Arbitration likely for Yanks' Kerry Wood  —  NEW YORK — The New York Yankees are likely to offer arbitration to Kerry Wood, opening the door to a possible return in 2011 for the right-handed reliever to once again serve as the set-up man for Mariano Rivera.

Source: Detroit, Martinez near 4-year deal  —  FOX Sports  —  The first major free agent is about to fall.  —  Catcher Victor Martinez is close to signing with the Tigers, a source confirms.  —  Ignacio Serrano, a reporter for Venezuela's El Nacional, reported that Martinez will receive a four-year, $50 million contract.

Terry Collins introduced as new Mets manager, says team has talent to contend in 2011  —  Terry Collins insists he is not evil, or a devil, and there are no indications that he has ever been a witch.  With his humanity confirmed, the Mets can only hope that, at 61, the respected teacher …

Rangers' Josh Hamilton wins AL MVP  —  Texas Rangers outfielder Josh Hamilton was named the American League Most Valuable Player on Tuesday by the Baseball Writers' Association of America, becoming the franchise's fifth player to receive the honor.  —  Hamilton is the first Rangers player …

Source: Giants nearing deal with Huff  —  The San Francisco Giants have agreed to a two-year contract with free-agent first baseman Aubrey Huff, major-league sources told FOXSports.com.  The deal is pending a physical examination.  —  A source indicated that the guaranteed value of the deal will be close to $22 million.

Washburn draws interest despite sitting out 2010  —  , the 36-year-old left-hander who sat out last season while considering retirement, continues to generate interest as a free agent, according to sources.  —  The Milwaukee Brewers, whose starters had the second-worst ERA in the National League …

Sports Agent's Loans to Poor Players Pose Concerns  —  The company of Scott Boras, baseball's pre-eminent agent, provided tens of thousands of dollars in loans and payments to the families of poor Dominican teenage prospects, according to people with ties to Mr. Boras, raising questions …

Towers: Nothing new on Upton trade front  —  D-backs listening to offers but no move is imminent  —  PHOENIX — All was quiet Monday on the Justin Upton trade front.  —  “Nothing new to report there,” said D-backs general manager Kevin Towers.  —  Towers created quite a stir last week …

Scouting reports for the Top 10 Prospects (How to subscribe)  —  The American League Division Series almost obscured an otherwise storybook 2010 season for the Twins.  —  Minnesota opened Target Field and played home games outdoors for the first time since 1981.

Do great young players tend not to improve as they get older?  —  Warning: To the regulars on this site who are sabermetricians in their own right, this post is obvious.  You can ignore it if you like.  You DON'T need to tell us how obvious it is.  There are many readers, lurkers …