Transparency will make HOF voting a whole new game  —  It's one of the most historic Hall of Fame elections of all time.  And there's an excellent chance that no one has told you why.  —  The funny thing is this history has nothing to do with who gets elected Wednesday …

Cardinals intend to take Wacha, Martinez to arbitration hearing  —  Photo by Chris Lee, clee@post-dispatch.com  —  ST. LOUIS  • Darren Oliver spent two of his 20 seasons in the majors with the Cardinals, and since he last threw a pitch for the team two U.S. presidents have come and gone …

Phillies Phodder: Jerad Eickhoff, a new bat, Montgomery and other matters  —  Jerad Eickhoff was in town the other day putting smiles on the faces of some special kids at CSN Philly's annual Shining Star Awards dinner, which benefits the March of Dimes.  —  Before the event …

Indians staying in touch with free agents, including Jose Bautista  —  The Indians might not be done.  —  While the signing of free-agent first baseman Edwin Encarnacion pushed the club beyond its expected payroll limit, team officials are staying in touch with a number of free agents, according to major-league sources.

Hal Steinbrenner has a 2017 payroll figure in mind for Yankees GM Brian Cashman  —  SCOTTSDALE — With the current collective bargaining agreement set to expire on December 1, a new deal between Major League Baseball and the players' union should result in a higher Competitive Balance Tax threshold number …

Wil Myers inks six-year, $80 million extension with Padres  —  The San Diego Padres will have Wil Myers in their lineup for the foreseeable future.  —  Myers, a first-time All-Star in 2016, has agreed to a six-year extension with the Padres, club sources told ESPN's Jim Bowden.

Veteran Chris Iannetta to join Diamondbacks' catching mix  —  The Diamondbacks agreed to terms on a one-year, $1.5 million deal with veteran Chris Iannetta on Friday, giving them the three-headed catching scenario they'd been contemplating since they non-tendered Welington Castillo in early December.

Phillies settle with Jeanmar Gomez, will negotiate with Cesar Hernandez  —  The Phillies settled at a $4.2 million salary for reliever Jeanmar Gomez and will continue to negotiate with second baseman Cesar Hernandez after Friday's deadline to exchange salary figures for arbitration-eligible players passed.

Neftali Feliz Nearing Deal With Brewers  —  Free agent righty Neftali Feliz is close to agreeing to a deal with the Brewers, Fan Rag's Jon Heyman writes (Twitter links).  BrewerFan.net's Jim Goulart was first to tweet a connection between Feliz and the Brew Crew.

Yankees settle with Michael Pineda, Didi Gregorius and others … The Yankees settled nearly all their eligible players before the arbitration deadline, but still have one major question mark left as Dellin Betances appears to be headed toward arbitration.  —  As expected, Michael Pineda …