Hunt for starter has Diamondbacks chasing Johnny Cueto  —  Though they've been saying all offseason they wouldn't be able to afford the top tier of free-agent pitchers, that hasn't stopped the Diamondbacks from pursuing one of them.  —  General Manager Dave Stewart said he met …

Cardinals Sign Brayan Pena To Two-Year Deal  —  3:37pm: Pena's $5MM guarantee will be spread out evenly, paying him $2.5MM in each season of the contract, MLBTR has learned.  —  3:35pm: Pena's contract guarantees him a total of $5MM, according to Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch (Twitter link).

Marlins targeting Bonds as hitting coach; team hopeful he accepts  —  The Marlins have targeted controversial alltime great slugger Barry Bonds to become the team's new hitting coach, CBSSports.com has learned.  —  The Bonds' pursuit is sure to trigger debate, but Marlins people see Bonds …

Avila 'can't wait' to play for White Sox, face Tigers  —  When Alex Avila was looking for a suitor in free agency, the veteran catcher, first and foremost, sought an opportunity to play.  —  With the Detroit Tigers, he wouldn't have gotten that opportunity; James McCann is the starter.

Braves Sign Jim Johnson  —  5:28pm: The deal is for $2.5MM, MLB.com's Mark Bowman tweets.  —  5:04pm: The Braves have signed righty Jim Johnson to a one-year deal, the club announced via press release.  Johnson, 32, is a client of Moye Sports Associates.  —  With the move …

Young righthander Shelby Miller is creating quite a feeding frenzy on the trade market, and it's to the point it's got to be record interest for a pitcher who went 6-17.  —  Of course, by now we know pitchers' won-loss records aren't a very useful tool in deciphering a pitcher's value.

Major League Executive Of The Year: Sandy Alderson  —  NEW YORK—Upon leaving Major League Baseball to become general manager of the financially-wobbly Mets in October 2010, Sandy Alderson assembled a dream team of front-office executives, including one-time GMs Paul DePodesta and J.P Ricciardi and interim GM John Ricco.

Red Sox, Chris Young Agree To Two-Year Deal  —  5:43pm: Young will receive a two-year guarantee, Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com tweets.  —  12:29pm: The Red Sox and outfielder Chris Young are in agreement on a multi-year contract, pending a physical, reports Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (Twitter link).

Royals Avoid Arbitration With Tim Collins  —  The Royals have agreed to contract terms with lefty Tim Collins to avoid arbitration, the club announced.  Collins will earn $1.475MM for the 2016 season, Jeffrey Flanagan of MLB.com reports on Twitter.  —  That's exactly what he made last year …

Non-Tender Candidates  —  More than 200 players are arbitration eligible and unsigned for 2016.  Around 50 of those can be considered non-tender candidates.  Players who are not tendered contracts become free agents.  The deadline for teams to decide is Wednesday, December 2nd at 11pm central time.

Mike Hessman: A true baseball life  —  OW  —  Usually, the retirement of a 37-year-old journeyman who spent the vast majority of his 20-year career in the minor leagues is not a cause for reflection by most fans of Major League Baseball.  A cause of wonderment, perhaps …