Twins Sign Mike Maroth To Minor League Deal With MLB Spring Invite

mike mMike Maroth, LHP: A veteran with five-plus years of experience with Detroit and St. Louis, Maroth has not pitched in the Majors since 2007. The lefty missed the entire '08 season following shoulder surgery and signed with Toronto last winter. But he was released by the Blue Jays organization after he did not make the team out of Spring Training. He holds a career 50-67 record with a 5.05 ERA in the Majors.

Twins Official Site

Cardinals Have Four Remaining Spots To Fill

The Cardinals don't have to go to Plan B. However, Plan A is not completely finished yet.

Cardinals Official Site

Giants Can Do Better Than Rick Ankiel

My gut reaction to Ankiel was, "Go get him." But after getting scolded by fans/readers for not checking facts thoroughly enough on other players, I must conclude that even at this late juncture, the Giants can do better than Ankiel. His advanced defensive metrics aren't overwhelming and his OPS was a shockingly low .672 last year. A more attractive option would be Ryan Church, to name another under-the-radar, left-handed-batting outfielder.

Giants Official Site

Cardinals Contact Melvin Mora's Agent

Mora, meanwhile, said several clubs have contacted his agent, including the Colorado Rockies, St. Louis Cardinals and Los Angeles Angels. Last month, Mora said, he spoke to Rockies manager Jim Tracy at length on the phone, and he said he talks regularly with Mets ace Johan Santana, who wants him to play for New York.

Baltimore Sun

Miguel Negron & Two DSL Players Suspended 50 Games

Former first-round pick and two-time Southern League All-Star Miguel Negron was one of three Minor Leaguers suspended for drug usage on Friday.

MiLB

Brewers To Meet With Mark Mulder Next Week

Melvin and members of his staff will meet next week in Phoenix with left-hander Mark Mulder, who has barely pitched since 2006 while recovering from a pair of rotator cuff surgeries. The Brewers will see if it makes sense to sign Mulder to a minor-league deal with incentives for making the big-league club.

Journal Sentinel

Cardinals Winter League Notebook 1-8-10

Amaury Cazana repeats the player of the day in our daily report on St. Louis Cardinals prospects past and present in winter ball.

The Cardinal Nation

Q&A With Chris Perez

Kerry Wood remains in tow, but the Indians' closer-in-waiting very well may be Chris Perez.

Indians Official Site

Matt Holliday On The Bernie Miklasz Show 1-8-10

Matt Holliday says he was always going to consider the Cardinals final offer, and he figured out St. Louis was a good fit for him right away. He appreciates how the team plays hard and takes the game seriously. Matt expects a lot from himself and he says he will not be outworked until he retires.

101 ESPN

You Could Look It Up: First-Base Horrors

I had a brief moment of confusion when the Braves said they'd be signing Eric Hinske earlier this week. "Is he going to be the regular first baseman? Man, they’ve really gone cheap," I thought, having momentarily forgotten the existence of Troy Glaus after his finally signing earlier this week. I don’t feel embarrassed about this at all, because it’s easy to forget Glaus, given that he played only 14 games last year. With Glaus’ health history—he also spent extensive time on the shelf in 2003, 2004, and 2007—and Chipper Jones’ reliable fragility, it is not at all unreasonable to ask how often Hinske might play, and if a team that intends to compete for a division title can live with having him as a regular bat.

Baseball Prospectus

Orioles Interested In Russell Branyan

Delgado has been serving as the designated hitter, but the Orioles consider him an option at first base. They also have interest in Hank Blalock, Adam LaRoche, Russell Branyan and Chad Tracy, but only want to offer a one-year deal for any corner infielder. LaRoche reportedly turned down a two-year, $17 million offer from the Giants.

MASN Sports

Scott Boras: Market Set To Move For Rick Ankiel

Agent Scott Boras said with top-tier outfielders Jason Bay and Matt Holliday now signed for 2010 — and well beyond — the market will shift to the next level of available free-agent outfielders, one that includes his client and former St. Louis Cardinals phenom, Rick Ankiel.

