Top News:
Matt Ehalt / Daily Record:
Mets may have found their No. 2 hitter in free agent Jed Lowrie — Ed Kranepool (l) and Art Shamsky (r) discuss the 1969 title team — Brodie Van Wagenen's busy offseason continued Thursday night with the surprising development that Jed Lowrie agreed to a two-year, $20-million deal.
RELATED:
Rotoworld.com:
Lowdown: Brewers' New Backstop — Brewers' New Backstop — The Milwaukee Brewers became major players in the free agent market on Wednesday, adding some significant punch behind the plate. Jon Morosi of MLB.com reported that the team had secured a one-year commitment from Yasmani Grandal …
Jeff Todd / MLB Trade Rumors:
Mets To Sign Jed Lowrie
Mets To Sign Jed Lowrie
Discussion:
MLB Daily Dish, DRaysBay, Bleacher Nation, MLB Baseball News … and Lone Star Ball
Steve Adams / MLB Trade Rumors:
Brewers In “Heavy” Pursuit Of Infield Upgrade
Brewers In “Heavy” Pursuit Of Infield Upgrade
Discussion:
Brew Crew Ball and Bleacher Nation
Chicago Tribune:
Manny Machado's high school coach thinks he'll choose the White Sox — Photos of Manny Machado, one of the top free agents this season. — Chicago Tribune — Where will Manny Machado land? — His high school baseball coach says it'll be the White Sox.
Discussion:
New Jersey Online
RELATED:
Craig Edwards / FanGraphs Baseball:
Nationals Gain Upside with Brian Dozier — While much of the focus of the Nationals' offseason has been the potential loss of Bryce Harper, the club has been one of the more active teams this winter. Their big move brought in Patrick Corbin. They also signed Anibal Sanchez and traded Tanner Roark.
Discussion:
Halos Heaven, MLB Trade Rumors, Bucs Dugout, baseballmusings.com and Sports Illustrated
RELATED:
New York Daily News:
Mets sign lefty reliever Luis Avilan to minor-league deal — Before making a bigger splash with the Jed Lowrie signing, though that one came with some questions, the Mets made a smaller move on Thursday to acquire a lefty arm for the bullpen. — They signed Luis Avilan to a minor league deal …
Discussion:
MLB Trade Rumors
RELATED:
Steve Adams / MLB Trade Rumors:
Mets Sign Luis Avilan To Minor League Deal
Mets Sign Luis Avilan To Minor League Deal
Discussion:
MLB Baseball News …
ESPN:
Blue Jays reach one-year deal with free-agent RHP David Phelps — The Toronto Blue Jays have agreed to a deal with free-agent right-hander David Phelps, sources told ESPN's Jeff Passan on Thursday night. — The one-year deal is worth $2.5 million and includes a club option, sources said.
RELATED:
Derrick Goold / St. Louis Post-Dispatch:
Cards hope to complete one-year deals with Ozuna, Wacha before Friday's arbitration deadline — In an attempt to use a deadline to spur agreement or leave salaries in the hands of three arbiters, the Cardinals have adopted the popular “file-and-trial” approach to negotiations with arbitration-eligible players.
RELATED:
AJ Mass / ESPN:
Fantasy baseball free-agent and trade tracker — For even the most committed fantasy baseball managers, getting caught up on a lengthy offseason of wheeling and dealing and free agent signings can be complicated. — To that end, here's a brief snapshot of some of the higher-profile transactions …
Associated Press:
Steven Wright agrees with Red Sox on one-year contract — BOSTON — Knuckleballer Steven Wright and the Boston Red Sox agreed to a one-year contract for $1,375,000, a raise of $275,000, in a deal that avoided arbitration. — An All-Star in 2016, the 34-year-old right-hander started …
Discussion:
Over the Monster
Evan Grant / Dallas Morning News:
Rangers taking chance on rotation full of Tommy John patients in effort to get ‘bang for our buck’ — ARLINGTON - It seemed a little bit odd Thursday to see Rangers general manager Jon Daniels helping to introduce the announcement of an upcoming Billy Joel concert at Globe Life Park.
Discussion:
Lone Star Ball
Associated Press:
Angels avoid arbitration with RHPs JC Ramirez, Nick Tropeano — LOS ANGELES — The Angels agreed to one-year contracts with right-handers JC Ramirez and Nick Tropeano that avoided salary arbitration. — Ramirez agreed at $1,901,000 on Thursday, a raise of $1,000.
Associated Press:
Casali agrees to $950,000, 1-year deal with Reds — CINCINNATI (AP) — Catcher Curt Casali and the Cincinnati Reds agreed to a $950,000, one-year contract that avoided salary arbitration. — Casali, 30, was acquired from Tampa Bay on May 31. He batted .293 in 52 games for the Reds — 35 starts — with four homers and 16 RBIs.
Toronto Sun:
Catcher Yasmani Grandal, Brewers reportedly agree to one-year deal — NEW YORK — Catcher Yasmani Grandal and the Milwaukee Brewers have agreed to an $18.25 million, one-year contract, a person familiar with the negotiations tells The Associated Press. — The person spoke on condition …
Discussion:
FiveThirtyEight, NBCSports.com and Press Gazette Media
RELATED:
Associated Press:
Padres agree with Travis Jankowski to avoid arbitration — SAN DIEGO — Outfielder Travis Jankowski and the San Diego Padres agreed to a one-year contract worth $1,165,000, a raise from his $555,000 salary last year. — The 27-year-old hit .259 with four homers and 17 RBI last year.
Ken Rosenthal / The Athletic:
The question lingers - how far would the Nationals go to sign Bryce Harper? — Sign Bryce Harper, and the Nationals easily could surpass the luxury-tax threshold for the third straight season. If that happened, they would pay the maximum 50 percent penalty for every dollar they spend above the threshold in 2019.
Discussion:
NESN.com, Phillies Nation, NBCSports.com, Cubs Insider and Bleacher Nation