- FOXSports.com’s Ken Rosenthal says the Mets and catcher Henry Blanco are close to agreeing to terms. Blanco, 38, hit .235/.320/.382 in 204 at-bats while playing behind Nick Hundley in San Diego last season. He’s a career .228/.292/.366 hitter, but he’s always been very well regarded as a defender. It’s something of a surprise to…

Although the flailing economy had a big impact on the non-elite free agents last winter, the average major league salary did increase a bit this year to $2.996 million, according to numbers from The Associated Press. That’s up 2.4 percent from a $2.93 million figure in 2008. The increase was the tiniest since a 2.5…

Great piece in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch today by Bernie Miklasz wondering what Albert Pujols really means when he says he wants to wait to sign an extension with St. Louis so he can make sure “he’s playing somewhere that’s competitive.”  Bernie’s take: whaddaya mean? What team has been more competitive than St. Louis over…

El Nuevo Herald is reporting that Nelson Diaz, an umpire for 26 years in Cuba, has defected to the U.S. and arrived in Miami on Sunday. Diaz was behind the plate when Cuba sent a team to Baltimore for an exhibition against the Orioles in 1999. He also worked in the 2006 World Baseball Classic…

SI.com’s Jon Heyman tweets that the Tigers offered Edwin Jackson to the Mariners for right-handers Brandon Morrow and Shawn Kelley, yet were turned down. It might well be the end of trade talks between the two teams, since it’s hard to imagine Detroit taking much less for their 26-year-old right-hander. Jackson faded in a big…

A couple of weeks ago I wrote that the Yankees would certainly re-sign Hideki Matsui because all of the marketing that surrounds him essentially allows him to pay his own keep. Today Buster Olney tweets that Matsui’s marketability is “no factor” in whether or not they re-sign him, and that, for the Yankees, “it is…

In a rather surprising development, TBS has opted to part ways with lead baseball voice Chip Caray, even though he had time remaining on his contract. Caray received a great deal of criticism for his work in October. Most notable was his botched call in AL Central tiebreaker game between the Twins and Tigers, where…

For every pie in the sky ballpark deal floating around out there, there’s always a story like this later: Funding to pay off debt on Great American Ball Park, the home of the Cincinnati Reds, and Paul Brown Stadium, the home of the Cincinnati Bengals, is expected to be $14 million short next year, so…

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…

Wil Ledezma (a) once missed time during the season because he ran his passport and Visa through the washing machine; (b) was non-tendered after the 2008 season; (c) wasn’t signed for 2009 until late December, and even then it was by the worst team in baseball; and (d) put up a 9.53 ERA in five…

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…

The Rangers’ economic doom and gloom is almost exclusively attributable to Tom Hicks’ practice of loading the team’s parent company — Hicks Sports Group — with boatloads (and soccer team loads) of debt. Unable to make their cash calls, the group has had to be bailed out by Major League Baseball once already, and Hicks…

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…

In counseling against an Adrian Gonzalez trade, I’ve cited the idea that the Padres can’t trade him during season ticket renewal season because otherwise an already depressed and apathetic fan base may get even more turned off, if that’s even possible. Well, turns out that the fan base may not be as depressed and apathetic…

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…

Some of you may be wondering why I didn’t drop off and disappear at 11AM like I usually do. The reason: I have nowhere to drop off to.  I quit my legal job last week.  I also retired ShysterBall, the baseball blog I’ve written since 2007, most recently for the Hardball Times. Starting today I…

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,…

Derek Jeter wasn’t the MVP of his own league in his own sport but, according to Sports Illustrated, he’s now the Sportsman of the Year: “It’s unbelievable. It was completely unexpected. It came out of the blue,” Jeter told The Associated Press during a break in the photo shoot. “When I heard it, what can…

Thanks to the curly mullet, the swing-from-his-heels approach and the big postseason homer in Philly last year, Matt Stairs would be awesome even if he didn’t have a street named after him.  Now, however, he has a street named after him: On Saturday, the free-agent rightfielder, who played for the Phillies the past two seasons,…

Mike DiGiovanna and Dylan Hernandez of the L.A. Times write that both the Dodgers and the Angels are limited in what they can do this offseason due to payroll restrictions.  The Angels have roughly $12 million to work with.  The Dodgers have their own problems of course, but even if you don’t look at the…