Top News:
Gordon Edes / ESPN:
Source: Okajima will be non-tendered — BOSTON — The Red Sox do not plan to tender a contract to left-handed reliever Hideki Okajima, a club source said Wednesday night. — Okajima, who was paid $2.8 million in 2010 ($2.75 million in salary, an additional $50,000 in performance bonuses), is arbitration-eligible.
Discussion:
Boston Globe, NESN.com and Over the Monster
RELATED:
Gordon Edes / ESPN:
Sources: Red Sox meet Crawford, Werth — BOSTON — Just days before Monday's opening of baseball's winter meetings, the Boston Red Sox have stepped up their pursuit of the two free-agent outfielders at the top of their list, Carl Crawford and Jayson Werth, meeting with both players and their agents, according to sources.
Discussion:
Red Sox Monster, Over the Monster and NESN.com
Michael Silverman / Boston Herald:
Red Sox gunning for top outfield target
Discussion:
Phillies Nation, SOX & Dawgs, Boston Globe, USA Today, NESN.com, SBNation.com, Yahoo! Sports, HardballTalk, Rays Index and Fanhouse MLB Blog
Fox Sports:
Why Rangers don't need to pay Lee — 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. — If I were the Rangers, I would almost want to lose Cliff Lee. — Don't get me wrong, Lee would be a tremendous asset.
Discussion:
Lone Star Ball and MLB.com
RELATED:
Mark Feinsand / NY Daily News:
Rangers make house call to Cliff Lee in Arkansas, but lefty ace likely won't make decision soon — The Rangers made a another house call on Cliff Lee in Arkansas Wednesday, trying to convince the lefthander to stay in Texas. — But while the Rangers are hopeful that Lee's positive experience this season …
Discussion:
New Jersey Online and IT IS HIGH!
Richard Durrett / ESPN:
Nolan Ryan, GM met with Cliff Lee
Discussion:
The LoHud Yankees Blog, SBNation.com and Lone Star Ball
Andrew Baggarly / Extra Baggs:
UPDATED: Giants and Pat Burrell agree to discounted, one-year contract (10) — UPDATED: This file was rewritten at 8:50 p.m. with confirmation, plus more info on the signing. — A couple hours ago, I was on KNBR with Ralph and Tom and told them that Pat Burrell wasn't a front-burner priority …
Discussion:
SULLY BASEBALL, MLB Rumors, Fanhouse MLB Blog and El Lefty Malo
RELATED:
Henry Schulman / San Francisco Chronicle:
Pat Burrell gets 1-year deal with SF Giants
Discussion:
baseballmusings.com and The Giants Baseball Blog
Andy Martino / NY Daily News:
John Maine likely won't receive contract offer from Mets; Angel Pagan, R.A. Dickey should get deals — John Maine's five-year career as a Met will likely end Thursday, when the team is expected to non-tender the pitcher, making him a free agent. — Angel Pagan, R.A. Dickey …
Discussion:
Mets Fever
RELATED:
Ken Davidoff / Newsday:
Mets don't tender a contract to Maine — The Mets hope to add some pitchers, albeit some low-cost ones, in the coming days. Today, however, they'll bid farewell to a well-known arm. — Teams must tender contracts to players under their control by midnight, and the Mets will not tender …
Discussion:
Mets Fever
NY Daily News:
After meeting with Brian Cashman, Derek Jeter isn't any closer to new deal with Yankees: sources — Despite what was apparently a happenstance face-to-face meeting on Tuesday, the Yankees and Derek Jeter still appear to be far apart in their effort to reach a deal.
Discussion:
MLB Rumors, Bats and It's About The Money
Associated Press:
Yankees' Aceves breaks bone in bike accident — NEW YORK (AP) — New York Yankees relief pitcher Alfredo Aceves is expected to miss the start of spring training after breaking his left collar bone in a bicycle accident in Mexico. — The Yankees say Aceves had surgery Tuesday in New York.
Discussion:
HardballTalk
RELATED:
Mike Petriello / Baseball Prospectus:
Fantasy Beat — Hot Spots: Relief Pitchers — As Mr. McQuown and Mr. Jong have so ably mentioned earlier this week, we're back with a fantasy focus on this winter's moves. Since this is fantasy-specific, I suppose it's time to take off the “saves and wins are pointless” …
Discussion:
Mike Scioscia's tragic illness, Texas Rangers and ESPN
Adam McCalvy / MLB.com:
Crew GM wants to accelerate talks with Weeks — MILWAUKEE — The Brewers would love to lock up second baseman Rickie Weeks with a multiyear contract extension, but they're having trouble getting those talks started, general manager Doug Melvin said this week.
Discussion:
HardballTalk
RELATED:
Adam McCalvy / MLB.com:
Brewers face non-tender date decisions
Discussion:
Brew Crew Ball, JSOnline, Brew Beat and Al's Ramblings
Fran Spielman / Chicago Sun Times:
Wrigley finance proposal has struck out — Cubs need to find different plan for park renovation — The Cubs' plan to use 35 years' worth of amusement-tax growth to finance a $200 million renovation of Wrigley Field — and back-stop the bonds with a 2 percent hotel tax — is dead, sources said Wednesday.
Discussion:
HardballTalk and Bleed Cubbie Blue
John Romano / St. Petersburg Times:
Tampa Bay Rays may be better off punting on 2011, building for future — As of now, the Rays are still contenders in the American League East. — Even without Carl Crawford. Even without Rafael Soriano. Even without Carlos Peña and Joaquin Benoit.
Discussion:
Rays Index
Marty Noble / MLB.com:
Overlooking McGriff for Hall would be crime — First baseman was feared slugger with numbers to prove it — Contrary to an increasingly widespread perception, the Braves teams of the mid-90s didn't win regularly by scores of 1-0 and 2-1. A member of their Cy Young staff occasionally required …
Jeff Gordon / St. Louis Post-Dispatch:
Adding Theriot should help Cards refocus — The Cardinals had enough talent to dominate lesser teams last season. They didn't, so they missed the playoffs. — Why did they lose so many games they should have won? — Pitching injuries forced the team to get by with three quality starters for much of the season.
Discussion:
Viva El Birdos, Fungoes and HardballTalk
RELATED:
Troy E. Renck / Denver Post:
Rockies trying to sign former all-star Lance Berkman — In the Rockies' search for a big bat to enhance their lineup, the team is aggressively pursuing veteran slugger Lance Berkman. — Berkman, a switch-hitter and former all-star, is coming off a disappointing season with the Astros and Yankees.
Discussion:
mlbbuzz, DC Pro Sports Report, Purple Row, MLB Rumors and Fanhouse MLB Blog
Alex Speier / Full Count:
Wily Mo Pena signs minor league deal with Arizona Diamondbacks — Former Red Sox outfielder Wily Mo Pena, who was acquired by Boston in a trade for right-hander Bronson Arroyo in 2006, has signed a minor league deal with an invitation to major league camp with the Arizona Diamondbacks, according to a baseball source.
Discussion:
AZ Snakepit
RELATED:
Peter Abraham / Boston Globe:
Greetings from Gate B-22 — Good morning from Logan Airport. We're here waiting for a 6 a.m. flight to the Dominican Republic (via JFK in New York) to cover David Ortiz's charity golf tournament. — There are expected to be a bunch of Red Sox players on hand including Dustin Pedroia …
Discussion:
The House That Dewey Built
