Closer Mariano Rivera to sign two-year, $30 million deal with New York Yankees by Friday night  —  Punta Cana, Dominican Republic - Yankee fans rejoice: “Enter Sandman” will blissfully be heard for two more years in the Bronx.  —  According to a source familiar with the negotiations between …

Ron Santo dead at 70  —  Chicago Cubs icon failed to reach Hall of Fame  —  Ron Santo (left) and Billy Williams at the Cubs' spring training camp in 1971.  (Tribune archive photo)  —  Legendary Chicago Cubs player and broadcaster Ron Santo died Thursday night in Arizona.  He was 70.

Source: White Sox land Adam Dunn  —  The Chicago White Sox have finalized a four-year, $56 million deal with free-agent slugger Adam Dunn, according to a source familiar with the situation.  —  The deal is pending a physical, which is scheduled for Friday morning, and is not expected to be announced until later in the day.

Source: Jason Varitek back in Boston  —  Longtime Boston Red Sox captain Jason Varitek is returning to the team for another season despite interest from at least one other team, a baseball source told ESPN.com's Jerry Crasnick on Thursday.  —  The catcher will sign a one-year deal for $2 million …

Blue Jays Not Close To Signing A.J. Pierzynski  —  9:10pm: The Blue Jays are not close to signing Pierzynski, according to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (on Twitter).  The White Sox still appear to be in the mix for the catcher.  —  6:42pm: The Blue Jays are close to signing A.J. Pierzynski …

Sources: New York Yankees tell Derek Jeter they'll improve offer  —  The New York Yankees informed Derek Jeter's agent, Casey Close, on Thursday that the team was willing to improve its original three-year, $45 million offer, according to sources close to the negotiations.

Takahashi Agrees to Deal With Angels  —  Updated  —  Hisanori Takahashi, who was one of the most valuable pitchers on the Mets' 2010 staff and one of the most versatile in the team's history, agreed to a two-year deal with the Los Angeles Angels, the team announced Thursday.

NL West making quick offseason moves  —  Tracy Ringolsby is a Hall of Fame baseball writer.  He is in his 35th year covering Major League Baseball, is a co-founder of Baseball America, and appears on pre- and postgame shows for Colorado Rockies games on FSN Rocky Mountain.

Seattle Mariners sign free-agent LHP Erik Bedard to one-year deal  —  SEATTLE — Seattle Mariners executive vice president & general manager of baseball operations Jack Zduriencik announced Thursday that the club has signed free-agent left-handed pitcher Erik Bedard to a one-year, non-guaranteed contract.

Non-tenders: Howell, Aybar, Cormier, Navarro  —  UPDATE, 10:41: Official word is Rays have non-tendered J.P. Howell, Willy Aybar, Dioner Navarro and Lance Cormier.  —  Exec VP Andrew Friedman was confident however they could re-sign Howell, which indicates they are more likely just working around …

Mariners deal Lopez for Minor League pitcher  —  SEATTLE — The Mariners traded infielder Jose Lopez to the Colorado Rockies on Thursday evening for Minor League pitcher Chaz Roe as Seattle general manager Jack Zduriencik got some return on the veteran rather than just release him at the non-tender deadline.

Live chat: Evan Grant answers your Rangers questions at 1 p.m. Friday  —  Evan Grant, Rangers columnist and blogger for SportsDayDFW.com and The Dallas Morning News, answers questions about the team in a live chat at 1 p.m. Friday.  Ask your questions in the Coveritlive module below, and Evan will discuss them for an hour or so.