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Hall hosts Instagram chat with fans By MLB.com http://m.dbacks.mlb.com/news/article/106053130/hall-hosts-instagram-chat-with-fans Diamondbacks, Cactus League gearing up for spring training baseball in Arizona By The Arizona Republic http://www.azcentral.com/story/sports/mlb/cactus-league/2015/01/08/diamondbacks-cactus-league-spring-training-schedules/21456921/ Randy Johnson's friendship with cancer patient delivers in a big way By Paola Boivin / The Arizona Republic http://www.azcentral.com/story/sports/mlb/2015/01/10/randy-johnsons-friendship-cancer-patient-delivers-big-way/21561865/ Arizona Diamondbacks GM Dave Stewart: Price too high for catchers via trade By Nick Piecoro / The Arizona Republic http://www.azcentral.com/story/sports/mlb/diamondbacks/2015/01/09/arizona-diamondbacks-dave-stewart-miguel-montero-mlb/21520959/ Main Street Minute: D-backs spring training tickets go on sale By KTAR News http://ktar.com/330/1797414/Main-Street-Minute-Dbacks-spring-training-tickets-go-on-sale Terrell Suggs throws fabulous shade in vintage Arizona Diamondbacks hat By KTAR News http://ktar.com/?nid=164&sid=1797625 Randy Johnson: The Big Hall-of-Famer By Fabian Ardaya / The State Press http://www.statepress.com/2015/01/11/randy-johnson-the-big-hall-of-famer/ Batter's Up! By Michelle Glicksman / Scottsdale Health (PDF attached)

D-backs: price for catcher still too high By Doug Mittler / ESPN.com http://insider.espn.go.com/blog/mlb/rumors/post?id=20688

Players talk about belief in clutch hitting By Anna McDonald / ESPN.com http://espn.go.com/blog/sweetspot/post/_/id/54496/players-talk-about-belief-in-clutch-hitting?ex_cid=espnapi_public David Peralta Not the Righty-Killing Hero the D-backs Want, But the One They Need By Ryan P. Morrison / Inside the 'Zona http://insidethezona.com/2015/01/david-peraltas-platoon-split-righty-killer-diamondbacks-need/ Mint Condition: Hall Of Fame Memorabilia Market By ESPN.com http://espn.go.com/video/clip?id=12136982&ex_cid=espnapi_public Low-Minors Prospects Are Still Prospects By Ryan P. Morrison / Inside the 'Zona http://insidethezona.com/2015/01/low-minors-prospects-prospects/ Defensive storylines of the offseason: NL Jason Heyward, Miguel Montero and Howie Kendrick are notable defense-minded acquisitions. By Mark Simon / ESPN.com http://espn.go.com/blog/sweetspot/post/_/id/54428/defensive-storylines-of-the-offseason-nl?ex_cid=espnapi_public Randy Johnson's hotel pseudonym has Hall of Fame twist By Mark Townsend / Yahoo! Sports http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/mlb-big-league-stew/randy-johnson-s-hotel-pseudonym-has-hall-of-fame-twist-190135889.html John Smoltz Stands on Chair to Help Randy Johnson with Hall of Fame Hat, Jersey By Kyle Newport / Bleacher Report http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2322644-john-smoltz-stands-on-chair-to-help-randy-johnson-with-hall-of-fame-hat-jersey Randy Johnson's Photography Logo Pays Tribute to the Bird He Hit with Pitch By Kyle Newport / Bleacher Report http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2320859-randy-johnsons-photography-logo-pays-tribute-to-the-bird-he-hit-with-pitch Report: D-Backs, Blue Jays don't get far in Navarro trade talks By Michael Hurcomb / CBSSports.com http://fantasynews.cbssports.com/fantasybaseball/update/24956743/report-d-backs-blue-jays-dont-get-far-in-navarro-trade-talks

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La Russa is happy to do battle again By Dan O'Neill / St. Louis Post-Dispatch http://www.stltoday.com/sports/baseball/professional/la-russa-is-happy-to-do-battle-again/article_758223b0-b5aa-5d31-8921-e8880bf5689a.html It’s Out of the Question: Randy Johnson’s shot at Pro, College of Newspaper Hall of Fame? None By Tom Hoffarth / Los Angeles Daily News http://www.dailynews.com/sports/20150110/before-becoming-the-big-unit-randy-johnson-was-a-daily-trojan-photographer Rough 2014 season notwithstanding, Wade Miley has plenty of potential By Brian MacPherson / Providence Journal http://www.providencejournal.com/sports/red-sox/content/20150111-rough-2014-season-notwithstanding-wade-miley-has-plenty-of-potential.ece