Birdland

Einar Diaz To Manage Bluefield (Orioles Rookie-Level)

Former big leaguer Einar Diaz will manage Rookie Level Bluefield for the second straight season, and he'll be flanked by McCall and coach Leo Gomez. Ramon Sambo will round out the manager roster for the Gulf Coast League Orioles. Former Oriole Calvin Maduro is his pitching coach, and Milt May will join the organization after a long coaching and scouting career elsewhere.

Orioles Official Site

Cardinals Ink Seven-Year Deal With Matt Holliday

The St. Louis Cardinals announced today at a press conference that they have reached agreement with three-time All-Star outfielder Matt Holliday on a seven-year contract that runs through 2016. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed, however the team did acknowledge that it is the largest player contract in franchise history. The deal also includes an option for the 2017 season.

Cardinals Official Site

Matt Holliday Signs For $100...At Winter Warmup

The newest member of the $100-million club and now a permanent fixture of the St. Louis Cardinals lineup, outfielder Matt Holliday will appear at the 14th annual Winter Warmup and, as expected, his autograph will fetch one of the highest donations of the weekend. Tickets for Holliday’s autographs, which will cost a $100 donation to Cardinals Care, go on sale Saturday along with the rest of the tickets for autographs.
Birdland

Cardinals Care, the charitable foundation of the St. Louis Cardinals, today announced that Matt Holliday will sign autographs at the Winter Warm Up and that starting tomorrow fans will have a chance to purchase autograph tickets for other Cardinals players, including the opportunity to bid to be one of the first in line to receive an autograph from 2009 NL MVP Albert Pujols.
Cardinals Official Site

The Cardinal Nation Blog Named FoxSports.com's Blog Of The Day

I am pleased to announce that The Cardinal Nation Blog is FOXSports.com’s Blog of the Day, achieved through this site’s association with Yardbarker. What caught their attention was my unique spin on the Mark McGwire pinch-hitting story, “La Russa dreams of activating McGwire (honest)”.

The Cardinal Nation Blog

The 40% Issue

Holliday’s deal is a fair one for both the Cardinals and for Holliday, and I think it was a win-win for both sides. Holliday got a large multi-year deal, but not the Mark Texiera money he was after, and the Cardinals can pencil in one of, if not the best left fielders in the game in their lineup behind Pujols.

Cardinals GM

Writers Wrong For Hall Vote

I showed off the first Hall of Fame ballot I received after it landed in the mailbox a few years ago. It felt like some artifact from another universe had been sent in the mail to me, and I treated it like a moon rock.

ESPN

Cooperstown Confidential: Small Vs. Big, & The Hall Of Fame Vote

Over at Baseball Think Factory, writers and contributors often refer to the argument of the “small hall” vs. the “big hall.” Advocates of the “small hall” believe the Hall of Fame should be reserved for a select few, the absolute immortals of the game, such as the Ruths, the Aarons, the Wagners, the Groves, and the like. Advocates of the “big hall” believe that the Cooperstown shrine should be more inclusive, so as to include greats from a second and third tier of distinction, making room for players like Harmon Killebrew, Billy Williams and Phil Niekro.

The Hardball Times

John Mozeliak On The ITD Morning After

Cardinals GM John Mozeliak Joins The Show To Talk About The Signing Of Matt Holliday, How Holliday’s Contract Will Affect The Signing Of Albert Pujols, Mo Says David Freese Has Been Working Hard In The Offseason, Mo Says There Is A “Zero Chance” Of McGwire Being On The Active Roster, Mo Is Surprised That Tim Called Charlie A Nitwit
Inside STL

David Freese: Has 3B Job As GM Says No Interest In Miguel Tejada & Felipe Lopez

2010 Cardinals Prospect #8: Blake Hawksworth

Has the oft-injured top prospect turned the corner as an MLB reliever? Today’s article is FREE!

