Top News:
Terry Pluto / Plain Dealer:
How Cleveland Browns were frozen out of Jimmy Garoppolo deal — Terry Pluto — Gallery: How Cleveland Browns were frozen out of Jimmy Garoppolo deal — CLEVELAND, Ohio — The Jimmy Garoppolo trade to the San Francisco 49ers never made much sense. — The 49ers traded a second-round pick …
Discussion:
New York Times, ProFootballTalk, 98.5 The Sports Hub, NESN.com, Pats Pulpit, East Bay Times, Dan Shaughnessy Watch, FanRag Sports, KNBR-AM and USA Today
Amara Grautski / New York Daily News:
Attention, Yankees: Astros reportedly engaged in Gerrit Cole trade talks with Pirates — The Astros are reportedly going after one of the Yankees' trade targets: Gerrit Cole. — Houston has engaged in talks with Pittsburgh about dealing the 27-year-old righthander, sources told Yahoo! Sports.
Discussion:
MLB on Yahoo! Sports, Pinstripe Alley and Pirates Breakdown
RELATED:
Jeff Todd / MLB Trade Rumors:
Matt Garza To Undergo Shoulder Surgery — Free agent righty Matt Garza is set to undergo surgery for a torn right shoulder labrum, according to MLB.com's Adam McCalvy. It seems the injury was sustained in a mid-season collision that knocked Garza out of commission for a time but did not end his season.
Discussion:
NBCSports.com and Brew Crew Ball
Associated Press:
Zach Duke guaranteed $2.15M by Twins, can earn $1.5M more — MINNEAPOLIS — Left-hander Zach Duke is guaranteed $2.15 million as part of his one-year contract with the Minnesota Twins and can earn an additional $1.5 million based on pitching appearances. — Duke can earn $200,000 each …
Steven Marcus / Newsday:
Mets GM Sandy Alderson upbeat about Travis d'Arnaud's progress — The Mets' No. 1 catcher says he no longer lets himself be distracted by rumors about the free-agent market or possible trades. — Travis d'Arnaud ended 2017 with his best month of the season, and maybe that was enough …
Discussion:
Mets Merized Online
Associated Press:
Pitchers Carson Smith, Steven Wright agree to 1-year deals with Red Sox — BOSTON — Pitchers Carson Smith and Steven Wright, both coming off injuries, agreed to one-year contracts with the Boston Red Sox that avoided salary arbitration. — Wright gets a non-guaranteed salary of $1.1 million under …
Jeff Wilson / Fort Worth Star-Telegram:
Grass or fake stuff? Here's what the Rangers are planning for new ballpark — The giant hole just south of Globe Life Park keeps getting deeper and deeper, and at some point in the not-too-distant future it will begin to be surrounded by steal and concrete and eventually covered by a retractable roof.
Discussion:
Halos Heaven, Ballpark Digest and Lone Star Ball
Chris Kuc / Chicago Tribune:
White Sox new-look bullpen for '18 already brimming with appealing options — Chicago Tribune — At the top of Rick Hahn's to-do list for the White Sox this offseason was reconstructing a bullpen the general manager dismantled in 2017 while wheeling and dealing as part of the team's rebuild.
Nick Piecoro / Arizona Republic:
Profile: Paul Goldschmidt … Twice this offseason, a pair of Diamondbacks officials were asked about the possibility of extending the contract of first baseman Paul Goldschmidt. Both executives gave similar, unenlightening answers. — In November, CEO Derrick Hall talked about how glad …
Detroit Free Press:
Report: Detroit Tigers bring back C Brayan Peña on minor-league deal — In an attempt to add some veteran presence to the organization, the Detroit Tigers have signed catcher Brayan Pena to a minor-league deal, according to Chris Cotillo of MLBDailyDish.com.
Discussion:
MLive.com, Bless You Boys and MLB Trade Rumors
ESPN:
What would happen if a baseball game went 50 innings? — On Sept. 5, Hanley Ramirez flared an 0-2 fastball into shallow center field. Toronto Blue Jays center fielder Kevin Pillar charged in but couldn't catch the ball, and Mookie Betts — who took off almost on contact — raced home from second to score.
Matt Gelb / Philly.com:
Phillies hire three men named Kevin (Frandsen, Jordan, Stocker) for radio broadcast team — For more than a decade, Scott Franzke and Larry Andersen formed an irreverent relationship as Phillies radio broadcasters. With Andersen ready to reduce his schedule in 2018 to just home games …
Discussion:
baseballmusings.com
Mike Axisa / CBSSports.com:
MLB Hot Stove rumors: Nationals eyeing Lance Lynn as they gear up for 2018 run — This coming season might be Washington's last chance to compete with his core — Once again, the Washington Nationals suffered a disappointingly early postseason exit last season, as they were eliminated …
Discussion:
Mets Merized Online
RELATED:
NBC Sports / MLB on Yahoo! Sports:
Report: Nationals interested in Lance Lynn
Report: Nationals interested in Lance Lynn
Discussion:
Baseball Essential and Federal Baseball