24 players offered salary arbitration
(Tue, 02 Dec 2008 02:31:00 EDT)
CC Sabathia and Manny Ramirez headlined a group of 24 players offered arbitration by their '08 teams. A.J. Burnett, Derek Lowe and Oliver Perez were also offered arbitration.

Yanks offer arbitration to none
(Mon, 01 Dec 2008 18:13:00 EDT)
The Yankees have decided not to offer arbitration to any of their eligible free agents, GM Brian Cashman said on Monday evening in a statement released through the club.

Hampton returning to Astros
(Tue, 02 Dec 2008 00:32:00 EDT)
The Astros have a deal in place with left-hander Mike Hampton, MLB.com has learned. Hampton, 36, will be in Houston either Monday or Tuesday to take the physical.

Many Hall candidates out of left field
(Mon, 01 Dec 2008 12:05:00 EDT)
No left fielder has been elected to the Hall of Fame since Carl Yastrzemski in 1989. That's likely to change in 2009, as stolen base king Rickey Henderson is on the ballot for the first time.

Save big on MLB caps, outerwear
(Tue, 02 Dec 2008 00:00:00 EDT)
Looking for a cap? Need a jacket to brave the offseason cold? If so, check out the MLB.com Shop for great new deals on caps and jackets emblazoned with your favorite team's colors and logo.

Tazawa to sign with Red Sox
(Mon, 01 Dec 2008 23:06:00 EDT)
The Red Sox will finally end their discreet courtship of Junichi Tazawa by officially announcing the signing of the 22-year-old righty from Japan, perhaps as early as Tuesday.

Arbitration offer to Manny protects LA
(Mon, 01 Dec 2008 21:23:00 EDT)
The Dodgers on Monday offered salary arbitration to free-agent outfielder Manny Ramirez to ensure draft-pick compensation if Ramirez signs with another club.

Jays offer arbitration to Burnett
(Mon, 01 Dec 2008 18:51:00 EDT)
The Blue Jays don't want to wind up empty-handed in the event that A.J. Burnett decides not to re-sign with the club this winter. That being the case, Toronto offered the pitcher arbitration on Monday, securing some compensation in the process.

Tigers won't take risk with Renteria
(Mon, 01 Dec 2008 16:40:00 EDT)
If and when Edgar Renteria signs a free-agent contract with another club, the Tigers will not be receiving any Draft pick compensation for the loss. That was decided Monday, when Detroit declined to offer Renteria arbitration.

Mariners offer Ibanez arbitration
(Mon, 01 Dec 2008 17:30:00 EDT)
The Mariners offered free agent Raul Ibanez salary arbitration on Monday, but similar offers were not made to utility players Willie Bloomquist and Miguel Cairo.

Red Sox offer arbitration to 'Tek, Byrd
(Mon, 01 Dec 2008 22:11:00 EDT)
The Red Sox offered salary arbitration to Type-A free agent Jason Varitek and Type-B free agent Paul Byrd on Monday, meaning Boston will get compensatory Draft picks should the players sign elsewhere.

Mets offer arbitration to lefty Perez
(Mon, 01 Dec 2008 20:53:00 EDT)
The Mets offered salary arbitration to Oliver Perez on Monday, thereby assuring themselves of compensation should the free-agent pitcher opt to sign with a different club.

Brewers offer three arbitration
(Mon, 01 Dec 2008 17:22:00 EDT)
With today's 10:59 p.m. CT deadline to extend arbitration to their free agents, the Brewers made offers to CC Sabathia, Ben Sheets and Brian Shouse.

Manny, Blake, Lowe offered arbitration
(Mon, 01 Dec 2008 21:58:00 EDT)
The Dodgers on Monday offered salary arbitration to three of their 14 free agents: outfielder Manny Ramirez, pitcher Derek Lowe and infielder Casey Blake.

Anderson left out of arbitration offers
(Mon, 01 Dec 2008 21:00:00 EDT)
The Angels have offered arbitration to free agents Francisco Rodriguez, Mark Teixeira, Darren Oliver and Jon Garland but did not extend an offer to Garret Anderson.

Wood gets no arbitration offer
(Mon, 01 Dec 2008 20:06:00 EDT)
The Cubs declined to offer arbitration to any of their free agents, including Kerry Wood, before Monday's deadline, foregoing compensatory Draft picks for players signing elsewhere.

Braves don't offer Smoltz arbitration
(Mon, 01 Dec 2008 20:31:00 EDT)
As expected, the Braves didn't offer arbitration to any of their free agents. All Major League teams had until midnight ET on Monday to make arbitration offers to their respective free agents.

