Top News:
Derrick Goold / St. Louis Post-Dispatch:
Cardinals go ‘over the top’ to catch Fowler — When outfielder Dexter Fowler stepped off his flight at Lambert-St. Louis International Airport on Thursday night, set to become the Cardinals' next center fielder, a Southwest Airlines employee greeted with him a bag of peanuts.
Discussion:
MLB Trade Rumors, ESPN, FanGraphs Baseball, Sports on Earth Writers, Viva El Birdos and Sportsnet.ca
RELATED:
Jon Heyman / FanRag Sports:
Heyman: Dexter Fowler agrees to deal with Cardinals — Dexter Fowler was one of the most sought-after outfielders on the free agent market, but MLB's Winter Meetings came and went without an agreement in place with the will-be-31-year-old center fielder. That changed not long after …
Discussion:
ESPN, Bleacher Nation, Viva El Birdos, Lone Star Ball and NESN.com
Tegna / KSDK-TV:
Report: Dexter Fowler to sign with Cardinals, heading to St. Louis for physical — The press conference will be tomorrow morning at 10 a.m. — The Cardinals appear to have the center fielder they have been looking for. — Frank Cusumano has confirmed with a source in the Cardinals organization …
Discussion:
USA Today, Beyond the Box Score and Viva El Birdos
Kerouac Smith / Fox Sports:
Report: Dexter Fowler agrees to join St. Louis Cardinals — The team is expected to make an announcement Friday — Center fielder Dexter Fowler, fresh off a historic championship run with the Chicago Cubs, appears to be joining the rival St. Louis Cardinals.
Discussion:
St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Bleed Cubbie Blue and Bleacher Nation
Jeff Todd / MLB Trade Rumors:
Cardinals Sign Dexter Fowler — DEC. 9: The Cardinals are introducing Fowler at a press conference right now. FOX's Ken Rosenthal reports that he receives a five-year, $82.5MM contract as well as a full no-trade clause (Twitter link). ESPN's Mark Saxon tweets that Fowler's contract pays him an evenly distributed $16.5MM per year.
Discussion:
Fox Sports, MLB Daily Dish, Purple Row, Phillies Nation, Bleacher Nation and Bucs Dugout
Jeff Todd / MLB Trade Rumors:
Phil Bickford Receives 50-Game Suspension For Drug Of Abuse — Brewers righty Phil Bickford has been hit with a 50-game suspension after testing positive for a drug of abuse for the second time, as Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times tweets. Bickford reportedly tested positive for marijuana before being drafted in 2015.
Discussion:
Brew Crew Ball and Al's Ramblings
Derrick Goold / St. Louis Post-Dispatch:
Cardinal expose lefty relievers, highly regarded infielder in Rule 5 draft — Photo by Chris Lee, clee@post-dispatch.com — NATIONAL HARBOR, Md. • Rising talent from the Cardinals' Latin America scouting and injuries to players like reliever Zach Duke have left the team unable …
Discussion:
Athletics Nation and Viva El Birdos
RELATED:
Steve Adams / MLB Trade Rumors:
2016 Rule 5 Draft Results
Discussion:
FanGraphs Baseball, Halos Heaven, Twinkie Town and CBS Detroit
Kyle Glaser / Baseball America:
Gadea Made Rays Move In Unusual Way - Rule 5 Draft Notebook
Discussion:
DRaysBay and Minor League Ball
Charlie Wilmoth / MLB Trade Rumors:
Padres To Acquire Rule 5 Picks Miguel Diaz, Luis Torrens
Discussion:
Twinkie Town, redsminorleagues.com, Last Word on Baseball, Pinstripe Alley, Red Reporter and Minor League Ball
J.J. Cooper / Baseball America:
Padres Dominate Rule 5 Draft
Discussion:
Detroit News, Bless You Boys, Steve Melewski, DRaysBay, Minor League Ball, Fish Stripes, The Crawfish Boxes and Lookout Landing
Mark Feinsand / New York Daily News:
Yankees among Winter Meetings winners, accomplishing their two primary goals — and now we wait — OXON HILL, MD — As executives, agents, reporters and nearly everybody else scattered from the Gaylord National Resort Thursday afternoon to avoid the mayhem headed here with the opening …
Discussion:
MLB Daily Dish, Baseball Prospectus and Pinstripe Alley
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Mike Axisa / River Avenue Blues:
Thoughts following the Aroldis Chapman signing
Discussion:
baseballmusings.com, FanGraphs Baseball and MLB Trade Rumors
Rob Bradford / Full Count:
Sources: Former Red Sox manager Bobby Valentine being considered for United States Ambassador to Japan — Five years ago, Bobby Valentine was just about a week into his career as Red Sox manager. Now he may be on the verge of becoming a United States ambassador.
Discussion:
New York Daily News, NESN.com, New York Post, USA Today, Halos Heaven and CBS New York
Mary Kay Cabot / Plain Dealer:
Browns' Joe Haden: 'We're the laughingstock of every joke; it's super tough' — Joe Haden hasn't been showing his face much during this 0-12 season. (Joshua Gunter, cleveland.com) — BEREA, Ohio - Joe Haden, Cleveland's man about town, has mostly been holing up inside his house during this 0-12 skid.
Discussion:
ProFootballTalk and FanRag Sports
Stefan Stevenson / Fort Worth Star-Telegram:
Rangers acquire two pitching prospects from Braves in exchange for one — The Rangers traded right-handed reliever Luke Jackson to the Atlanta Braves for two pitching prospects, right-hander Tyrell Jenkins and left-hander Brady Feigl. — Jenkins, 24, has replaced Jackson on the Rangers' 40-man roster.
Discussion:
Minor League Ball
Charlie Wilmoth / MLB Trade Rumors:
Cubs To Sign Koji Uehara — Righty reliever Koji Uehara has agreed to a one-year deal with the Cubs. Evan Drellich of the Boston Herald first tweeted the connection; Jon Heyman of Fan Rag tweeted that a deal was done. A report from Nikkan Sports in Japan indicates that Uehara and the Cubs …
Discussion:
Full Count, FanRag Sports and MLB Daily Dish
RELATED:
Mark Gonzales / Chicago Tribune:
All-Star closer Wade Davis important piece for Cubs' World Series defense
Discussion:
Royals Review, Bleed Cubbie Blue and Phillies Nation
Scott LauberESPN / ESPN:
Pablo Sandoval got ‘complacent’ with big Red Sox deal — Pablo Sandoval says he isn't proud of what he has become over the past two years and insists he is ready to make the most of the second chance he's about to receive. — In a joint English-Spanish interview with ESPN.com …
Discussion:
Union-News, Call to the Pen, Over the Monster, NESN.com and Boston
Mike Florio / ProFootballTalk:
Raiders likely will focus on Derek Carr before Khalil Mack — The Raiders emerged from the 2014 draft with great selections in round one and round two. By rule, both players (Khalil Mack and Derek Carr) are eligible for new contracts after the 2016 regular season ends.
Discussion:
Pro Football Rumors and NESN.com
