Steve Kornacki of Booth Newspapers was the lone writer to give Justin Verlander a first-place vote in the AL Cy Young balloting announced Tuesday. The decision didn’t cost Zack Greinke a unanimous selection — Felix Hernandez claimed two first-place votes — but it did move Verlander past CC Sabathia into third place in the voting.…

A source told FOXSports.com that the Cardinals, Dodgers, Mets, Mariners, Astros, Rangers and Orioles have expressed early interest in free agent John Smoltz. That there are three AL clubs in the group of seven teams is a bit of a surprise. It figured that the interest in Smoltz would be mostly concentrated among NL teams,…

Sure, $1.25 million is barely a drop in the bucket for the Bombers, but why spend it if you don’t have to? The Yankees on Tuesday declined Sergio Mitre’s $1.25 million option for 2010, but did so while retaining the 28-year-old’s rights for 2009. That’s because Mitre is short of the six years of service…

* General manager Ed Wade said that the Astros “are not prepared to close any doors with” free agent Miguel Tejada, but Brian McTaggart of MLB.com speculates that the 35-year-old may asked to move from shortstop to third base if he re-signs. * Scott Olsen is feeling good following season-ending shoulder surgery, but the Nationals…

Zack Greinke took home his first Cy Young award this afternoon, receiving 25 of 28 first-place votes from the Baseball Writers Association of America. He was second on the other three ballots. Of the three first-place votes not given to Greinke, two went to Felix Hernandez and one went to Justin Verlander. Greinke should have…

By declining Alex Gonzalez’s option for next season the Red Sox moved Jed Lowrie back atop their shortstop depth chart for now, but Peter Gammons of ESPN.com reports that “it is clear they want Lowrie to play at Pawtucket, make up for what amounts to a lost season, and prove that his wrist will hold…

General manager Tony Reagins has shot down a FOXSports.com report claiming that the Angels are among three AL teams seriously pursuing free agent Matt Holliday, saying: “He’s a talented player, but our focus is not on him right now.” The assumption, of course, is that Reagins’ focus is on re-signing John Lackey and/or Chone Figgins…

Later today the Baseball Writers Association of America will announce their choice for AL Cy Young, but first here’s how my ballot would look: 1. Zack Greinke, Kansas City 2. Felix Hernandez, Seattle 3. Roy Halladay, Toronto 4. Justin Verlander, Detroit 5. CC Sabathia, New York Zack Greinke was the best pitcher in the American…

The Twins have a new house, so they have to have new clothes.  The duds Mr. Span is wearing to the right are actually the new throwback alternates, which everyone (Span included) thinks look better than the actual new homies.  They’ll only be worn at home on Opening Day and on Saturdays, but if the…

Ken Rosenthal talked to Pedro Martinez’s agent who says that Pedro is “absolutely” coming back, that he feels “rejuvenated” and that this time he wants to pitch all season, not just be a mid-season rental. This is great in the sense that Pedro Martinez is awesome and is great to have around baseball for all kinds…

Not a terribly notable one, though.  It’s Hisanori Takahashi, a 34 year-old lefty from the Yomiuri Giants who has declared free agency and wants to pitch in U.S.. The only things I could find out about the guy is that (a) he had a couple of decent years as a starter a few years ago; (b)…

Wilpon-bilker Bernie Madoff wasn’t the only fraudster with baseball connections.  This year’s other high profile Ponzi artist — Allen Stanford — had multiple baseball players as clients, all of whom had a portion of their assets frozen as the case against the Texas investor started to break last February. Eventually the funds became unfrozen and…

The Mets could use a pitcher — they could use a lot of things actually — and according to Adam Rubin of the Daily News, they are seriously interested in free agent Joel Piniero. Piniero doesn’t walk anyone. Indeed, he was the least walkinest pitcher in baseball, allowing a mere 1.14 per nine innings last…

This should be a no-brainer.  The only reason — and it’s not a good reason — that anyone would not have Zack Greinke listed #1 on their ballot is because they don’t think his 16 wins for an awful team are worth the 19 wins CC Sabathia, Felix Hernandez and Justin Verlander posted for good…

Annoyingly, Ken Rosenthal and Jon Paul Morosi have been doing a blog that’s not a blog for FOXSports. Rosenthal is the best in the biz at putting legitimate rumors out there, but FOX has made it more and more difficult to access his latest tidbits, with too much content that doesn’t carry over to RSS…

Free Agency Preview – Catcher Free Agency Preview – First base & DH Free Agency Preview – Second base Free Agency Preview – Third base This is part five in a series of columns looking at this winter’s free agents, trade candidates and non-tender possibilities. I’ll be making predictions for the key free agents, but…

With all of the rumors swirling about budgetary problems potentially forcing a Brandon Phillips deal, some will be surprised that the Reds didn’t simply let Ramon Hernandez leave as a free agent. After all, Ryan Hanigan is younger, makes the minimum and was a more effective player than Hernandez last season. The Reds could have…

In case you missed it — and most everyone did — the Twins recently engaged in a modestly shady transaction, adding Juan Morillo to their 40-man roster in advance of him becoming a minor league free agent. It wasn’t an unusual move in itself, but the Twins didn’t do it with an eye towards having…

One of the many things that make offseason rumors so frustrating to follow is that even the most respected names in the baseball reporting business often vary wildly on what they’re reporting. Today provides a good example, as Jon Paul Morosi of FOXSports.com writes that “the Yankees, who need a left fielder, are interested” in…

This morning I laid out my Rookie of the Year picks, choosing A’s reliever Andrew Bailey in the American League and Pirates center fielder Andrew McCutchen in the National League. This afternoon the Baseball Writers Association of America announced their actual selections, agreeing with me on Bailey for the AL award while going with Marlins…