Inside Baseball: The needs of 14 big spenders; more from GM meetings  —  BOCA RATON, Fla. — One agent was overheard to say there are a lot of “lowball” offers flying around the baseball GM meetings.  But that shouldn't be taken to mean teams are low on cash.

'There's Nothing You Can Do?'  —  Ohio State QB J.T. Barrett tried to go the Reese Witherspoon route during his drunk driving arrest — asking the officer for special treatment because, “I'm the quarterback of Ohio State!”  —  TMZ Sports obtained the dash cam footage from the October 31 incident …

GM MEETINGS NOTEBOOK: WILL INDIANS SOLVE RED SOX PITCHING CONUNDRUM?  —  BOCA RATON, Fla. — It's about that time to start figuring this thing out.  —  While it still might be a bit before we get to uncover which pitcher becomes that top of the rotation piece Dave Dombrowski has prioritized bringing …

Nationals Notes: Strasburg, Zobrist, Ramos, Desmond  —  Nationals right-hander Stephen Strasburg had a non-cancerous growth surgically removed from his back shortly after the season ended, agent Scott Boras told reporters, including James Wagner of the Washington Post, at today's GM Meetings.

Mariners Acquire Joaquin Benoit  —  The Mariners announced that they've acquired right-hander Joaquin Benoit from the Padres in exchange for minor league right-hander Enyel De Los Santos and infielder Nelson Ward.  —  The 38-year-old Benoit, presumably, will serve as a ninth-inning option for rookie manager Scott Servais in Seattle.

Five days in free agency: Inside the courtship of LaMarcus Aldridge  —  LaMarcus Aldridge walked out of the lobby doors of the Montage Beverly Hills in early July and found a familiar face in a most familiar repose: Gregg Popovich busting chops.  In the hotel's valet lane …

Braves Listening On Andrelton Simmons  —  8:58am: The Mets checked in on Simmons this morning and were met with the asking price of Jacob deGrom or Matt Harvey, tweets Sherman, which is steeper than New York would care to pay.  —  NOV. 12, 7:09am: Joel Sherman of the New York Post hears …

DeMarcus Cousins Cursed Out George Karl in Front of the Team, and Vlade Divac Did Nothing  —  After Sacramento was hammered at home by San Antonio Monday night, the Kings' star, DeMarcus Cousins, stormed into the locker room and cursed out head coach George Karl with a torrent of obscenities …

Willis shoots down report: 'Haven't thought twice about' returning  —  Editor's note: The above video is from March 17, 2015.  —  Former 49ers linebacker Patrick Willis is remaining a former 49ers linebacker, after all.  —  Willis responded Thursday morning to a report from Jason Cole of Bleacher Report …

Larry Bird still loves you and he loves your teams  —  Memo to Boston fans: Larry Bird still loves you and he loves your teams.  Even from his home state of Indiana, the Heartland of Deflategate Hate.  —  “I never root against the Boston teams,” Bird said in a phone interview …

Yankees planning to make serious run at pitcher Wei-Yin Chen: source  —  BOCA RATON, Fla. - In an ideal world, the Yankees would love to add a lefthanded starting pitcher that has had success in the American League.  —  Yes, David Price matches that description, but there's a lesser-known name …

The Blue Jays are talking to right-hander Marco Estrada about a multi-year contract in advance of Friday's deadline for free agents to decide on qualifying offers, according to major-league sources.  —  Estrada, 32, could accept the one-year, $15.8 million qualifying offer …

Yankees Acquire Aaron Hicks From Twins For John Ryan Murphy  —  The Yankees and Twins have announced a two-player deal involving important young players.  New York will add center fielder Aaron Hicks in the swap, while Minnesota receives catcher John Ryan Murphy.