The Cardinal Nation

Jim Edmonds In 2014

Heartfelt congrats go out to Andre Dawson on his Hall of Fame election. I think he’s more of a “close but no cigar” candidate personally, but I don’t think his election is an injustice by any means. Dawson was a very, very good baseball player for a long portion if his career. I remember tuning in to day games on WGN as a kid just to watch Dawson and Sandberg, and to listen to Harry Caray. I loved the Whiteyball era, but I envied the Cubs’ middle of the lineup. We had the “rabbits”, they had the thump.

Play A Hard Nine

Cardinals Believe Matt Holliday Deal Is Start Of Decade Of Success; Joe Crede A Good Fit For Cardinals?

Cardinals General Manager John Mozeliak said Thursday signing Matt Holliday to a seven-year contract was a move which he hopes will put the franchise on “the path for another decade of success.”

STL Globe-Democrat

Rick Ankiel Falling Off Pirates List

Ankiel had been the Pirates' top target among position players, but that no longer seems to be the case even though they remain open to having him.

Ankiel's agent, Scott Boras, is selling his client as an everyday player, and there is cause of Boras' stance despite Ankiel slumping to a .231 average and 11 home runs last season with the St. Louis Cardinals: The previous year, Ankiel batted .264 with 25 home runs and 71 RBIs, he is a superb defender, and he is 30 years old.

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Cardinals Caravan Lineup Set For Modern Woodmen Park

A left-handed pitcher who is expected to compete for a spot in the St. Louis Cardinals' starting rotation and two former first-round draft picks are among players who will participate in the Quad-Cities stop of the 2010 Cardinals Caravan.
Quad-City Times

A quartet of highly-touted prospects make up the lineup of active players participating in the Cardinals Caravan stopping at Modern Woodmen Park on January 18th. Former first-round draft picks, pitcher Adam Ottavino and infielder Tyler Greene, headline the list of active players which also includes pitchers Jason Motte and Jamie Garcia. All four players made a stop in the Quad Cities during the 2006 season on their journey through the Cardinals system.
Quad Cities River Bandits Official Site

Want To Intern At Baseball Prospectus?

Baseball Prospectus is looking for its next crop of interns to assist in a variety of areas for the upcoming season, ranging from statistical research to database querying to copy editing and all the way to playing video games with Marc Normandin. Okay, maybe not that last part, but definitely the first few and more. You’ll get to work on cutting edge baseball analysis with some of coolest people on the web (is that an oxymoron?). In the past, some of our interns have graduated into contributors and authors for the site, and others have gone on to work for major league teams.

Baseball Prospectus

Mark McGwire Pinch Hitting For The Cardinals In 2010 Could Restart His Hall Of Fame Clock

Cardinals manager Tony La Russa threw a wicked curveball in an interview with the Contra Costa Times, saying that if his club is in a tight division race come late August, he might break out a secret weapon for the stretch run: former single-season home run king Mark McGwire.

NY Daily News

Cardinals Caravan At Modern Woodmen Park Sold Out

For the sixth consecutive year, the 2010 Cardinals Caravan, making a January 18th stop at Modern Woodmen Park, has sold out. All 375 seats for this year's visit were sold within two weeks of going on sale.

Quad Cities River Bandits Official Site

With Matt Holliday Signed, Focus Turns To Albert Pujols

As the Cardinals introduced Matt Holliday as their newest re-acquisition, an air of celebration filled the press conference room at Busch Stadium. In under 24 hours, though, the club's front office gets back to work on matters large and small -- one of them bigger and potentially even more difficult than retaining Holliday's services for seven more years.

Cardinals Official Site

Cardinals' Matt Holliday To Wear #7

With his record contract freshly signed, Cardinals outfielder Matt Holliday had the deal he wanted, the security he desired, and the team he preferred. But there was one number too big for even him to request.

STL Today

Dividing The Cardinals Payroll Pie

The Cardinals officially regained a left fielder Thursday. Unofficially they began to change their "model."

STL Today