Yankees officially ink J.A. Happ; is Manny Machado next?  —  NEW YORK — When their pitching staff took a beating in this year's American League Division Series, it became painfully clear to the New York Yankees it was time for an overhaul.  —  But as it stands in the wake of the reacquisition …

Astros Agree To Terms With Michael Brantley  —  6:01pm: The terms have been agreed to, per Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports, who tweets that the deal will not come with any options.  —  5:48pm: The Astros are “closing in” on a deal with veteran outfielder Michael Brantley, according to Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic (Twitter link).

Jeurys Familia prioritized return to Mets over closer role elsewhere  —  NEW YORK — Jeurys Familia would rather be a setup man for the New York Mets than close for another team.  —  Familia had 123 saves for the Mets, who traded him to Oakland last July.  He instructed agents Sam …

APNewsBreak: Sabathia gets $500,000 bonus despite ejection  —  NEW YORK (AP) Plunking an opponent paid off for CC Sabathia.  —  The New York Yankees gave Sabathia a $500,000 performance bonus, even though the 38-year-old left-hander was ejected from his final regular-season start six outs shy …

Calhoun sticking to weight-loss plan.  How much does he want to drop before spring training?  —  Texas Rangers designated hitter Willie Calhoun scores from first base on a single by outfielder Scott Heineman in the sixth inning as the Texas Rangers play the Los Angeles Dodger at in Glendale …

With demand down, Boston might be Craig Kimbrel's best bet  —  Considering Craig Kimbrel's excellence in the first nine seasons of his career, there appears to be a pretty good chance he will deliver an induction speech at Cooperstown.  The strategic stature of starting pitchers has slowly diminished …

‘Up and coming star’ Hyde settles in as Orioles manager  —  BALTIMORE (AP) Sitting side by side in the auxiliary clubhouse at Camden Yards, Orioles general manager Mike Elias and new manager Brandon Hyde spoke excitedly Monday about working together to mold the struggling franchise into a winner again.

Dodgers announcer Charley Steiner gets contract extension  —  LOS ANGELES — The Dodgers have agreed to a contract extension with play-by-play announcer Charley Steiner, who will work a reduced schedule in 2019 at his request.  —  The team said Monday the deal extends through the 2021 season.

Allure of the 2019-20 free-agent class; Yanks shopping Andújar?  ; Happ's confidence; more notes  —  For years, anyone with even a passing interest in baseball eagerly awaited the Great Free Agent Class of 2018-19, topped by its two 26-year-old megastars, right fielder Bryce Harper and shortstop/third baseman Manny Machado.

The state of the starting pitching market  —  The winter meetings were mostly a bust.  Most of the offseason trades have involved Jerry Dipoto, including one the Mariners general manager completed from a hospital bed.  The Dodgers, with money to spend and players to trade, have yet to add a new major league player to their roster.