Top Stories
Posted: Nov 08, 2009 9:01PM By Andrew Johnson (RSS feed)
Filed Under: Red Sox, MLB Transactions

The
Boston Red Sox have
declined their $6 million option on shortstop
Alex Gonzalez for next season, according to the
Boston Globe, once again leaving the team without a reliable everyday player at the position heading into offseason.
It's been a revolving door at shortstop in Boston since the team dealt
Nomar Garciaparra at the trading deadline in 2004, with general manager Theo Epstein unable to find a suitable long-term replacement.
Four different players -- Gonzalez,
Nick Green,
Julio Lugo and
Jed Lowrie -- played at least 21 games at the position this season. Between Garciaparra's departure and this season,
Orlando Cabrera,
Edgar Renteria, Gonzalez (in 2006), Lugo and Lowrie have manned the position, with the Red Sox doling out $76 million in contracts to Renteria and Lugo alone.
Posted: Nov 08, 2009 7:04PM By Tom Fornelli (RSS feed)
Filed Under: Phillies, NL East, MLB Transactions

Considering that the
Phillies made a few changes to their lineup in 2009 after winning a World Series, it shouldn't really come as a surprise that the 2010 version of the team will look a bit different as well. It was announced by the team on Sunday that they would not be picking up the option on third baseman
Pedro Feliz, who will now become a free agent.
This does not mean that Feliz won't be back with the Phillies next season, it just means that he won't be back at the price of $5.5 million. General manager Ruben Amaro Jr. did say that he
wouldn't rule out re-signing Feliz this winter in the team's official statement regarding the Feliz option.
Posted: Nov 08, 2009 5:20PM By Pat Lackey (RSS feed)
Filed Under: Dodgers, NL West, MLB Rumors

For most of the summer,
Joe Torre indicated that he was planning on retiring from managing after his contract with the
Dodgers expires in 2010. Both he and people who have followed his career closely noted that he's made similar statements in the past, and he's still in the dugout. Accordingly, Torre admitted to T.J. Simers on Sunday that
he's considering negotiating a contract extension with the Dodgers that would keep him in L.A. beyond the 2010 season.
In his two years with the Dodgers, Torre's taken the team to the NLCS twice, but failed to get past the
Phillies both times. Dating back to his years with the
Yankees, he's taken his team to a playoff spot in 14 consecutive seasons. Unsurprisingly, Dodgers GM Ned Colletti indicates in the same story that he'd be happy to negotiate with Torre, should he want an extension.
Posted: Nov 08, 2009 5:00AM By Tom Herrera (RSS feed)
Filed Under: Cubs, MLB Rumors

Sammy Sosa's skin has not been digitally altered in the recent photo you see on the left.
And despite the theories flying, this also isn't Michael Jackson Part II -- his skin hasn't been stripped of any pigment by a disorder such as Vitiligo.
It turns out Sosa has just been undergoing a "rejuvenation process," according to
Cubs employee Rebecca Polihronis, who speaks frequently with the baseball legend.
Posted: Nov 07, 2009 4:13PM By Tom Fornelli (RSS feed)
Filed Under: Dodgers, NL West, MLB Transactions

In what wasn't much of a surprise,
Los Angeles Dodgers left-fielder
Manny Ramirez has decided to exercise his player option for 2010 and will return to the
Dodgers next season. His agent Scott Boras let Dodgers general manager Ned Colletti know about Ramirez's decision on Friday night.
All of which means that Ramirez will make $20 million with the Dodgers rather than becoming a free agent, which is a smart move considering it's highly unlikely Manny would get that much money anywhere else next year. Manny didn't have the greatest season for the Dodgers in 2009, but
Colletti is confident he'll bounce back next season.
Posted: Nov 06, 2009 3:35PM By Matt Snyder (RSS feed)
Filed Under: Phillies, NL East, MLB Rumors

