Top News:
Derrick Goold / St. Louis Post-Dispatch:
Molina stays ready, waits, says in interview he could retire with ‘head held high’ if no offer fits — On his social media platform of choice, Instagram, free agent Yadier Molina shared video Tuesday of him taking batting practice with his brother's team in an otherwise empty ballpark.
Discussion:
Bleacher Nation, Bleed Cubbie Blue, Cardinals News, MLB Trade Rumors and Cubs Insider
RELATED:
Dan Caesar / St. Louis Post-Dispatch:
Media Views: Shannon could be entering final season as Cards broadcaster … Will it be a 50 finale for Mike Shannon? — Multiple sources say 2021 will be the last year in the Cardinals' radio booth for Shannon, who began there in 1972 and is heading into his 50th season in that role.
Discussion:
Awful Announcing
Scott Lauber / The Philadelphia Inquirer:
Three former Phillies who could return and be a big boost to the 2021 roster — If anything, the Chicago White Sox's four-year, $54 million agreement this week with reliever Liam Hendriks affirmed that, even in a pandemic, some teams will still pay a premium for top-level talent.
Discussion:
Phillies Nation, MLB Trade Rumors and NBCSports.com
Ben Badler / Baseball America:
2020-21 MLB International Signings Tracker — 2020-21 International signing tracker — *Click each team to go directly to that team's outlook. — The 2020-21 international signing period opens today, a signing class that normally would have started on July 2, 2020 but moved back to Jan. 15, 2021.
Discussion:
NBCSports.com, Over the Monster, Talking Chop, True Blue LA, DRaysBay and Bleacher Nation
Kyle Koster / The Big Lead:
Rey Ordóñez and the Fault in Our Stars — When logging onto the Internet (capitalized in assorted style guides back then) required a dial tone, they pumped up to four baseball games into my childhood home for the price of a cable-television package.
Discussion:
Broad Street Buzz, Rink Royalty, Sabre Noise and Guilty Eats
Dan Hajducky / ESPN:
Mickey Mantle baseball card shatters record, sells for $5.2 million — A Mickey Mantle baseball card has shattered a 5-month-old record for highest-selling sports card of all time, going for $5.2 million, PWCC Marketplace announced on Thursday. — The 1952 Topps Mickey Mantle PSA 9 …
Discussion:
Cubs Insider, Sports Illustrated, Yankees News, New York Post and Deadspin
Jesse Sanchez / MLB.com:
Here's where top int'l prospects are signing — January 15th is the new July 2nd. — The date has changed, but the excitement and its significance to baseball remains the same. — Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the international signing period that was scheduled to begin on July 2, 2020, starts today and ends on Dec. 15, 2021.
Ken Rosenthal / The Athletic:
Realmuto to Astros unlikely; Hendriks' contract; Padres consider more arms — Free-agent catcher J.T. Realmuto is a fit for the Astros, at least from a baseball perspective. But the quality of the draft picks the team would sacrifice for signing Realmuto, or any other free agent attached …
Discussion:
MLB Trade Rumors, MLB Baseball News …, Bleacher Nation, New York Post and NBCSports.com
Derrick Goold / St. Louis Post-Dispatch:
Cubs, Cardinals, and NL Central rivals are busy making moves, going nowhere — In what has been a whirlwind winter in some corners of Major League Baseball, the Windy City has added a Hall of Fame manager, a needlepoint outfielder, a pitcher with Cardinals ties who has been one of the steadiest starters …
Discussion:
Bleacher Nation
Steve Adams / MLB Trade Rumors:
Pirates Trade Nik Turley To Athletics — The Pirates have traded left-hander Nik Turley to the Athletics in exchange for cash, per an announcement from the A's. Pittsburgh designated Turley for assignment earlier this week upon claiming outfielder Troy Stokes Jr. from Detroit.
Discussion:
The Sports Daily and Athletics Nation
The Athletic:
Will a James Harden trade happen soon? Sources indicate it could — When James Harden brought the Houston Rockets' messy melodrama to center stage late Tuesday night, announcing during his 90-second postgame Zoom session that “it's something that I don't think can be fixed,” …
Emma Baccellieri / Sports Illustrated:
MLB's To-Do List: What Needs to Be Answered Before the 2021 Season — How many teams are going to make the playoffs? Will there be a universal DH? Will there be a full season? So many questions. So few answers. — The last few offseasons have gotten baseball fans increasingly used …
Discussion:
Bleed Cubbie Blue and Union-News