Heyman |  Yankees checking on Manny Machado again  —  The New York Yankees, apparently excited about the idea they could make their excellent winter even better and more star-studded, were back in contact with the Baltimore Orioles regarding Manny Machado this week, sources say.

Rangers begin multiyear baseball, business deal with Japan's Nippon Ham Fighters  —  ARLINGTON, Texas — The Texas Rangers and Japan's Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters are starting a multiyear agreement this year that will involve baseball and business operations.

Derek Jeter has extra financial incentive to make the Marlins profitable  —  Third in a five-part series on the new Marlins owners and their plans.  —  Marlins co-owner Derek Jeter eventually will make back his modest financial investment in the team merely through the salary he is being paid as the team's chief executive officer.

Q&A: Mets' new manager Mickey Callaway is a big fan of Jerry Seinfeld  —  It's been a busy two months for Mickey Callaway, as the Mets' new manager has assembled his coaching staff and is now preparing for his first spring training as a major league manager.

Brewers To Sign Boone Logan  —  Lefty reliever Boone Logan has agreed to a one-year deal with the Brewers, reports Adam McCalvy of MLB.com (Twitter links).  Logan will be guaranteed $2.5MM on the deal, which comes in the form of a $1.875MM base salary plus a $625K buyout on a $4.125MM option for the 2019 season.

For Kraft, Brady and Belichick, is this the beginning of the end?  —  THE PROBLEM WITH living your life under the spotlight is that the camera captures only the public eruption, not the months of silent anger.  On Dec. 3, when the New England Patriots played the Buffalo Bills …

Pittsburgh Pirates Sign a Pair of Right-Handed Pitchers to Minor League Deals  —  Pirates Prospects has learned that the Pittsburgh Pirates have signed right-handed pitchers Tyler Jones and Bo Schultz to minor league deals on Friday.  —  Schultz is a 32-year-old with parts of three seasons in the majors.

Meet Trevor Oaks, the Royals' newest starting pitcher  —  Biola University, a small, private school in La Mirada, Calif., is no baseball factory.  Tucked 16 miles southeast of downtown Los Angeles, it has produced just two major-league players, brothers Todd and Tim Worrell.

Free-agent ace faceoff: Would you rather sign Yu Darvish or Jake Arrieta?  —  Ever play that game “Would You Rather”?  You know, you have to answer questions like, “Would you rather use someone else's toothbrush or be forced to watch every game of the 2004 Tigers season?”

Yankees To Sign Jace Peterson  —  The Yankees have agreed to a minors pact with infielder Jace Peterson, according to SB Nation's Chris Cotillo (via Twitter).  The 27-year-old will receive an invitation to MLB camp this spring and can earn at a $900K rate in the majors, Jon Heyman of Fan Rag tweets.

White Sox help jump-start frozen hot stove with 3-team deal  —  Who does what for the White Sox?  A look at their organizational flowchart.  —  Chicago Tribune  —  The White Sox did their part to help thaw baseball's frozen hot stove league with their involvement in a three-team …

Dodgers and Rockies take different approaches to building a better bullpen  —  The Colorado Rockies have not been subtle about their winter game plan: dramatically improving their bullpen in order to challenge the Dodgers in the National League West.  —  If your intuition says that makes sense …

Duffy, Gordon, Perez, Butera on list of Royals expected to attend team's FanFest  —  Pitcher Danny Duffy, outfielder Alex Gordon, and catchers Salvador Perez and Drew Butera are among the Royals players expected to attend the team's annual FanFest on Jan. 26-27 at Bartle Hall.