After eight seasons with the
Philadelphia Phillies, 29-year-old pitcher
Brett Myers will reportedly be playing for a new team in 2010. According to Jim Salisbury of the
Philadelphia Inquirer, Myers has been told by
Phillies general manager Ruben Amaro Jr., that he will definitely not be a Phillie next season. The report also states that Myers wasn't given a specific reason that he won't return.
Myers has spent his entire professional career in the Philadelphia organization after being selected in the first round in the 1999 draft. He went 73-63 with a 4.40 ERA and added 21 saves during his time in Philly.
Posted: Nov 06, 2009 1:27PM By Andrew Johnson (RSS feed)
Filed Under: Diamondbacks, Phillies, White Sox, MLB Transactions

The champagne is barely dry in the
Yankees clubhouse, but the business of 2010 is already well under way. Three trades are in the books, a number of players have already filed for free agency and
Bobby Abreu has a new deal with the
Angels.
In that vein, three clubs made decisions on contract options Friday as they held on to star players for next year. The
Phillies and
Diamondbacks both picked up the options they held on ace pitchers
Cliff Lee and
Brandon Webb, respectively, while the
White Sox bought out right fielder
Jermaine Dye.
Chicago's World Series MVP in 2005, Dye, who will turn 36 in January, was due to make $12 million in 2010. He'll instead receive $950,000 from the White Sox and hit the open market.
Posted: Nov 06, 2009 12:25PM By Matt Snyder (RSS feed)
Filed Under: Brewers, Twins, AL Central, NL Central, MLB Transactions

It was no secret
J.J. Hardy was likely going to be traded this offseason, but most believed the
Brewers would use him to acquire some desperately needed starting pitching help. Instead,
they have opted to move him to Minnesota for a young center fielder --
Carlos Gomez.
Hardy, 27, fell out of favor with the Brewers this past season as he failed to meet his previously set offensive standards. He ended the season with an abysmal .659 OPS and the Brewers have uber-prospect
Alcides Escobar waiting in the wings (he hit .304 in 38 big-league games last season). Thus, it made sense to move Hardy, who did hit 50 home runs in his previous two campaigns, for help elsewhere.
Posted: Nov 06, 2009 11:35AM By Matt Snyder (RSS feed)
Filed Under: Mets, NL East, MLB Rumors

Last offseason, in an effort to bolster their ineffective late-inning relief, the
Mets made a three-team, 12-player trade of which
J.J. Putz was the centerpiece. Putz had previously been a very effective closer for the
Mariners, but he would get eighth-inning duty for the Mets, considering they paid a hefty sum to bring in
Francisco Rodriguez to close.
Less than one year later, it appears Putz and the Mets will go their separate ways. According to Ben Shpigel of the
New York Times, the
Mets will decline Putz's $9.1 million player option for 2010 and instead buy his contract out for a cool million -- making him a free agent.
Posted: Nov 06, 2009 12:40AM By Terence Moore (RSS feed)

NEW YORK -- Oh, it was a loaded question, all right. The guy that I expected to answer was Bud Selig, whose role as baseball commissioner expands beyond the new sacred walls in the Bronx that feature the plaques of Yankee greats.
I asked the ...
Posted: Nov 05, 2009 8:19PM By Ed Price (RSS feed)

NEW YORK -- The Yankees had just begun celebrating their 27th World Series title, and first in nine years (that's 63 in Yankee-drought years), when general manager Brian Cashman was asked about people saying his team bought a title.
"You can call ...
Posted: Nov 05, 2009 8:03PM By Pat Lackey (RSS feed)

Tim Lincecum was cited by the state police in Washington for possession of marijuana this week. The pot was found in his car after he was pulled over for speeding near the Oregon border on Oct. 30. It was a small amount, and the police determined ...
Posted: Nov 05, 2009 7:30PM By Jay Mariotti (RSS feed)

NEW YORK -- He has found peace to purge his demons, love when all he had was Madonna and madams and, most importantly, truth when his past was so fake and sleazy. No matter what we once thought of Alex Rodriguez, it's difficult to hold a grudge when ...
Posted: Nov 05, 2009 7:00PM By Matt Snyder (RSS feed)

With the conclusion of the World Series, it appears Major League Baseball isn't wasting any time thrusting us directly into Hot Stove season. In the midst of Mark Teahen rumors, we have been served our first actual trade. The Boston Red Sox have ...