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So, how did LaTroy Hawkins convince the Brewers to give him a two-year, $7.5 million deal at age 37? According to Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, he schmoozed them in person at the winter meetings: “It helped he was in Indianapolis with his representative, Larry Reynolds,” general manager Doug Melvin said. “I had…

In analyzing Garrett Atkins signing with the Orioles last night Matthew predicted that the one-year deal would be worth “$4 million-$5 million.” Official terms of the contract were released this afternoon and sure enough Atkins is guaranteed … $4.5 million. He’ll get $4 million in 2010 and the Orioles hold an $8.5 million option or…

Amid reports that the Pirates are interested in signing a veteran left-handed hitter coming off a down year like Rick Ankiel, Hank Blalock, or Kelly Johnson, Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post Gazette suggests that they may end up simply going with young, in-house left-handed hitter Jeff Clement instead: The deeper we get into this…

Reports last week had the Rockies offering Yorvit Torrealba a two-year, $5.6 million deal to re-sign while the veteran catcher asked for a total of $6 million. At the time I commented that “only $400,000 stands in the way of a seemingly inevitable agreement,” but the two sides look increasingly unlikely to bridge that relatively…

Non-tendered by the Braves last week, Kelly Johnson is said to be drawing serious interest from the Pirates, but Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post Gazette reports that they view him as a corner outfielder rather than a second baseman. Pittsburgh has previously been linked to free agents like Rick Ankiel and Hank Blalock, so…

Jose Valverde spent the first five years of his career in Arizona and the Diamondbacks are in the closer market with an eye toward sliding Chad Qualls back into a setup role, but Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic reports that “it appears his asking price puts him out of their budget.” There was speculation…

Boston signing John Lackey and Mike Cameron has Bill Center of the San Diego Union Tribune thinking that the Red Sox are preparing to make another run at Adrian Gonzalez. And sure enough FOXSports.com’s Ken Rosenthal wrote this morning that they’re “working hard to obtain” the Padres first baseman. Center tosses out Jacoby Ellsbury, Clay…

Mike Cameron is meeting the Boston media any second now and Michael Silverman of the Boston Herald sheds some light on his contract details and likely role with the Red Sox. According to Silverman … * Cameron has limited no-trade protection as part of his two-year, $15.5 million deal, which further shows that the Red…

David Waldstein of the New York Times reports that the Mets are close to signing Japanese pitcher Ryota Igarashi to a two-year contract. Igarashi is a 30-year-old right-handed reliever who has pitched for the Yakult Swallows since 1999. He saved 37 games in 2004, but has primarily been a setup man since, posting a 2.87…

Clearly the Phillies’ decision to part with Cliff Lee and bring in Roy Halladay goes beyond each pitcher’s value for 2010. Halladay is apparently willing to sign a long-term deal to remain in Philadelphia while Lee is reportedly intent on testing the free agent market next offseason, which makes it more complicated than simply asking…

Over at his personal website Curt Schilling posted his thoughts on the Red Sox signing John Lackey. Summarizing some of the interesting points: * “Holy #$!&!” (Note: That’s a direct quote.) * He doesn’t think signing Lackey “precludes them from signing” Jason Bay or Matt Holliday because “they have the money.” (Note: Presumably he wrote…

As if the massive three-team trade wasn’t intriguing enough already, ESPN.com’s Buster Olney reports that the Blue Jays are acquiring prospect Michael Taylor from the Phillies in order to flip him to the A’s for fellow prospect Brett Wallace. Seriously. Oakland got Wallace from St. Louis in the midseason Matt Holliday trade and seemingly viewed…

Swinging a trade with the Dodgers for Juan Pierre this morning has the White Sox’s lineup looking more or less set for 2010: C – A.J. Pierzynski (.300/.331/.425 in 2009) 1B – Paul Konerko (.277/.353/.489) 2B – Gordon Beckham (.270/.347/.460) SS – Alexei Ramirez (.277/.333/.389) 3B – Mark Teahen (.271/.325/.408) LF – Carlos Quentin (.236/.323/.456)…

Chien-Ming Wang’s agent told Buster Olney of ESPN.com that the free agent right-hander may choose not to sign for several months despite at least a half-dozen teams expressing interest. Wang will meet with Dr. James Andrews next month to determine the next step in his recovery from shoulder surgery and may want to show teams…

Craig Counsell has officially re-signed with the Brewers, getting a one-year deal worth $2.1 million in guaranteed money and another $500,000 in incentives based on playing time. Counsell made $1.5 million in 2009 while having one of the best seasons of his career and rightfully gets slightly more than fellow left-handed-hitting utility infielder Alex Cora,…

Yesterday general manager Brian Cashman “cut off a question about not having a designated hitter” and insisted that “Juan Miranda can be a DH,” which is noteworthy following this afternoon’s news that Hideki Matsui is close to signing with the Angels. “I don’t want to over-sell anybody, but I think Juan Miranda will do a…

ESPN.com’s Jorge Arangure reports that Kelvim Escobar is scheduled to pitch later this week in Venezuela after making just one appearance during the past two seasons because of shoulder problems. According to Arangure the Mets have already offered Escobar a minor-league contract and the Rays are also interested. Escobar has been primarily a starter since…

This morning an unnamed source told Ed Price of Fanhouse that John Lackey would be taking a physical exam for the Red Sox and now FOXSports.com’s Ken Rosenthal confirms that while offering further details: Free-agent right-hander John Lackey underwent a physical Monday with the Red Sox, an indication that he is close to an agreement…

David O’Brien of the Atlanta Journal Constitution points out that the Braves last won a divisional title in 2005 while using 18 different rookies, yet with Kelly Johnson getting non-tendered over the weekend only one of those guys remains on the team: Brian McCann. O’Brien notes that the “Baby Braves” were “celebrated for their energy,…

General manager John Mozeliak has repeatedly said that the Cardinals are comfortable going with 26-year-old prospect David Freese as their Opening Day third baseman, so he can’t be too happy with this news from the weekend: David Freese was arrested in St. Louis County early Saturday morning on suspicion of driving while intoxicated, Maryland Heights…

San Francisco acquired Ryan Garko from Cleveland at midseason in an effort to boost one of the league’s worst lineups, but Garko hit just .235/.307/.330 in 40 games and tonight the Giants non-tendered him rather than pay what likely would have been around $2 million via arbitration. Garko is mediocre against right-handers and crushes left-handers,…

Pittsburgh has spent months trying to trade closer Matt Capps, but after finding zero takers the Pirates decided to non-tender him rather than go to arbitration. Capps struggled mightily in 2009 and likely would have been awarded a salary in the neighborhood $3 million, but that’s hardly a budget-crippling number even for a small-payroll team…

Dioner Navarro was thought to be a likely non-tender candidate following the Rays’ trade for Kelly Shoppach, but instead the two sides have agreed to a one-year, $2.1 million contract that will keep him in Tampa Bay. It remains to be seen how the Rays plan to divvy up the playing behind the plate after…

Earlier this week Kevin Correia said that he expected to be either traded or non-tendered by the Padres because they didn’t want to risk the possibility that he’d be awarded a big raise via arbitration, but the two sides have agreed to a one-year, $3.6 million deal just hours before the midnight deadline. Correia earned…

Oakland grabbed Jack Cust off the scrap heap in 2007, gave him the first regular playing time of his career, and ended up getting 1,717 plate appearances of .241/.378/.462 hitting with 84 homers, 309 walks, 226 runs, and 229 RBIs for a combined cost of under $4 million. However, with Cust now on the wrong…