Top News:
ESPN:
Winter meetings shopping guide: Let's make a deal in D.C. — So now that we've got that pesky little labor snafu out of the way, let baseball's real offseason fun begin. And by that, of course, we mean: — Bring on the winter meetings! — They will come roaring at us from the shores of the Potomac River, starting Sunday.
Discussion:
Pirates Breakdown, CBS Chicago, Detroit Jock City, NESN.com and Bleacher Nation
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Jon Heyman / FanRag Sports:
Heyman: The latest on the Chris Sale derby — Superstar White Sox left-hander Chris Sale is on the block, and it appears at least five teams are starting to separate themselves at the forefront of talks: the Nationals, Astros, Red Sox, Rangers and Braves. — That doesn't mean …
Jeff Todd / MLB Trade Rumors:
Nationals Acquire Derek Norris — The Nationals have dealt for catcher Derek Norris from the Padres, per a club announcement. Righty Pedro Avila will head to San Diego in return. — It's a homecoming of sorts for Norris, who was once a well-regarded prospect in the D.C. system …
Discussion:
MASNsports.com, Gaslamp Ball, District on Deck, Federal Baseball, FanRag Sports, AZ Snake Pit and Yahoo Sports
Hannah Patrick / WWAY-TV:
ONLY ON 3: Man catches 112 lb. catfish in NE Cape Fear River — NEW HANOVER COUNTY, NC (WWAY) — A man from New Hanover County caught a 112 pound catfish in the NE Cape Fear River. — Riahn Brewington was just five pounds shy of breaking the state record for a catfish.
Discussion:
myfox8.com, WCMH-TV, CBS Pittsburgh, Fox News Insider and WQAD-TV, more at WeSmirch »
Zach Buchanan / Cincinnati.com:
How new CBA affects Reds — Even if there was a lockout and players couldn't attend, Redsfest would have gone on this weekend. Even if a work stoppage made the upcoming winter meetings irrelevant, the Cincinnati Reds weren't likely to make a splash anyway.
Discussion:
redsminorleagues.com
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Ken Rosenthal / Fox Sports:
Why baseball's new CBA could ultimately hurt the players
Why baseball's new CBA could ultimately hurt the players
Discussion:
Call to the Pen, Halos Heaven, MLB Trade Rumors, Bless You Boys, Royals Review and Over the Monster
Steve Adams / MLB Trade Rumors:
Phillies Designate Cody Asche For Assignment, Claim David Rollins — The Phillies announced that they've claimed lefty David Rollins off waivers from the Rangers and designated infielder/outfielder Cody Asche for assignment to clear a spot on the 40-man roster.
Discussion:
Lone Star Ball and The Good Phight
Steve Adams / MLB Trade Rumors:
Orioles Claim Adam Walker From Brewers — The Orioles announced today that they've claimed outfielder Adam Walker off waivers from the Brewers. Milwaukee claimed Walker off waivers from the Twins two weeks ago but designated him for assignment last week when they claimed right-hander Steve Geltz from the Rays.
Discussion:
Camden Chat and Al's Ramblings
Steve Adams / MLB Trade Rumors:
2016-17 American League Non-Tenders — The deadline to tender 2017 contracts to players is tonight at 8pm ET. We'll keep track of the day's non-tenders in the American League in this post (all referenced arbitration projections courtesy of MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz)...
Discussion:
Federal Baseball, Camden Chat, Purple Row and Al's Ramblings
Baseball Prospectus:
Boston Red Sox Top 10 — The State of the System: I could just C&P the Nats lines here. Incredible top five, falls off quickly after that, and past the top ten, even fewer intriguing names than the Nats. — The Top Ten — The Big Question: Why don't we give out 80 hit tools?
Discussion:
Over the Monster
Mark Feinsand / New York Daily News:
Why terms of new collective bargaining agreement are ‘very good’ for Yankees — While small-market teams celebrated baseball's new collective bargaining agreement, the Yankees had smiles on their faces as details of the new pact began to leak out Thursday. — According to a source familiar …
Discussion:
Twin Cities, CBS DC, Pinstripe Alley, Camden Chat and CBS New York
Matt Breen / Philly.com:
John Kruk to join Phillies broadcast — John Kruk, the former Phillies player who parlayed an affable personality into a successful television career, will return to the Phillies in 2017 as a broadcaster. — Kruk will be one of the team's five broadcasters, who are employees of Comcast SportsNet …
Discussion:
Phillies Nation
Steven Godfrey / SBNation.com:
Lane Kiffin will interview for Houston's head coaching job after the SEC Championship — The Alabama offensive coordinator could be back as a head coach for a fourth time. Nick Saban hopes so, in fact. — PIN — Alabama offensive coordinator Lane Kiffin will interview …
Discussion:
The Big Lead, WHNT-TV and CollegeFootballTalk
Ben Badler / Baseball America:
2017 Texas Rangers Top 10 Insider — Get it all: Subscribe to Baseball America — Go 30 deep: Order the 2017 Prospect Handbook! — SEASON IN A SENTENCE: The Rangers continued the best stretch in franchise history, winning their fourth division series since 2010 and making their fifth playoff trip in that stretch.
Discussion:
Lone Star Ball
Steve Adams / MLB Trade Rumors:
Braves Acquire Jaime Garcia — 6:04pm: Both teams have announced the trade via press release. — 5:20pm: The Braves have been one of the most active teams of the offseason thus far, and that continued on Thursday as the team reportedly struck a deal to acquire veteran lefty Jaime Garcia …
Discussion:
NBCSports.com, Off The Bench, OutsidePitchMLB, Talking Chop and Yahoo Sports
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Derrick Goold / St. Louis Post-Dispatch:
Cardinals trade lefty Garcia to Atlanta for prospects
Cardinals trade lefty Garcia to Atlanta for prospects
Discussion:
MLB Daily Dish, Viva El Birdos and baseballmusings.com