Hall Of Fame Game Slated For May 23 At Doubleday Field

Hall of Famers Rollie Fingers, Tom Glavine, Phil Niekro and Ozzie Smith are returning to Doubleday Field for the annual Hall of Fame Classic.

Joy1340

Chris Carpenter & Ryan Franklin To Represent Cardinals At 2014 MLB Draft

St. Louis Official Twitter

From heyday to someday.
St. Louis Official Site

Rollie Fingers, Ozzie Smith, David Eckstein, Kerry Robinson, Reggie Sanders, & Jack Wilson To Participate In Hall of Fame Classic

Seventy-five years ago, baseball’s biggest stars came to Cooperstown for a late-spring celebration of the National Pastime.

Baseball Hall Of Fame

Dan Wheeler Retires

Chris Cotillo Twitter

Royals Release Dan Wheeler

Right-handed reliever Dan Wheeler, impressive in Spring Training with the Royals before being assigned to Triple-A Omaha, has been released.

Kansas City Official Site

Xavier Nady Provides Versatility, Right-Handed Power Bat

Xavier Nady's return under a Minor League contract gives the Royals a possible right-handed power source at the corners of the outfield or infield.

Kansas City Official Site

Bullpen Help A Hot Commodity

Relief pitchers are viewed by many as the most volatile assets in baseball.

That remains the case now, maybe more than ever before. And that is why relievers will again be among the most desired – and fickle – commodities at the trade deadline.

Fox Sports

Dennys Reyes Makes Red Sox Roster

Aceves, a righty, and Okajima, a lefty, were optioned to Triple-A Pawtucket on Monday because they can be. The two had options remaining in their contracts. Meanwhile, right-hander Matt Albers and left-hander Dennys Reyes, who were picked for those two relief spots, did not have options and would've had to clear waivers -- an unlikely proposition -- for Boston to keep them.

Red Sox Official Site

Teams Watching To See What Red Sox Do With Dennys Reyes, Rich Hill

Dennys Reyes, LHP, Red Sox — Scouts are watching what the Sox decide in the pen, because Reyes is becoming a hot commodity. Scouts like his ability to get outs and his cool nature in tough situations. This is a tough call for the Sox, who also have Hideki Okajima on a one-year guaranteed contract ($1.75 million). There also is interest in Rich Hill.

Boston Globe

Time To Be Home: Russ Springer Retires After 18-Season MLB Career

Pitcher Russ Springer has thought about retiring numerous times in recent years, and he even announced before the 2004 season that he was retiring, only to return when the Houston Astros beckoned later that season.

The Town Talk

Cardinals Have Minor Interest In Jeremy Bonderman

2. Jeremy Bonderman, RHP, free agent — He still hopes to hook on to the end of a rotation somewhere. The Yankees have been in contact with Bonderman’s agents, and there’s minor interest from Texas and St. Louis. Bonderman made 29 starts last season for the Tigers but had a 5.53 ERA and an 8-10 record. He is only 28 and did not suffer any aftereffects from the blood clot in his shoulder that essentially took away almost two years of his career. But he just hasn’t returned to his previous form.

Boston Globe

Source: Kyle Farnsworth Nears One-Year Deal With Rays

Free agent reliever Kyle Farnsworth is approaching an agreement on a one-year contract with the Tampa Bay Rays, a person familiar with the negotiations told The Associated Press.

Sports Illustrated

Hideki Okajima, Red Sox Re-Up With One-Year Pact

It turns out that the parting of ways between the Red Sox and Hideki Okajima was just temporary. After non-tendering the lefty reliever on Dec. 2, Boston re-signed him to a one-year, $1.75 million deal on Monday.

Red Sox Official Site

Was J.D. Drew Dropoff A Fluke?

Right fielder J.D. Drew never seemed like himself in 2010. His hot streaks were shorter and his slumps were longer, and he didn't seem to be moving around in the outfield quite the same as in the past. Drew was candid that he was affected by what he interpreted was a wider strike zone last year. He will try to adapt to that this year and resume being the on-base machine Boston had come to expect the previous couple of years. This is the last year of Drew's much-scrutinized $70 million contract. He has stated in the past that this could be his final year in the Majors.

Red Sox Official Site

Red Sox Sign Bobby Jenks

According to a source with knowledge of the deal, Bobby Jenks has passed his physical and is now a member of the Red Sox. There had been a slight holdup in coordinating the acquisition of old medical records from the White Sox, but it’s been taken care of and the right-handed reliever has officially changed Sox.

Boston Herald

Worst Values Among Elias Type A & B Free Agents

This week, we’re looking at the best of the Elias-rated Type A and B free agents, the worst of the A’s and B’s and the best of the players who were neither.

Fungoes

Kevin Millwood Open To Being Traded To Contender

Acquired in an offseason trade with Texas, Millwood said he would "definitely be open" to the possibility of joining a team in the playoff hunt, but the always-professional veteran would never demand a move.

Orioles Official Site

Rays Could Look At Darren Oliver

Other possibilities might include lefties Will Ohman, Darren Oliver and Joe Beimel, another former Ray.

Rays Official Site

On The Beat: Fire Up The Hot Stove

Well, so much for the theory that the groundwork for trades is made at the general manager’s meetings and consummated at the Winter Meetings. Four significant trades were made this week, and we’re only entering our fourth day of the offseason. The GM meetings start tomorrow in Chicago, and there is better-than-even chance at least one deal will be made there. Heck, by the time the winter meetings get underway December 7 in Indianapolis, there might not be anybody left to trade. Thus, it behooves us to take a look at the trade market before it dries up.

Baseball Prospectus

Closer Report 6-10-09

Cardinals - Ryan Franklin has made the job his. Kyle McClellan could be the backup.

Roto Authority