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Colby Lewis was one of the game’s best pitching prospects while coming up through the Rangers’ farm system, with Baseball America ranking him as their No. 32 overall prospect in 2003, sandwiched between Adrian Gonzalez at 31 and Josh Hamilton at 33. That season he made 26 starts for the Rangers as a 23-year-old rookie,…

Eric Gagne told a French-Canadian radio station that he has a tryout scheduled for today with the Phillies, but general manager Ruben Amaro Jr. was unavailable for comment when Philadelphia Daily News reporter David Murphy tried to get in touch with him about the former Cy Young winner. Gagne signed a minor-league deal with the…

Here’s video of the incident that got Jose Offerman suspended for life from the Dominican winter league: Not that the quality of the punch should really matter when it comes to Offerman’s suspension, but it sure seems like the umpire took a dive. Click here to contact Aaron Gleeman or follow him on Twitter.

MLB.com Mets beat writer Marty Noble, responding to criticism of his Hall of Fame ballot: And those who have their noses pressed against their computer screens and think VORP is a valid means of measuring a player’s performance ought to get a life and a credential that would allow them to see and hear the…

With the deadline to submit figures for arbitration looming, the Rockies have agreed to multi-year deals with arbitration-eligible relievers Huston Street and Rafael Betancourt. According to FOXSports.com’s Tracy Ringolsby, Betancourt will get $7.5 million over two years while Street’s deal is worth $22.5 million over three years with an option for 2013. Colorado had previously…

Phillies manager Charlie Manuel told NBCPhiladelphia.com that he’s lost 56 pounds since signing a deal to do advertisements for Nutrisystem. He’s never going to be svelte, but the 65-year-old Type 2 diabetic has gone from 286 pounds to 230 pounds in less than a year, and as you can see from the photo there’s definitely…

Peter Gammons shed some new light on Jason Bay signing with the Mets, reporting that the Red Sox and Bay “had agreed on the framework” of a four-year, $60 million contract in July before an MRI exam raised red flags about the health of his knees. According to Gammons the Red Sox then lowered their…

Albert Pujols made an appearance at the Cardinals’ “winter warm-up” event this afternoon and naturally the assembled media asked him about his contract status despite the fact that he’s signed through 2011. Here’s what Pujols had to say: My timetable is when I’m a free agent. Right now we’ve got a couple years. I don’t…

MASNSports.com’s Ben Goessling “caught up with Nationals manager Jim Riggleman” for an interview this morning and the lengthy Q&A session included some noteworthy tidbits: Matt Capps will enter spring training as the clear favorite for closer duties, but Brian Bruney may also get some ninth-inning chances and Riggleman “might” use Eddie Guardado or Sean Burnett…

Speaking at the annual Cubs convention over the weekend, manager Lou Piniella revealed that new center fielder Marlon Byrd has been penciled into the No. 5 spot in the batting order and Alfonso Soriano will remain in the No. 6 spot that he filled during the second half of last season. Soriano spent his first…

Some guys have all the luck. Last week Matt Kemp signed a deal with the Dodgers that buys out his first two seasons of arbitration eligibility for $11 million and then over the weekend he watched LeBron James from his courtside seat at a Los Angeles Clippers game. Oh yeah, and seated next to him…

Joel Sherman of the New York Post wrote that “the Cubs are definitely dangling Carlos Zambrano” while Jon Heyman of SI.com dismissed Zambrano rumors as “a time waster” because he has a no-trade clause and plans to remain in Chicago. So which is it? Paul Sullivan of the Chicago Tribune went to the Cubs’ general…

My assumption was that Mark DeRosa would play third base for the Giants after signing a two-year, $12 million deal yesterday, but Andrew Baggarly of the San Jose Mercury News reports that the 35-year-old has not been promised a set spot and “doesn’t care where he plays, so long as he’s in the lineup every…

Kelly Johnson took a week to ponder the Diamondbacks’ one-year offer believed to be worth around $2 million and has apparently decided to accept. Johnson is expected to finalize the contract by taking a physical exam today, choosing Arizona over at least a handful of other teams in part because the Diamondbacks wanted him to…

In response to my article earlier this afternoon comparing Matt Holliday and Jason Bay, several commenters focused on the fact that Bay out-performed Holliday in their respective time as American Leaguers. In fact, one commenter went so far as to say that Holliday “stunk” during his brief AL stint. For several years now there’s been…

I’ve been planning to write something touting Barry Larkin’s Hall of Fame candidacy because he’s one of several deserving players on this year’s ballot not getting enough love, but in the meantime here’s the next best thing (or maybe even the slightly better thing) … ESPN.com’s Jayson Stark used some numbers from an article I…

As right-handed-hitting left fielders with big bats and questionable gloves Matt Holliday and Jason Bay have been linked together as free agents. Some teams like Holliday more than Bay, some teams like Bay more than Holliday, and whatever the case one has often been described as an alternative to the other. Now that the market…

UPDATE: DeRosa has passed his physical, according to Mychael Urban of CSNBayArea.com FOXSports.com’s Ken Rosenthal reports that the Giants are on the verge of signing Mark DeRosa to a two-year contract. Earlier this offseason DeRosa was said to be seeking a three-year deal somewhere in the neighborhood of $10 million per season, but he seemingly…

Doug Glanville was merely a decent outfielder during his nine-year career with the Phillies, Cubs, and Rangers, but since retiring following the 2004 season he’s become an excellent writer for the New York Times. In the wake of the whole Tiger Woods “situation” Glanville’s latest column describes how signing a professional contract instantly transformed him…

Bob Howry is apparently one of the most underrated or at least unluckiest relievers in baseball, because for the second straight offseason he’s managed only a one-year deal for modest money while inferior relievers get multi-year pacts for several times as much. Brandon Lyon got $15 million over three years from the Astros. Fernando Rodney…

Coco Crisp and the A’s were reportedly close to a deal over the weekend and they just made it official. He gets a one-year contract worth around $4.5 million and the A’s will have a team option for 2011. When healthy Crisp is a solid starting center fielder, batting .266/.338/.390 while rating 20 runs above…

I’m not a big fan of yesterday’s Javier Vazquez-for-Melky Cabrera (and prospects) swap from Atlanta’s point of view, but using some of the money saved on the deal to sign Troy Glaus to an incentive-laden one-year pact makes plenty of sense for the Braves. Adam LaRoche was fantastic for the Braves after coming over in…

Francisco Cervelli is seemingly the favorite to replace free agent Jose Molina as Jorge Posada’s backup, but the Yankees have brought in some veteran competition in the form of Mike Rivera. Rivera spent last season backing up Jason Kendall in Milwaukee, drawing a grand total of just 31 starts while hitting .228/.326/.346. He’s shown more…

ESPN.com’s Jayson Stark reports that the Angels “are in serious discussions” with Fernando Rodney, who last week was said to be drawing interest from the Orioles, Phillies, and Mets. Rodney converted 37-of-38 saves for the Tigers last season, but would presumably slide into a setup role in front of closer Brian Fuentes. Or if manager…

MLB.com’s Bill Ladson reports that Matt Capps has narrowed his choice of teams down to either the Cubs or Nationals and will make a decision by tomorrow night. No fewer than a half-dozen teams have been seriously linked to Capps since he was non-tendered by the Pirates, so he figures to end up with more…