Twins To Re-Sign Michael Pineda  —  The Twins have re-signed right-hander Michael Pineda to a two-year deal, Pierre Noujaim of FOX 9 Minneapolis reports (Twitter link).  The Athletic's Dan Hayes reports that Pineda will earn $20MM on the deal, which will become official after Pineda passes a physical.

Sources: Yankees make signing righty Gerrit Cole top offseason priority  —  The New York Yankees have made signing right-hander Gerrit Cole their clear offseason priority and have ownership-level approval to offer him a record-setting deal, sources familiar with their plans told ESPN.

Nationals owner Mark Lerner says team can't afford Stephen Strasburg and Anthony Rendon  —  The prime question as soon as Stephen Strasburg opted out of his contract was this: Could the Nationals afford to bring back Strasburg and Anthony Rendon?  According to managing principal owner Mark Lerner, the answer is no.

Steve Cohen in Talks to Buy Majority of Mets From Wilpons  —  The deal with Mr. Cohen, a billionaire hedge fund manager, would represent a significant change in the New York sports landscape.  —  Steven A. Cohen, a minority investor in the Mets, is negotiating with the Wilpon family to purchase …

Mets Acquire Jake Marisnick  —  10:40am: The Astros and Mets have both announced the trade.  —  10:27am: Houston will receive left-hander Blake Taylor and outfielder Kenedy Corona in return for Marisnick, ESPN's Jeff Passan tweets.  Taylor was on the Mets' 40-man roster after having …

Brewers Nearing Acquisition Of Omar Narvaez  —  The Brewers are closing in on a deal with the Mariners to acquire catcher Omar Narvaez, according to Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic (via Twitter).  The trade return remains unknown.  —  Narvaez is one of the few backstops in baseball that can match …

How the signing of Cole Hamels affects Braves' 2020 payroll  —  Apparently, Liberty Media CEO Greg Maffei was serious a couple of weeks ago when he said the Braves would “spend some money” this offseason.  And apparently, Braves executive Mike Plant was serious, too, when he said on that same day, “We're going to go after it.”

Two S. Korean players posted for MLB clubs  —  A pair of former South Korean baseball MVPs have been made available to major league clubs.  —  The Major League Baseball (MLB) Commissioner's Office announced Thursday (local time) that SK Wyverns' left-hander Kim Kwang-hyun …

Rangers Sign Nick Ciuffo, Wei-Chieh Huang To Minors Deals  —  The Rangers announced that catcher Nick Ciuffo and right-hander Wei-Chieh Huang have been signed to minor league contracts.  The two players and utilityman Rob Refsnyder (whose signing was reported last week) will all receive invites to the big league Spring Training camp.

The Dodgers are in position to make a big move this winter.  Will they take advantage?  —  The Dodgers do not need to win the offseason.  —  They sell plenty of tickets, leading the majors in home attendance the past seven seasons, including a franchise-record 3.974 million in 2019.

2019 Minor League Manager Of The Year: Corey Ragsdale  —  Awards and recognition really aren't Corey Ragsdale's thing.  —  They're nice and all, he said, but they're more a reflection of a team effort rather than one person pulling on the rope.  —  So Ragsdale is deflecting credit to players …

Angels and Anaheim reach a deal for the team to stay in city through 2050  —  The Angels have bound themselves to the city of Anaheim longer than they have bound themselves to Mike Trout.  —  For more than half a century, the Angels have played in a stadium surrounded by acres of parking lots.