MLB NEWS January 12, 2015 • MLB.com http://mlb.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/mlb/news/mlb_news_index.jsp ASSOCIATED PRESS January 12, 2015 • Sports.yahoo.com http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/morenews MLB TRANSACTIONS January 12, 2015 • MLB.com http://www.cbssports.com/mlb/transactions

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Hall hosts Instagram chat with fans By MLB.com http://m.dbacks.mlb.com/news/article/106053130/hall-hosts-instagram-chat-with-fans D-backs President & CEO Derrick Hall interacted with fans during a chat on Instagram today. Hall answered questions about Randy Johnson's new role with the club, where Tomas will start the season, and who will be catching for the D-backs in 2015. Hall: Welcome to today's chat. We are excited to again coordinate one through Instagram. @jor_cal: If you could, summarize Randy's new role, such as his responsibilities and his primary objectives for the upcoming year, etc. Hall: Randy will wear several different hats, helping the business and baseball sides and will attend our major events throughout the year. Where he will contribute most will be in uniform working with our young pitchers in Spring Training and throughout the summer. @colbystratten38: What stood out about Coach Hale amongst the rest? Hall: Definitely his organizational knowledge, having cut his teeth here and managed with tremendous success. But what stood out amongst the candidates was his energy, passion and unparalleled leadership. @tygy1996: When are you guys planning to retire Randy Johnson's number? Hall: We plan to honor his Hall of Fame induction this summer and are looking for the ideal date to retire #51, hopefully this season. @mikey_ford_27: What is the pitching rotation gonna look like this year and what trades are you going to try to execute? Hall: It's nice to have options and depth there with Collmenter, Cahill, Nuño, De La Rosa, Webster, Ray and Anderson. And we look forward to Arroyo and Corbin coming back from surgery as well as the potential arrivals of Bradley, Blair and Shipley. @calebm1tch: Yoan Lopez cleared, are we going after him? Hall: We have been scouting and watching him intensely of late. He is an extremely talented international pitcher with seemingly huge upside. @jacob_gionet: Who do you think is most likely to be the D-backs starting catcher? Hall: It is an area that we continue to discuss with other teams to see if there is another fit. However, we have Gosewisch and Hernandez ready for spring and O'Brien getting closer. But we will continue to kick the tires on improving there. @perez122089: The D-bat dog coming back this season?

Hall: The D-bat will most definitely be back for 2015. It was one of our most popular food items, having sold 10,000 times. @gaverdine: Is Randy going into the Hall as a D-back? Hall: We certainly hope so and should learn very soon. It makes sense with him having his best years here. And if there is to be one player to become our first in the Hall, it should be R.J. @screenscreams: What are the "ticket holder" road trips this year? Hall: Those haven't been identified yet, but we hope to have an answer in the next few weeks. Please stay in contact with your ticketing representative for further updates. @imdback82: What are the plans with Tomas? Minor Leagues at first or no? Do you want him preferably in the outfield or at third base? Hall: We do not want to put pressure on him at this point and would be comfortable with him starting in the Minors, as many of his colleagues from Cuba have as well. His spring performance will dictate where he goes. We know he can play the outfield corner positions and were recently impressed with a workout at third base. @joeyhernandez12: The one thing that I feel like this organization is missing is an arm at the top of the rotation. Are there any free agents that you are interested in? Hall: We had our effective ace who unfortunately got injured in Patrick Corbin. Difficult to find and replace. For teams like us, aces are usually developed within the system, signed internationally or acquired through trade at a young age. @edminty84: As your biggest UK fan, I am still hoping to make it to the Valley of the Sun someday soon. Anyway, I know last season wasn't what we hoped, but we also know anything can happen in 162 games. With all the changes happening on and off the field this off-season, and HoF Randy Johnson's return to the organization, do you feel we can finally contend again this year or are you looking at long-term investment? Hall: Appreciate your support from the other side of the pond! We plan to do both. With moves that we've made and players getting healthy, we believe we can compete and we are trying to create a roster that will develop into a sustainable winner. Hall: Unfortunately we are out of time for this month's chat. I sincerely thank you for joining us and look forward to next month's, which I will conduct from Salt River Fields.