Grudzielanek looking beyond Royals
(Mon, 01 Dec 2008 20:14:00 EDT)
Second baseman Mark Grudzielanek indicated on Monday that he'll decline the Royals' offer of salary arbitration, but expressed praise for the organization and the fans for his three seasons with the team.

Rockies offer arbitration to Fuentes
(Mon, 01 Dec 2008 19:50:00 EDT)
The Rockies on Monday offered arbitration to free-agent left-handed reliever Brian Fuentes, ensuring themselves of two Draft picks should he sign with another club or a chance to retain him if he doesn't receive an offer he likes on the open market.

Padres decline arbitration for Hoffman
(Mon, 01 Dec 2008 20:25:00 EDT)
San Diego general manager Kevin Towers said on Monday the Padres opted not to offer arbitration to Major League career saves leader Trevor Hoffman.

Phillies decline to make offers to four
(Tue, 02 Dec 2008 01:47:00 EDT)
Perhaps mindful of the raises Pat Burrell or Jamie Moyer might earn through salary arbitration, the Phillies opted not to offer arbitration to any of their four eligible free agents before Monday's deadline.

Rangers offer Bradley arbitration
(Mon, 01 Dec 2008 22:31:00 EDT)
The Rangers offered Type B free agent Milton Bradley salary arbitration on Monday, but declined to so the same for pitchers Jason Jennings and Jamey Wright and infielder Ramon Vazquez. Bradley has until Sunday to accept the offer.

Cards make no arbitration offers
(Mon, 01 Dec 2008 18:51:00 EDT)
With Monday at 10:59 p.m. CT the deadline for teams to offer arbitration to their free agents, the Cardinals made offers to none of theirs.

O's decline to offer four arbitration
(Mon, 01 Dec 2008 20:10:00 EDT)
The Orioles declined on Monday to offer arbitration to any of their four free agents -- Kevin Millar, Jay Payton, Juan Castro and Alex Cintron. Of the four, Millar may have the best chance to return if the O's can't sign free agent Mark Teixeira.

A's letting deadline pass on arbitration
(Mon, 01 Dec 2008 21:30:00 EDT)
As expected, the A's on Monday night announced that they will not offer arbitration to any of their four free agents: left-hander Alan Embree, righty Keith Foulke, designated hitter Frank Thomas and outfielder Emil Brown.

D-backs offer arbitration to trio
(Mon, 01 Dec 2008 22:30:00 EDT)
The Diamondbacks offered salary arbitration to three of their five free-agent players hours before Monday's deadline.

Rays do not offer salary arbitration
(Mon, 01 Dec 2008 19:16:00 EDT)
Monday night's free-agency deadline is now a moot point, as the Rays decided not to offer arbitration to any of their players before the midnight ET deadline.

Reds offer arbitration to Weathers
(Tue, 02 Dec 2008 02:14:00 EDT)
Before Monday's 11:59 p.m. ET deadline, the Reds offered salary arbitration to free-agent reliever David Weathers.

At least three offers made for Cubs
(Mon, 01 Dec 2008 18:04:00 EDT)
In the latest round of bidding for the Cubs, who are being sold by the Tribune Co., at three offers came in for the historic franchise.

Lefty Reyes offered arbitration by Twins
(Mon, 01 Dec 2008 17:06:00 EDT)
The Twins have offered arbitration to free agent left-hander Dennys Reyes, general manager Bill Smith confirmed Monday afternoon.

Giants decline to offer arbitration
(Mon, 01 Dec 2008 23:09:00 EDT)
Giants officials surely were interested observers Monday as the Tigers declined to offer salary arbitration to shortstop Edgar Renteria, who San Francisco has considered signing in free agency.

Reds make pitch for Rhodes
(Tue, 02 Dec 2008 02:47:00 EDT)
Free agent Arthur Rhodes' agent, Dan Horwits, confirmed to MLB.com on Monday that Cincinnati has recently made a contract offer to the veteran reliever.

Astros to announce decisions
(Tue, 02 Dec 2008 02:00:00 EDT)
The Astros had until 11 p.m. CT on Monday to offer their four remaining free agents arbitration, but the club has decided to not make that information public until Tuesday morning.

Rockies, Rusch play waiting game
(Mon, 01 Dec 2008 22:44:00 EDT)
The Rockies liked having left-handed pitcher Glendon Rusch, and Rusch enjoyed being with them. But as is the case with just about every lefty on the market, Rusch and the Rockies are waiting.

Cards prospect Vivas suspended
(Mon, 01 Dec 2008 19:30:00 EDT)
Major League Baseball announced on Monday that Wilfred Vivas, a Minor Leaguer in the Cardinals organization, has been suspended for violation of the Minor League Drug Prevention and Treatment Program. Vivas will be suspended for the first 50 games of the 2009 season.