Miller Lite Party Deck to Debut at Miller Park in 2013  —  MILWAUKEE - The Milwaukee Brewers and MillerCoors today unveiled plans for a new Miller Park group entertainment area, The Miller Lite Party Deck.  —  The Party Deck will have a capacity of 70 and will be situated above the Miller Park right field Loge Bleachers.

Manti Te'o denies being part of hoax  —  Manti Te'o denied being part of a hoax involving a relationship with a person online whom he considered his girlfriend, during an interview with ESPN on Friday night.  —  “No. Never,” Te'o said in a 2½-hour interview with ESPN's Jeremy Schaap.

Red Sox, Joel Hanrahan Avoid Arbitration  —  The Red Sox and Joel Hanrahan avoided arbitration with a one-year deal worth $7.04MM, MLBTR's Tim Dierkes has learned.  Hanrahan, a Reynolds Sports Management client, will earn 15K for completing 45 games, 50 games, 55 games and 60 games.

Minor League Transactions: Jan. 8-14  —  Official minor league transactions, conveyed to us by Major League Baseball, for the period Jan. 8-14.  —  Baltimore Orioles  —  Signed: RHP Stu Pomeranz (non-tendered and re-signed), C Chase Weems (re-signed), 1B Steve Pearce (re-signed after outright assignment), 2B Travis Adair (re-signed)

Sources: Cubs, Dbacks discussed Upton deal  —  The Chicago Cubs and the Arizona Diamondbacks recently discussed the feasibility of a trade that would have sent right fielder Justin Upton to the Cubs, according to two major league sources.  —  According to both sources …

Crabtree in sex-assault investigation  —  San Francisco police have interviewed 49ers wide receiver Michael Crabtree about allegations that he sexually assaulted a woman after the team's victory last weekend.  —  The alleged attack occurred at an unnamed hotel early Sunday, hours after the team's victory over the Green Bay Packers.

Dr. Bryan Kelly tells Yankees that Alex Rodriguez has less cartilage damage in hip than expected, source says  —  Nothing is guaranteed for A-Rod, who was scheduled to be released from the hospital on Thursday  —  Alex Rodriguez won't make spring training this year but is expected to return mid-July.

Heyward, Medlen get big raises; Prado headed to arb hearing?  —  Sponsored Links  —  While Braves right fielder Jason Heyward and pitcher Kris Medlen drew even bigger raises than some expected in their first year of arbitration, Martin Prado and the team couldn't agree to terms and appear …

Francona not pleased with his Sox book teaser  —  CLEVELAND — Terry Francona was not particularly pleased with the portion of his upcoming book that was hand-selected as a teaser in the latest edition of Sports Illustrated.  —  On Friday, when Francona was in Cleveland for the team's Tribe Fest event …

2013 ZiPS Projections - New York Mets  —  Dan Szymborski's ZiPS projections, which have typically appeared in the pages of Baseball Think Factory, are being released at FanGraphs this year.  Below are the projections for the New York Mets.  Szymborski can be found on Twitter at @DSzymborski.

Wieters, three others avoid arbitration with Orioles  —  Johnson, Hammel, O'Day unable to reach deals, exchange salary figures with club  —  The Orioles avoided arbitration Friday by agreeing to one-year deals with four of their remaining arbitration-eligible players, including catcher Matt Wieters …

Corey Hart to undergo knee surgery, will miss start of season  —  By Tom Haudricourt of the Journal Sentinel  —  The Brewers' situation at first base changed Friday when they learned Corey Hart will need knee surgery that will make him miss at least the first six weeks of the 2013 season.

Nats reach deals with five, with one case remaining  —  Stammen gets two years while rest re-up with Washington on one-year pacts  —  WASHINGTON — The Nationals were busy Friday, signing Ross Detwiler, Ian Desmond, Roger Bernadina and Tyler Clippard to one-year deals, while inking Craig Stammen to a two-year, $2.25 million contract.