Diamondbacks, Cactus League gearing up for spring training baseball in Arizona By The Arizona Republic http://www.azcentral.com/story/sports/mlb/cactus-league/2015/01/08/diamondbacks-cactus-league-spring-training-schedules/21456921/

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Pitchers and catchers report in mid-February but individual-game tickets for the Cactus League are available now or will be going on sale soon. Full schedules are available at team websites, and stadium addresses are listed below. Among games being played outside of traditional spring training sites, split squads of the Cubs and Athletics will play two games in Las Vegas on Friday, March 13, and Saturday, March 14; split squads of the Los Angeles Dodgers and Texas Rangers will have two games in San Antonio on Friday, March 20, and Saturday, March 21; and split squads of the Colorado Rockies and Diamondbacks will play in Hermosillo, Mexico on Sunday, March 29. The first 100 fans to purchase 2015 D-Backs Spring Training tickets at the Salt River Fields at Talking Stick Box Office on Saturday will receive tickets to the Street Eats Festival that will take place at Salt River Fields on Feb. 7-8. Complimentary coffee and pastries will also be provided to fans that purchase tickets at the box office from 10 a.m. to 11 a.m. on Saturday. The D-Backs open their 18th Spring Training on March 3 at Salt River Fields at Talking Stick with an exhibition game against Arizona State University as part of an annual Collegiate Series. First pitch is set for 3:30 p.m SALT RIVER FIELDS AT TALKING STICK Diamondbacks and Colorado Rockies 7555 N. Pima Road Scottsdale, AZ 85258 Diamondbacks: Tickets on sale Saturday, January 10 at 10 a.m. at the stadium box office or go to dbacks.com/spring Rockies: Tickets on sale Saturday, January 10 at 10 a.m. at the stadium box office or go to rockies.com/spring CAMELBACK RANCH - GLENDALE Chicago White Sox and Los Angeles Dodgers 10710 West Camelback Rd Phoenix, AZ 85037 Single-game tickets: on sale Monday, January 12 via Camelbackranchbaseball.com or by calling Tickets.com at 1-800-905-3315. The box office at Camelback Ranch-Glendale opens on Monday, Feb. 2. More info: camelbackranchbaseball.com GOODYEAR BALLPARK Cleveland Indians and Cincinnati Reds 1933 South Ballpark Way

Goodyear, AZ 85338 Reds: Tickets on sale now. Go to reds.com/spring. Purchase tickets by phone: 800-745-3000; for ticket information, 623-882-3130 Indians: Tickets on sale now. Go to indians.com/spring. Purchase tickets by phone: 800-745-3000; for ticket information, 623-882-3130 CUBS PARK Chicago Cubs 2330 W. Rio Salado Parkway Mesa, AZ 85201 Tickets on sale: Saturday, Jan. 10 at 10 a.m. Go to cubs.com or by calling 1-800-thecubs. Box office: Monday through Saturday, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. MARYVALE BASEBALL PARK Milwaukee Brewers 3600 N.51st Ave Phoenix AZ 85031 Brewers Tickets on sale now: at brewers.com, Purchase tickets by phone: 1-800-933-7890 PEORIA SPORTS COMPLEX San Diego Padres and Seattle Mariners 16101 N. 83rd Ave Peoria, AZ 85382 Tickets on sale now: at seattlemariners.com and sandiegopadres.com. Purchase tickets by phone: 800-677-1227. Peoria Stadium ticket office opens Saturday. HOHOKAM STADIUM Oakland Athletics 1235 N Center St Mesa, AZ 85201 Tickets on sale now: at oaklandathletics.com. Purchase tickets by phone: 877-493-2255 SCOTTSDALE STADIUM San Francisco Giants 7408 E. Osborn Rd

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Scottsdale, AZ 85251 Tickets on sale: Tuesday at 11 a.m. Purchase tickets by phone: 877-4SFGTIX Single game tickets may be purchased via phone at 1-877-4SFGTIX, online, or in person at the Scottsdale Stadium box office. Tickets are also available through all participating tickets.comoutlets and at www.tickets.com. SURPRISE RECREATION CAMPUS Kansas City Royals and Texas Rangers 15960 N. Bullard Ave Surprise, AZ 85374 Royals: Tickets on sale now: at kansascityroyals.com and at the stadium Box Office. Ticketmaster: 800-745-3000. Rangers: Tickets on sale now: at texasrangers.com and at the stadium Box Office. Ticketmaster: 800-745-3000. TEMPE DIABLO STADIUM Los Angeles Angels 2200 W. Alameda Dr. Tempe, AZ 85282 Tickets on sale now: at Angels.com or AZ-based Ticketmaster locations. Purchase tickets by phone: 800-745-3000 or 714-663-9000

