Top News:
Peter Abraham / Boston Globe:
Sox add Jenks to the mix — The Red Sox firmly believe relief pitchers are not worth a contract of longer than two years. History shows such deals usually come to be regretted. — General manager Theo Epstein paid the steep price for his convictions yesterday when striking a deal with righthander Bobby Jenks.
Discussion:
SawxBlog, Chicago Breaking Sports and The Big Lead
RELATED:
ESPN:
Source: Red Sox to sign Bobby Jenks — Bobby Jenks is changing his Sox from white to red. — The former Chicago White Sox closer agreed to a two-year, $12 million with the Boston Red Sox, pending a physical, a source told ESPN The Magazine's Buster Olney.
Discussion:
MLB.com, USA Today, SOX & Dawgs, Full Count, Fenway West, The Joy of Sox, baseballmusings.com, It's About The Money and NoMaas.org
Associated Press:
Yankees' Rivera admits joining Red Sox was ‘real’ possibility
Yankees' Rivera admits joining Red Sox was ‘real’ possibility
Discussion:
Boston Herald, ESPN, CBSSports.com, Fanhouse MLB Blog and The Mighty Quinn Media Machine
Jennifer Floyd Engel / Fort Worth Star-Telegram:
No time to go stupid: Rangers have staff options
No time to go stupid: Rangers have staff options
Discussion:
Baseball Prospectus, Dallas Morning News and Lone Star Ball
Nick Cafardo / Boston Globe:
Source: Jenks deal pending physical
Source: Jenks deal pending physical
Discussion:
The House That Dewey Built, The Bottom Line, Lookout Landing, Yahoo! Sports, Chicago Tribune and HardballTalk
Alden Gonzalez / MLB.com:
Mo says Red Sox made pitch for his services
Mo says Red Sox made pitch for his services
Discussion:
HardballTalk and Full Count
Ben Nicholson-Smith / MLB Rumors:
Red Sox To Sign Bobby Jenks
Red Sox To Sign Bobby Jenks
Discussion:
HardballTalk, Baseball Prospectus, MLB Daily Dish, Yankeeist and YFSF
Peter Abraham / Boston Globe:
Red Sox interested in reliever Wheeler
Red Sox interested in reliever Wheeler
Discussion:
Associated Press, Yahoo! Sports, HardballTalk, Boston Globe and The House That Dewey Built
Fox Sports:
A's acquire Nats slugger Willingham — 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. — The A's, continuing their quest to upgrade their offense, have acquired outfielder Josh Willingham from the Nationals.
Discussion:
baseballmusings.com and Federal Baseball
RELATED:
Adam Kilgore / Nationals Journal:
UPDATED: Nationals agree to trade Josh Willingham to Athletics
UPDATED: Nationals agree to trade Josh Willingham to Athletics
Discussion:
NATS INSIDER, MLB.com, Federal Baseball, The Goessling Game, Mr. Irrelevant … and The Nationals Enquirer
Fox Sports:
A's in talks with Nats for Willingham
A's in talks with Nats for Willingham
Discussion:
Nationals Journal, Federal Baseball, Lookout Landing, Athletics Nation, mlbbuzz, SFGate and MLB Rumors
Ben Nicholson-Smith / MLB Rumors:
A's Acquire Josh Willingham
Gordon Wittenmyer / Chicago Sun Times:
Kerry Wood returns to Cubs for 1 year, $1.5 million — In a move that surprised even the Cubs, former staff ace and closer Kerry Wood agreed to return to his baseball roots and sign with his original team for one year, $1.5 million, according to a source. — In taking the below-market deal …
RELATED:
Paul Sullivan / Chicago Tribune:
Wood back in ‘family’ — Reliever signs 1-year deal for $1.5 million to return to Cubs — Kerry Wood with Ryan Dempster at Ron Santo's funeral. (Steve Green, Associated Press / December 10, 2010) — In what may be remembered as the Pizza Summit, Kerry Wood and Cubs general manager …
Mark Feinsand / Blogging The Bombers:
Source: Yankees “exploring” Rafael Soriano
Source: Yankees “exploring” Rafael Soriano
Discussion:
TYU, HardballTalk, Bronx Baseball Daily and River Avenue Blues
Enrique Rojas / MLB:
Edgar Renteria dislikes Giants' $1M offer — ORLANDO — Edgar Renteria understands the best part of his major league career is over and baseball is a business, but he still hoped for better treatment from the San Francisco Giants after helping the team to the World Series in October.
