The Atlanta Braves have reached an agreement with catcher Gerald Laird, according to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports. The deal is reportedly for two years according to Jon Heyman. Financial terms have yet to be disclosed. Laird, 33, hit .282/.337/.374 with two home runs and 11 RBI in 191 plate appearances with the Tigers last season. After losing backup catcher David Ross to the Red Sox, the Braves needed to find a steady backup to Brian McCann who had [...]

Free agent outfielder Torii Hunter agreed Wednesday to a two-year, $26-million contract with the defending American League champion Detroit Tigers. The deal is expected to be announced after he takes a physical examination Friday. Hunter, 37, batted a career-high .313 last season. He hit .350 after the All-Star break, leading the Angels’ spirited but futile bid for a playoff berth. The Angels declined to present Hunter with a qualifying offer for one year at $13 million, thus forfeiting the [...]

The Manager of the Year award will be announced this afternoon by the Baseball Writers Association of America. You don’t usually see managers of perennially good teams win the award because they are expected to win. The writers prefer rags-to-riches stories, but sometimes it is harder to win with a bullseye on your back. I agree with the consensus, which has Washington’s Davey Johnson and Baltimore’s Buck Showalter the heavy favorites. No Mets manager has won [...]

Once again, the Arizona Diamondbacks are trying to trade right fielder Justin Upton reports Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports. Major-league sources, however, say the team is again engaged in active discussions about Upton, and one estimates the chances of him playing elsewhere next season are “80-20.” The Diamondbacks need a shortstop, and Upton possibly could bring them a player such as the Rangers’ Elvis Andrus. Upton, 25, is signed for $9.75 million next season, $14.25 million in 2014 and $14.5 [...]

Rounding The Bases is back… As we did before, we’ll highlight some of the must-read posts from the Mets beat writers, take a cruise around the Mets blogosphere, check in on our enemies, and have a little fun while we’re at it. MMO Instant Replay Connor O’Brien dished out his report cards for the Mets infielders this week and gives Josh Thole a big fat D. “Josh Thole has not become the player we thought [...]

After being denied a Rawlings NL Gold Glove as the league’s top defensive third baseman in 2012, David Wright can take solace in being named the Wilson Defensive Player of the Year for the Mets. Wright trumped Gold Glove winner Chase Headley in just about every advanced defensive metric at third base, but that didn’t stop the coaches and managers from muffing up the decision and showing just how inept and broken the voting process is. The [...]

Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports spoke with two rival executives who say “they smell a rat” in the Phillies’ pursuit of free-agent center fielder B.J. Upton. The executives believe that to gain some leverage in going after Upton this offseason, Ruben Amaro Jr. fired their hitting coach and replaced him with Steve Henderson, the Rays’ hitting coach from 2006 to ’09, to fill the same role for the Phillies. Henderson has a very close relationship with B.J. Upton. [...]

Updated Post 11/4 The Seattle Mariners announced that they have re-signed reliever Oliver Perez to a one-year contract for the 2013 season. “We are happy to have reached a mutual agreement with Oliver,” said GM Jack Zduriencik in a statement. ”He did a very nice job in helping solidify our bullpen after his call up last summer. As a veteran left-hander, and one that had adjusted very nicely to his new role, we are looking forward to his contributions as [...]

As you may have already heard, the Angels have opted against giving outfielder Torii Hunter a $13.3 million qualifying offer. After five years with Anaheim and becoming a fan favorite and an integral part of the Angels’ clubhouse, Hunter is now a free agent. Last night, veteran pitcher Dan Haren also became a free agent despite a last minute attempt to trade him and his team option to the Cubs. Although both could be re-signed by the Angels it [...]

When did the Gold Glove become an offensive award? On Tuesday, MLB announced the 2012 Gold Glove winners. Here are the winners: There are some obvious choices in there, like Beltre, Buehrle, Molina, Reddick, Heyward, and Cano. Some choices can be argued back and forth, like Teixeira, Gordon, LaRoche and Wieters. Then there are some downright absurd choices. All due to respect to Adam Jones, how does this award not go to Mike Trout? Aside [...]