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How low are the Red Sox willing to go in their search for a new shortstop? Well, according to Michael Silverman of the Boston Herald they’ve “expressed interest” in free agent Bobby Crosby. Crosby is a recognizable name thanks to being a former first-round pick who was the AL Rookie of the Year in 2004,…

Tim Brown of Yahoo! Sports reports that the Twins, Brewers, Mariners, and Rangers are in the mix to sign free agent Jarrod Washburn. Meanwhile, the Tigers declined an arbitration offer and apparently have no interest in re-signing Washburn despite trading two prospects to get him at midseason. Washburn went 1-3 with a 7.33 ERA in…

St. Louis has offered arbitration to Matt Holliday, Joel Pineiro, and Mark DeRosa while passing on Troy Glaus. Obviously the Holliday decision was a no-brainer, but there was quite a bit of speculation that the Cardinals might pass on offers to Pineiro or DeRosa. Both players are Type B free agents and the Cardinals wanted…

Today has been filled with all sorts of news on the arbitration front and there will be more offers and non-offers rolling in tonight, but I’m particularly curious about one player’s status. Minnesota offered Carl Pavano arbitration and because he’s a Type B free agent that guarantees the Twins a draft pick if he signs…

WEEI.com’s Alex Speier reports that Boston has contacted Adam Everett to “to express some preliminary interest,” which makes sense given that this year’s crop of free-agent agent shortstops is so underwhelming that the Red Sox have considered asking Dustin Pedroia to switch positions. Everett is one of the worst hitters in baseball, but he’s long…

Brian Schneider has been a starter for basically his entire career, but the 33-year-old catcher will now back up Carlos Ruiz after signing a two-year contract with the Phillies this afternoon. While one Philadelphia newspaper suggests that Schneider passed up a chance to start for several other teams in order to join his hometown Phillies,…

Miguel Angel Sano has apparently changed his name, which is certain to raise a few eyebrows after the shortstop from the Dominican Republic signed with the Twins in September amid questions about whether he was really 16 years old. Kelly Thesier of MLB.com notes that he’d been using his mother’s maiden name as a sign…

WEEI.com’s Rob Bradford reports that Alex Cora is close to returning to the Mets for the same $2 million that he earned this season. According to Bradford the one-year contract will also include a vesting option for 2011, but the details of that aren’t yet available. Cora was slated for a bench job when he…

Last offseason the Orioles signed veteran Japanese starter Koji Uehara to a two-year, $10 million deal and now they’re reportedly interested in his former Yomiuri Giants teammate Hisanori Takahashi. Baltimore also made a run at Kenshin Kawakami last winter before he ended up in Atlanta, so the Orioles are suddenly very active in pursuing Japanese…

Jason LaRue and the Cardinals have agreed to a one-year deal that will keep him backing up Yadier Molina in 2010. Molina is one of the best, most durable catchers in baseball, so barring a major injury LaRue’s role will again be extremely limited. He appeared in just 51 games this season, logging a grand…

At this point Minnesotans analyze every Joe Mauer sneeze to determine whether it makes him more or less likely to re-sign with the Twins, so the reaction to this news will be interesting: IMG, the premier global sports, media and entertainment company, today announced that it has signed the 2009 American League Most Valuable Player,…

Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports that the Pirates have “made contact with” free agents Rick Ankiel and Hank Blalock, both of whom would fit the team’s apparent plan to pursue players looking to “revive their careers.” Kovacevic notes that the Pirates could bring in a free agent like Ankiel or Blalock on a…

While speculation swirls about what kind of salary Tim Lincecum could command via arbitration later this offseason, agent Rick Thurman said yesterday that “as of today” the two-time Cy Young winner plans to “pursue a one-year deal” rather than sign a multi-year contract with the Giants. John Shea of the San Francisco Chronicle reports that…

Sammy Sosa has been ordered to appear in a Dominican Republic court next week after being sued for $203,000 by a businessman who claims that the former Cubs star failed to pay him for various services. Here’s more from the Associated Press: Carim Abu Nabaa alleges that Sosa has not paid him a commission of…

Prior to signing Alex Gonzalez yesterday the Blue Jays apparently looked into Orlando Cabrera, but balked at his reported asking price of two years and $10 million. Cabrera received tons of credit for the Twins’ dramatic late-season turnaround after batting .411 with 21 runs and 16 RBIs over the final 16 games, but also hit…

Here are some of the highlights from the MVP press conferences for Albert Pujols and Joe Mauer. First up is Pujols, who talked about getting the news while driving his daughter to school and what it means to join some pretty exclusive company as a three-time MVP: Soft spoken as always, Mauer spent most of…

Andruw Jones and the White Sox have agreed to a one-year deal worth $500,000 in guarantees and another $1 million in potential incentives, with general manager Ken Williams making it very clear that the five-time All-Star is being brought in as a bench player: This is an opportunity to add a power bat to the…

Shelley Duncan would probably have several seasons in the big leagues under his belt had just about any other team drafted him in the second round back in 2001, but instead he’s wasted away in the Yankees’ minor-league system. Duncan has accumulated 3,812 plate appearances spread over 905 games and nine seasons in the minors,…

While trade rumors swirl around Roy Halladay, it looks like Alex Anthopoulos’ first move as the Blue Jays’ new general manager will be re-signing John McDonald for one year and $1.5 million. McDonald has spent the past five seasons in Toronto, starting a total of 301 games, but was primarily a backup this year as…

During his amazing playoff run last month I penned a lengthy article about Chase Utley being the most underrated player in baseball, writing: “Many media members and fans seem to think of him as merely a very good player rather than a truly great one.” Part of my evidence for Utley being significantly underrated was…

Only a stray first-place vote for Miguel Cabrera kept Joe Mauer from being a unanimous pick for AL MVP by the Baseball Writers Association of America. Mark Teixeira finished runner-up, with Yankees teammate Derek Jeter placing third, and Cabrera finished fourth while somehow convincing one professional baseball writer that he was the league’s best player.…

As usual the Marlins are going to spend the offseason cutting payroll and trading players making more than minimum salaries, but MLB.com’s Joe Frisaro reports that they’re “almost 100 percent” certain to keep Jorge Cantu. On the heels of apparently balking at 25-year-old ace Josh Johnson’s long-term contract demands, the decision to hang onto Cantu…

When reports surfaced last week that the Reds “need to slash payroll” and may be forced to shed high-priced veterans I wrote about the horrible planning that led to their trading three players to acquire Scott Rolen and his $12 million 2010 contract just months ago. Cincinnati had no business taking on a salary like…

Later today the Baseball Writers Association of America will announce their choice for AL MVP, but first here’s how my ballot would look: 1. Joe Mauer, Minnesota 2. Derek Jeter, New York 3. Ben Zobrist, Tampa Bay 4. Evan Longoria, Tampa Bay 5. Zack Greinke, Kansas City 6. Mark Teixeira, New York 7. Miguel Cabrera,…

Mark Feinsand of the New York Daily News has an update on the Yankees’ odds of re-signing Johnny Damon and Hideki Matsui: Multiple sources have indicated that the Yankees would like to bring Johnny Damon back on a two-year deal, but Hideki Matsui’s time in pinstripes is likely over as they would prefer to keep…