According to Tim Brown of Yahoo Sports, former Met Carlos Beltran has signed a two-year deal worth $25 million dollars with the St. Louis Cardinals. Beltran reportedly turned down a couple of three-year offers to join St. Louis for a chance to contend. Last season, Beltran batted .300/.385/.525 in 598 plate appearances for the Mets and Giants, but more importantly stayed healthy all year long. The Twins meanwhile, signed starting pitcher Jason Marquis who the Mets [...]

According to Keith Law of ESPN, the Oakland Athletics will trade LHP Gio Gonzalez to the Washington Nationals for four minor leaguers; right-handers A.J. Cole and Brad Peacock, left-hander Tom Milone and catcher Derek Norris. Three of the players the Nats gave up were on their top-ten prospects list. Gonzalez, 25, will be under team control through the 2015 season and joins what is now a solid, young rotation brimming with talent and upside. Meanwhile, the A’s continue to sell everything but the [...]

The Texas Rangers have won the posting auction of Japanese right-hander Yu Darvish with a record $51.7M bid, sources tell Jeff Passan of Yahoo! Sports. The Japanese phenom’s agent, Arn Tellem. issued the following statement: “The Rangers are an extraordinary franchise in an exceptional city with equally exceptional fans,” Tellem said. ’”Yu is honored to be prized so highly and recognized as a once-in-a-generation pitcher. We look forward to getting negotiations underway.” The Rangers now have until January [...]

Former Met Endy Chavez is headed to the Baltimore Orioles according to Dan Connolly of the Baltimore Sun. Chavez will earn $1.5 million in 2012 with the potential to earn another $500,000 in performance bonuses. Chavez, 33, played in 83 games last season with the Texas Ranger, batting .301 with five homers, ten stolen bases and 37 runs scored in 256 at-bats. The Mets were reportedly interested in bringing Chavez back, but Endy may have become too costly for the [...]

Former Met Carlos Beltran is receiving interest from several teams including the Red Sox, Cardinals, Blue Jays, and Rays. According to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports, Beltran is being extensively looked at by the Cardinals as an offensive alternative.  With Albert Pujols now in Anahiem, the Cards are looking at everyone in order to replenish their offense.  If the Cardinals pickup Carlos Beltran, then its going to be interesting to see if he still has [...]

J-Roll Is Back The Phillies and shortstop Jimmy Rollins have agreed to a three-year deal with a vesting option for a fourth year. The deal is worth approximately $33 million guaranteed. Rollins hit .268 with 16 home runs, 63 runs batted in, and 30 stolen bases last year while playing his usual Gold Glove defense at shortstop. Pads Get Big Haul For Latos The Reds and Padres announced a five-player deal Saturday, as Cincinnati sent right-hander [...]

After being non-tendered on Monday evening to make room on the 40-man roster for free-agent acquisition Jon Rauch, outfielder Mike Baxter is back with organization. The Mets announced that Baxter has agreed to a minor-league deal to remain with the club and also received an invitation to spring training. The Queens native batted .235 in 22 games for the Mets last season.

A major-league source confirmed that the Phillies have agreed to a one-year deal for under $1 million dollars with Dontrelle Willis pending a physical. Willis posted a 5.00 ERA in 75 2/3 innings for Cincinnati in 2011, but the Phillies apparently saw enough to guarantee the lefthander a one-year contract for 2012 based mostly on how effective he was against left-handed batters. The D-Train’s career numbers against lefties are tremendous, holding them to a .200 [...]

The positive result was triggered by elevated levels of testosterone in Braun’s system, the sources told “Outside the Lines.” A subsequent, more comprehensive test revealed the testosterone was synthetic — not produced by Braun’s body. Every individual naturally produces testosterone and a substance called epitestosterone, typically at a ratio of 1-to-1. In Major League Baseball, if the ratio comes in at 4-to-1 or higher during testing, a player is deemed to have tested positive. The [...]

Wow, hang onto your checkbooks, the Los Angeles Angels have just agreed to a deal with Albert Pujols that is worth a reported ten years and $250-260MM according to Tim Brown of Yahoo Sports. The deal includes a full no-trade clause. Pujols, 32, was drafted by the Cardinals in 1999 and it’s been the only team he’s known during his tremendous 11 year career which includes a Rookie of the Year award and three MVP awards. According to MLBTR, [...]