates. — I guess this isn't entirely surprising. A fair fraction of hit-by-pitches occur after one or more home runs, so when there are more homers, there are more batters getting hit by pitches.
Discussion:
Patrick Flood