Discussion:
HardballTalk, Fanhouse MLB Blog and MLB Rumors
RELATED:
Mark Polishuk / MLB Rumors:
Renteria: Giants' Offer Showed “A Lack Of Respect” — Edgar Renteria didn't care for the Giants' recent $1MM contract offer, reports Enrique Rojas of ESPN Deportes. “That offer from the Giants was a lack of respect. A total disrespect,” said Renteria. “To play for a million dollars …
Discussion:
The Fish Pond and Bugs & Cranks
Jerry Crasnick / ESPN.com:
Source: Detroit Tigers, Magglio Ordonez OK 1-year, $10M deal — Veteran outfielder Magglio Ordonez has reached agreement with the Detroit Tigers on a one-year, $10 million contract, a baseball source confirmed to ESPN.com. — Ordonez, 36, hit .303 with 12 home runs and 59 RBIs in 84 games …
Discussion:
Bless You Boys, TigerBlog, The Daily Fungo and Yahoo! Sports
RELATED:
Ben Nicholson-Smith / MLB Rumors:
Tigers To Re-Sign Magglio Ordonez
Tigers To Re-Sign Magglio Ordonez
Discussion:
baseballmusings.com, Tiger Tales, HardballTalk, Bless You Boys and Fanhouse MLB Blog
Chris Haft / MLB.com:
Hall won't beckon, but Rueter had fine career — Southpaw's tenure with Giants marked by reliability, winning — SAN FRANCISCO — Kirk Rueter knows he won't be enshrined in Cooperstown. But he'll remain entrenched as a success in San Francisco. — Rueter, who spent 10 …
Stephen Nohlgren / St. Petersburg Times:
Tampa chamber agrees to take up Rays stadium debate — TAMPA — When the Tampa Bay Rays reached the World Series in 2008, Mayor Mike Nutter of Philadelphia picked up the telephone to propose a traditional wager with his counterpart in this region. — Let's see ... Tampa Bay ... that's area code 813, right?
Discussion:
HardballTalk
Associated Press:
Rangers steal team-record nine bases in fifth straight loss — BOSTON — Darnell McDonald spent the day in Boston, hanging out just in case he was needed. A few hours later, he saved the Red Sox from another embarrassing loss. — McDonald, called up from the minors earlier in the day …
Discussion:
Over the Monster
Pete Iorizzo / Albany Times Union:
Online bond shattered by tragic accident — When he didn't tweet about Cliff Lee, she knew something was wrong. — During the weekend Steven Smith had posted dozens of Twitter messages, a prolific output that his 578 followers had come to expect. — Smith lived in Scotch Plains, N.J., but place is moot in the Twitter universe.
Discussion:
It's About The Money, IT IS HIGH! and The Toy Department
Bill Ladson / MLB.com:
Nationals remain interested in adding Webb — WASHINGTON — The Nationals are not done looking for pitching. According to a baseball source, Washington continues to be in the mix to acquire right-hander Brandon Webb. The source said Webb is not in a hurry to make a decision.
Discussion:
MLB Rumors, Fanhouse MLB Blog and HardballTalk
Mark Polishuk / MLB Rumors:
Rockies Looking At Aardsma, Balfour, Coffey — The Rockies have spoken to the Mariners about a possible David Aardsma trade, reports Troy Renck of the Denver Post (Twitter link). Colorado has also shown interest in right-handers Grant Balfour and Todd Coffey, though Renck tweets that Balfour …
Discussion:
Mariners blog and JSOnline
Brian McTaggart / MLB.com:
Inbox: How are Astros addressing needs? — Beat reporter Brian McTaggart answers fans' questions … There are a lot of question marks with the 2011 team. Which is the biggest need, and what are the plans on addressing them? — Mike S., Midland, Texas
Discussion:
MLB Rumors