Top News:
Derrick Goold / St. Louis Post-Dispatch:
Cards take stock as fans seem unsettled — At the 60th annual writers' dinner Sunday night, Cardinals manager Mike Matheny arrived at the podium to talk about the season ahead in front of a room filled mostly with true believers or media, and, in his closing remark, he invited the doubters …
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Rick Hummel / St. Louis Post-Dispatch:
Maddux has ‘road map,’ Matheny says — Cardinals manager Mike Matheny will have three new coaches this year and while all of them will have major roles in trying to bring the club back to postseason relevance after a two-season dry spell, Matheny thinks new pitching coach Mike Maddux also can have an effect on the postseason awards.
Ben Frederickson / St. Louis Post-Dispatch:
Carpenter is flexible about where he bats, where he plays — Matt Carpenter was approaching the halfway point of Monday's Winter Warm-Up media session when his cell phone started to sing. — “Thank God for my old stomping ground,” crooned country legend and fellow Texas native George Strait from Carpenter's pocket.
Derrick Goold / St. Louis Post-Dispatch:
Matheny leaning toward lineup with Carpenter batting third, Fowler leading off — St. Louis Cardinals' Dexter Fowler celebrates with teammate Matt Carpenter as he returns to the dugout after hitting a solo home run in the eighth inning during a game between the St. Louis Cardinals …
Derrick Goold / St. Louis Post-Dispatch:
Cards notebook: Waino's future not an issue for either side right now
Fox Sports:
Ozuna excited to join playoff contender in St. Louis
Ozuna excited to join playoff contender in St. Louis
Discussion:
Viva El Birdos and MLB on Yahoo! Sports
Derrick Goold / St. Louis Post-Dispatch:
True to his word, Molina makes trip to Venezuela
Ben Frederickson / St. Louis Post-Dispatch:
Cardinals' Weaver packs on pounds
Toronto Sun:
Pirates trade former MVP Andrew McCutchen to Giants — SAN FRANCISCO — The Giants found the outfielder they were looking for this winter, acquiring Andrew McCutchen from Pittsburgh on Monday to fill a key void. — San Francisco parted with right-hander Kyle Crick, minor league outfielder Bryan Reynolds …
Discussion:
Over the Monster, New York Times, KNBR-AM and East Bay Times
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Anthony Fenech / Detroit Free Press:
Detroit Tigers' trades looking better in hindsight — Now, perhaps, some further perspective can be added to the Detroit Tigers' trades last summer. — Over the past few days, the Pirates have unofficially joined the Tigers as one of baseball's rebuilding teams, going the way general manager Al Avila …
Steve Adams / MLB Trade Rumors:
Giants Acquire Andrew McCutchen — 5:34pm: Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic tweets that the Pirates are covering $2.5MM of McCutchen's $14.75MM salary. — 5:25pm: It became all the more clear on Monday that Pirates fans are looking at the end of an era, as the team announced that face …
Bradford DoolittleESPN / ESPN:
Old, bold and unwilling to fold: Can the Giants make one last run? — Did you ever have a year so bad you wish you could just pretend it didn't happen? The year just completed — 2017 — was kind of like that for the San Francisco Giants. And while it's not possible for them to have their …
NBC Sports BayArea / MLB on Yahoo! Sports:
SAN FRANCISCO - Whenever a marquee free agent signs in the offseason …
SAN FRANCISCO - Whenever a marquee free agent signs in the offseason …
Discussion:
Purple Row, Bucs Dugout, McCovey Chronicles, Over the Monster and Lone Star Ball
Bob Nightengale / WKYC-TV:
Pittsburgh Pirates trade Gerrit Cole to World Series champion Houston Astros
Pittsburgh Pirates trade Gerrit Cole to World Series champion Houston Astros
Discussion:
MLB on Yahoo! Sports
Fox Sports:
Howie Kendrick and Nationals agree to $7M, 2-year contract — WASHINGTON (AP) The Nationals have agreed to a $7 million, two-year contract with outfielder Howie Kendrick, a deal subject to a successful physical. — Agent Pat Murphy confirmed the deal to The Associated Press on Monday.
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Jeff Todd / MLB Trade Rumors:
Nationals, Howie Kendrick Agree To Two-Year Deal
Nationals, Howie Kendrick Agree To Two-Year Deal
Discussion:
CBS DC, NBCSports.com, Bleacher Nation and Lone Star Ball
Mike Mazzeo / New York Daily News:
Mets' infield options shrink as Howie Kendrick signs with Nationals
Mets' infield options shrink as Howie Kendrick signs with Nationals
Discussion:
MLB on Yahoo! Sports
Tom FitzGerald / San Francisco Chronicle:
Great news for Stanford: Love will return for senior year — Heisman Trophy runner-up Bryce Love has decided to return to Stanford for his final season of eligibility, putting the Cardinal in position to land at least a top-15 preseason ranking next fall. — His father, Chris …
Discussion:
ProFootballTalk, FanRag Sports and East Bay Times
Rick Stroud / Tampa Bay Times:
Jason Licht addresses what went wrong for the Bucs in 2017 and how they plan to fix it — It was a “brutal year.” That's how general manager Jason Licht views the Bucs 2017 season. — Expectations, many of them he said he “cringed at,” nonetheless went unfulfilled due to injuries …
Discussion:
FanRag Sports and ProFootballTalk
Mike Puma / New York Post:
Why Adrian Gonzalez can bother the Mets' clubhouse — Adrian Gonzalez will bring a big résumé and personality to the Mets' clubhouse, but also the potential for controversy. — The 35-year-old first baseman, who agreed to terms with the club on a one-year contract over the weekend …
Discussion:
Mets Merized Online