Boras says Strasburg's spirits ‘good’  —  LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. — Agent Scott Boras said Wednesday that Stephen Strasburg's right elbow is getting better and that he should be ready to pitch by the middle of next season.  —  Strasburg went 5-3 with a 2.91 ERA before having elbow reconstruction surgery in September.

Source: Dodgers, Dioner Navarro close  —  LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. — In a development that probably eliminates any chance two-time All-Star and former Gold Glove catcher Russell Martin will remain with the Los Angeles Dodgers, the club is close to a one-year agreement with the catcher Martin replaced …

Kansas City Royals agree to one-year deal with Jeff Francoeur  —  Free agent outfielder Jeff Francoeur agreed to a one-year deal with the Kansas City Royals, the team announced Wednesday.  —  The deal also includes a mutual option for the 2012 season and is pending a physical exam.

Cowlishaw: It's better to overpay for Cliff Lee than let him go to the Yankees  —  I don't make a habit of writing things that I am told “off the record.”  No one in this business does for very long.  —  But when it's this juicy, this good, I just have to make an exception.

LAA to eventually land Carl Crawford? … LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. — Two sources close to Carl Crawford said they expect the free-agent outfielder eventually to sign with the Los Angeles Angels.  —  Multiple high-ranking baseball sources said Tuesday they expect Crawford to end up in Anaheim.

The Voice of My Childhood Is Hall-of-Fame-Bound  —  A thousand plagues of locusts couldn't wipe the smile off my face today.  Not after the news that Dave Van Horne, the voice of the Montreal Expos for the first 32 years of their existence and the radio voice of the Florida Marlins for a decade since, is headed to the Hall of Fame:

White Sox Re-Sign Paul Konerko  —  The White Sox reached an agreement with first baseman Paul Konerko on a three-year deal, reports Bob Nightengale of USA Today.  The deal is worth $37.5MM, tweets SI's Jon Heyman.  The contract includes deferred money, as outlined by MLB.com's Scott Merkin.

Mets add DJ Carrasco and Ronny Paulino, but under Sandy Alderson club is viewed as hot-stove joke  —  LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. - On the day that a trustee seeking to recover money on behalf of Bernie Madoff's victims sued Fred Wilpon, a National League executive who met with the Mets this week smirked …

Answer Man: Luke Scott talks Nugent, hunting and Obama origin  —  stopped by baseball's winter meetings Tuesday and, after some harmless chatter about his team's offseason dealings, stated with conviction that President Barack Obama was not born in the United States.  —  Oh, yes, he did.

Mets Sign Boof Bonser  —  The Mets signed Boof Bonser to a minor league contract, according to Newsday's Ken Davidoff (on Twitter).  The 29-year-old right-hander logged 25 innings with the A's and Red Sox this year, posting a 6.12 ERA with acceptable strikeout (6.1 K/9) and walk (2.9 BB/9) rates.

Hisashi Iwakuma's agent critical of A's  —  SENDAI, Japan — The agent for Japanese pitcher Hisashi Iwakuma says the Oakland Athletics were insincere after his client was unable to reach an agreement with the major league team.  —  Don Nomura said because Iwakuma could become a free agent next year …