Report: Twins' great Justin Morneau returning as special assistant  —  Justin Morneau, who sat out the 2017 Major League Baseball season after partaking in the World Baseball Classic for Canada, will return to the Minnesota Twins as a special assistant to the team's front office, according to a report by the Canadian Baseball Network.

Detroit Tigers agree to minor league deals with Brayan Pena, 5 others  —  The Tigers announced on Tuesday they have agreed to terms with six players on minor league contracts for the upcoming season.  —  Of the six, catcher Brayan Peña and infielder Pete Kozma were invited to Major League Spring Training camp.

Tom Brady Gave a Filmmaker Unusual Access to His Private Life  —  Tom Brady was leading a tour through a set of fat binders that he keeps in his den, with each one devoted to one of the 18 seasons he has played in the N.F.L. This one, marked “2016,” began with a particular memento.

Source: Mets still interested in signing Jay Bruce, Addison Reed  —  The Mets haven't made a big splash in the offseason, but that could change as the team remains interested in free-agent outfielder Jay Bruce and free-agent reliever Addison Reed, and is still speaking with the Pirates …

Meet Iggy Suarez, the new Greenville Drive manager  —  Iggy Suarez toiled for 11 seasons in baseball's minor leagues, including a handful in independent leagues.  That experience, he says, will help him tremendously as he takes over as manager of the Greenville Drive.

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 …

Angels Sign Rene Rivera, Designate Nate Smith For Assignment  —  10:26pm: Rivera will be guaranteed $2.8MM on his deal with the Angels, Fletcher reports (also via Twitter).  —  9:39pm: The Angels announced tonight that they've agreed to terms on a one-year, Major League contract with veteran catcher Rene Rivera.

Avoiding Arbitration: Andrew Heaney, Ryan Rua  —  We'll use this post to track some of the day's arbitration agreements.  As always, you can reference MLBTR's 2018 arbitration projections and 2018 MLB arbitration tracker as needed.  — Lefty Andrew Heaney is in agreement on a $800K deal with the Angels …

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 …

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.

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.

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.