Top News:
Andy Martino / NY Daily News:
NY Mets pitching to keep National League Cy Young winner R.A. Dickey with two-year, $20 million contract extension — As the Daily News has been reporting, Dickey has been asking for a two-year extension for approximately $26 million, totaling $31 million over three years.
Discussion:
ESPN, Metsblog, ESPN, Amazin' Avenue, HardballTalk and MLB Daily Dish
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Fox Sports:
Rangers see dramatic identity shift — A rival executive, assessing the Texas Rangers on Monday, said, “They're going to overpay Hamilton or they're going to overpay ‘KT.’” — That's Hamilton as in free-agent outfielder Josh Hamilton. And that's “KT” as in Arizona general manager Kevin Towers …
Discussion:
ESPN, Metsblog, MLB.com, Lone Star Ball, HardballTalk and MLB Rumors
Mike Puma / New York Post:
Mets eye Ross, cast R.A. as elf — The Mets' offseason work still encompasses more than resolving R.A. Dickey's status. — Though the veteran knuckleballer's future remains high on the agenda, so does evaluating other pieces that potentially could help the Mets in 2013.
Discussion:
Amazin' Avenue, MLB Rumors, HardballTalk, Metsblog and MLB Daily Dish
Buster Olney / ESPN.com:
AM ET — RECOMMEND
Discussion:
ESPN.com, MLB Daily Dish, ESPN and Associated Press
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Ben Lindbergh / Baseball Prospectus:
The Royals, the Rays, and the Problem with Windows — Note: If you've already listened to today's episode of Effectively Wild, some of this may sound familiar. — If you think about it, the Royals and Rays, the two teams that completed a massive prospects-for-pitchers trade on Sunday, are a lot alike.
Discussion:
ESPN, Beyond the Box Score and The Heater Feed
Jerry Crasnick / ESPN:
Tampa made yet another big splash
Tampa made yet another big splash
Discussion:
MLB, MLB Prospect Watch and ESPN.com
Jeff Passan / Yahoo! Sports:
Royals bet big, get ‘the piece’ in James Shields after blockbuster trade with Rays
Royals bet big, get ‘the piece’ in James Shields after blockbuster trade with Rays
Discussion:
Joe Blogs, Over the Monster, Kansas City Star, FanGraphs Baseball, Royals Review, HardballTalk, Baseball Nation, ESPN and Baseball Prospectus
Dick Kaegel / MLB.com:
Royals acquire Shields from Rays for prospects
Royals acquire Shields from Rays for prospects
Discussion:
DRaysBay, MLB Daily Dish, FanGraphs Baseball, Royals Review, Purple Row, HardballTalk and Minor League Ball
Paul Hoynes / Plain Dealer:
Cleveland Indians still looking for the right deal for Asdrubal Cabrera — CLEVELAND, Ohio — Things move fast in the off-season. Just ask the Indians and Phillies. — Before the start of the winter meetings last week in Nashville, the two teams were talking about a trade …
Discussion:
MLB Rumors, HardballTalk, MLB Daily Dish and Phillies Nation
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Ryan Lawrence / Philly.com:
Ruben Amaro: Michael Young has what Phillies need
Ruben Amaro: Michael Young has what Phillies need
Discussion:
The Good Phight and HardballTalk
Associated Press:
Andruw Jones to sign in Japan — TOKYO — The Rakuten Eagles of Japan's Pacific League say they are set to sign veteran major league outfielder Andruw Jones. — The 35-year-old Jones became a free agent after playing for the New York Yankees the last two seasons, and the Eagles …
Discussion:
MLB Rumors, MLB Daily Dish and Talking Chop
Steve Adams / MLB Rumors:
Twins To Sign Kevin Correia — The Twins have reached an agreement to sign Kevin Correia, according to Jon Heyman of CBS Sports (on Twitter). ESPN's Jerry Crasnick first reported that the two sides were nearing a two-year deal, and he adds that Correia will earn $10MM over the life of the contract (Twitter links).
Discussion:
Twinkie Town, AaronGleeman.com, HardballTalk, Bucs Dugout, Baseball Nation and MLB Daily Dish
Mark Saxon / ESPN:
Dodgers officially introduce Korean lefty Ryu — LOS ANGELES — The Los Angeles Dodgers' newest pitcher, Hyun-jin Ryu, was explaining his desire to improve his English in order to talk to his new teammates when team co-owner Magic Johnson piped in with some advice for Ryu's interpreter.
Discussion:
ESPN.com and True Blue LA
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Steven Marcus / Newsday:
Yankees to drop StubHub, nearing deal with Ticketmaster — The Yankees are opting out of a five-year renewal between MLB and StubHub, an online service for buying and selling tickets, a person familiar with the development said Monday. The Angels and Cubs also will not participate, StubHub said.
Discussion:
HardballTalk
Globe and Mail:
Blue Jays sign five to minor-league contracts — The Toronto Blue Jays have signed pitchers Claudio Vargas, Richard Thompson and Juan Perez and infielders Eugenio Velez and Luis Jimenez to minor-league contracts with invitations to major-league spring training.
Discussion:
MLB Rumors
csnphilly.com:
Jim Thome is all ears: 'I'm not retired' — Jim Thome had just finished a strenuous morning workout when his phone rang. — Strenuous workout? — We thought Thome would be enjoying retirement with a morning cup of coffee and an iPad by now. — Not so. — “I'm not retired,” the 42-year-old slugger said with a laugh.
Discussion:
MLB Rumors and SI Tracking Blog