Apparently the Twins and Pavano have almost reached a deal. Twins and Pavano are very close to a new deal, working on final details. Bill Smith said today, “I think we’re in the home stretch here.” This is not a repeat from last month. Or last week. Though I have very little faith that it won’t…

The Cleveland Plain Dealer reports that the Indians are trying to work out a multi-year contract with Shin-Soo Choo: “We’re still in the midst of discussions,” said [GM Chris] Antonetti. “I don’t view it as the negotiations being closed.” Choo is one of the most underrated guys in baseball. He’s still got three seasons to…

There’s a great story by Richard Sandomir of the New York Times today, looking back at the history of the Polo Grounds.  Like many of the people quoted in is story, I was always struck by pictures of those wacko dimensions: What stands out to fans and historians nearly 47 years since its demolition are…

My steroids bailiwick is pretty much limited to baseball, so I view the latest stuff about Lance Armstrong as a civilian. I don’t know much about it other than to say that (a) cycling is apparently rotten with PEDs; and (b) any criminal investigation led by Jeff Novitzky should be viewed with extreme dubiousness given his track…

Sometimes I get nostalgic for the winter of 2009-10. It was a simpler time. Bert Blyleven wasn’t a Hall of Famer, people thought that the Mariners won the Milton Bradley-Carlos Silva trade and every other post on HardballTalk was about Johnny Damon.  Let’s relive that for a moment, shall we? The Blue Jays avoided salary…

As reported last night, Milton Bradley is in some big-time legal trouble as a result of allegedly making threats of bodily harm and/or death against an unidentified female. The charges under California Penal Code section 422 are felony charges, and if they are borne out, he could end up doing time. It’s important to remember,…

When we checked in with Phillies general manager Ruben Amaro Jr. last week, he wasn’t in a hurry to deal Joe Blanton. Now? According to what he told Ken Rosenthal of FOXSports.com today, it sounds like he isn’t willing to deal him at all. “I don’t feel comfortable doing it,” Amaro told FOXSports.com. “He’s going…

Now here’s a really interesting case. Of course, Jose Bautista shocked the baseball world last season by leading the majors with 54 home runs to go along with a solid .260/.378/.617 batting line, 124 RBI and a .995 OPS. Such a breakthrough season can be particularly tricky come arbitration time, so it’s no shock that…

As some of you may have noticed already, today is the day that players and teams submit arbitration figures. We have seen a number of contracts get worked out right before the deadline, but there are a few notable players who filed today. We’ll touch on a couple of them here, beginning with last year’s…

Washington is “closing in on” a contract with right-hander Todd Coffey, according to Jon Heyman of SI.com. Coffey was non-tendered by the Brewers despite a 3.52 ERA and 128/46 K/BB ratio in 153 innings for Milwaukee during the past three seasons. Coffey’s slider is his best pitch, but his average fastball also clocks in at…

This morning I wrote about Jim Reeves’ column in which he said he believed that voting for the Hall of Fame was his “sacred duty” and that it was his aim to keep Cooperstown “clean and pure.” My take was more one of amusement, but this afternoon The Common Man has a much more focused…

San Diego signed Gregg Zaun to a minor-league contract and the veteran catcher will get an invitation to spring training, where he’ll compete for the backup job with Rob Johnson. Zaun missed most of last season following June shoulder surgery and will be 40 years old in April, but if healthy he’s a far superior…

It’s been a weird year for Armando Galarraga. The near-perfect game. Being turned into an unexpected role model for forgiveness. Being sent down to Toledo for eight games.  Looking like the odd man out in the rotation this winter. Unexpectedly reaching a deal avoiding arbitration late yesterday. And then this today: One day after agreeing…

Earlier this offseason Aaron Heilman expressed a desire to give starting a try after spending the past five seasons exclusively as a reliever and Ken Rosenthal of FOXSports.com reports that he’ll get an opportunity to do that after re-signing with the Diamondbacks. Heilman appeared in 70 games for Arizona last season, all out of the…

Like we said earlier: tons of signings today. We’ve been highlighting the bigger names, but many, many more players are avoiding arbitration. Among the more notable ones: Jacoby Ellsbury, Red Sox, $2.4 million; J.J. Hardy, Orioles. $5.5 million; Carlos Quentin, White Sox, $5.05 million; Kevin Kouzmanoff, Athletics, $4.75 million; Martin Prado, Braves, $3.1 million; Boone…