It wouldn’t be an MLB offseason without a juicy PED scandal right? Well here you go. Courtesy of Tim Elfrink of the Miami NewTimes, some significant names have been associated with a Miami clinic that has been linked to supplying drugs to several people ranging from University coaches, to current MLB players. Of course there will be a lot of work done to check the validity of the story and the list, but Elfrink says [...]

Blue Jays general manager Alex Anthopoulos indicated yesterday that recently acquired Josh Thole will begin the season with Triple-A Buffalo while another former Met, Henry Blanco, will serve as J.P. Arencibia‘s backup. Blanco, 41, was recently signed to a non-guaranteed, one-year deal, “Blanco has not been guaranteed the job at all,” Anthopoulos explained. “That’s why he’s on a non-guaranteed contract. But again, if it works out that Blanco’s the backup and Thole ends up being optioned down here, organizationally [...]

Two notable rule changes will take place this season. One will be that translators are now allowed to come with coaches during mound visits. The other will be the banishment of the fake-to-first, throw-to-third move. I want to analyze both, but before I do it’s important to be cognizant of the sensitivity surrounding the former. I write this with a complete understanding that many fans will be a part of the just-learn-English crowd. Albeit, that’s [...]

Jeff Passan of Yahoo! Sports reports that free agent reliever Rafael Soriano has agreed to a two-year, $28 million contract with the Washington Nationals. As a result of the signing, the Nationals will have to surrender the team’s first round pick in the 2013 amateur draft, while the Yankees will receive a compensatory pick sandwiched between the first and second rounds. Soriano was one of three remaining free agents with draft pick compensation attached. All three of them (Soriano, Kyle [...]

Mike Piazza may have been shutout by the Baseball Writers which you can read below, but according to Adam Rubin, he could very well be inducted into the Mets Hall of Fame during the 2013 season. The Mets’ Hall of Fame committee — which has included team employees Dave Howard and Jay Horwitz, former player Al Jackson and media members Gary Cohen, Howie Rose and Marty Noble — is expected to meet before spring training [...]

With the Nationals now officially re-signing Adam LaRoche, GM Mike Rizzo is speaking to 5-6 teams about a trade involving Mike Morse according to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports. The Mets are rumored to be one of those teams. Morse hits rightys and leftys equally well batting .292/.343/.487 vs RHPs in his career with a .303/.357/.503 line vs LHPs. In 2012, he had a .291/.326/.478 slash vs RHPs, with a .290/.306/.449 line vs LHPs. Morse, 30, will earn [...]

Yesterday, Clayton did a nice job digging up as many Hall of Fame ballots as he could to put together a sneak preview of what we could expect on Wednesday when the BBWAA will announce who will be inducted into Cooperstown. With about 12% of all the ballots in, it looks like Mike Piazza will not have nearly enough votes to make the Class of 2013, and in fact the data shows that only second [...]

Free agent Nick Swisher has agreed to a four-year, $56 million contract with the Cleveland Indians, as first reported by Mark Feinsand of the Daily News. Feinsand adds that the contract includes a vesting option for a fifth season that could bring the deal’s value to $70 million. The 32-year-old Swisher spent the last four seasons with the New York Yankees and batted .272 this year with 24 homers and 93 RBIs. The Mariners have agreed to terms with outfielder/DH Raul Ibanez on [...]

2012 saw Miguel Cabrera become the first Triple Crown winner in 45 years. I wonder if Tigers GM Dave Dombrowski has considered trading Cabrera. Surely after putting up numbers like that he could definitely get some good prospects. We had a pitcher once who seemed to be slipping. He was approaching 33, his best years behind him. Over his last two seasons, his ERA rose 26%, his strikeouts decreased by about 8%, his wins dropped [...]

The Reds and Indians are deep in talks that would send Shin-Soo Choo to Cincinnati, according to Danny Knobler of CBS Sports. The Indians would receive center fielder Drew Stubbs and shortstop Didi Gregorius in return. The Reds are expected to receive another player in addition to Choo. The Reds plan to use Choo in center field and as their leadoff man. Choo has played just 10 games in center field for the Indians, none since 2009. But the [...]

Peter Abraham of the Boston Globe caught up with Pedro Martinez who was at former teammate David Ortiz‘s celebrity golf fundraiser in the Dominican Republic yesterday. The always outspoken Martinez had plenty to say about the steroids era as well as his own career and legacy. “I never had a complaint. I don’t have it. I think I did it the best way possible,” he said on Friday. “What would have happened if I had a level [...]