Randy Johnson's friendship with cancer patient delivers in a big way By Paola Boivin / The Arizona Republic http://www.azcentral.com/story/sports/mlb/2015/01/10/randy-johnsons-friendship-cancer-patient-delivers-big-way/21561865/ The words on the Facebook page were powerful: Your "kind of fantasy" gave the people doing the "real things" something to look forward to or even yet, to hold on to. Thank you, Randy, for the "kind of fantasy" (and) as far as I'm concerned you're as real as they get. By the way, I am sure Nicholas was looking down, smiling, as I ended up smiling thanking God for putting you in our lives. "Randy" is former Diamondbacks pitcher Randy Johnson and the words came from Tracy Floyd, the mother of Avondale teen Nick Floyd, who recently passed away after a two-year battle with osteosarcoma, a type of bone cancer. On Saturday, a celebration of Nick's life was held at White Tank Regional Park. Johnson had befriended Floyd during the teen's battle. When the pitcher visited him in early December, the two ate Krispy Kreme

doughnuts and Johnson pushed him around outside on his stretcher. During a radio interview Tuesday on Arizona Sports 98.7 FM about his Hall of Fame election, Johnson spoke of how baseball was a "fantasy" life and how now he was doing things he considers "real world," like "befriending friends that unfortunately have cancer, and have passed away recently, a recent boy here by the name of Nick Floyd." Sounds like a friendship that had an impact on both. •We always have known Jerry Colangelo was a shrewd businessman. Just how shrewd came to light Wednesday during an interview with Brad Cesmat on Sports360AZ.com. A few years before Johnson was a free agent, "his agents called me and said Randy was building a home in Phoenix and Randy wanted Suns season tickets on the floor," Colangelo said. "We were just getting started as a baseball franchise and were still a couple of years away from reality. I accommodated him but I told his agent, 'now you owe me something.' "A couple of years go by and now he's a free agent so I called the agent and said, 'Here's what I would like. I want to be the first one in to meet with him and his family and his agents, but also the last one out.' In other words, two bites of the apple." Clearly, the plan worked. • I was surprised to hear Johnson say during his press conference that he wasn't the one making the decision about which hat would appear on his Hall of Fame plaque. "That question is out of my control," Johnson said. "That's more of a Hall of Fame decision. We'll cross that bridge in the next couple of days, from what I understand." Some consider it a tricky decision. Johnson played 10 seasons in Seattle and found his potential during his time with that organization. He played eight seasons in Arizona, where he won four consecutive Cy Young Awards and a World Series. It seems obvious to me. Arizona. This is where Johnson had his best stuff, where he was most valuable, where he fully developed into the elite pitcher that sent him to the Hall of Fame on the first try. Quick hits I like the Suns' acquisition of the Celtics' Brandan Wright, especially because of the small downside in dealing the protected pick. The Timberwolves –who were 5-30 entering Saturday's game against San Antonio – would have to finish better than 12 teams for the Suns to have the selection (No. 13 at best) this season. The same is true next season, and the pick becomes two second-rounders in 2017-18. • Sure Oregon lost its best corner (Ifo Ekpre-Olomu), a speedy option on offense (Brophy product Devon Allen) and now a star

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wideout (Darren Carrington), but the line has dropped from 7 1/2 to 5?! That's a lot of scarlet money driving down the number. Money is GREEN. The margin will be double digits. Even though the Ducks will be wearing gray and white, not green, I'll say 41-27 Oregon. • A reminder that Arizona State opens its season against Texas A&M on Sept. 5. The Aggies are led by Desert Mountain quarterback Kyle Allen, who was impressive enough late in the season to scare away Kenny Hill, who is transferring from the school after starting the season in the mix for the Heisman race. Also a reminder the game won't be in College Station, Texas, which is too bad, but will be in Houston at NRG Stadium for the Advocare Texas Kickoff. Stat of the day A perfect 36-0. What Oregon is in the last three seasons when it scores 30 or more points. It is 0-4 when it does not, according to ESPN Stats and Info. Quote of the day "I think as he was saying them he was thinking he'd rather be doing dental work. Probably getting a root canal or his wisdom teeth pulled. But, whatever, it's all politics, man." — Terrell Suggs on New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady complimenting his skills, to Bob Costas on NBC's "Football Night in America." Follow Paola Boivin at paola.boivin@arizonarepublic.com and on Twitter at Twitter.com/Paola Boivin. Listen to her streaming live on The Brad Cesmat Show on sports360az.com every Monday at 10:30 a.m.

Arizona Diamondbacks GM Dave Stewart: Price too high for catchers via trade By Nick Piecoro / The Arizona Republic http://www.azcentral.com/story/sports/mlb/diamondbacks/2015/01/09/arizona-diamondbacks-dave-stewart-miguel-montero-mlb/21520959/ On the day the Diamondbacks traded Miguel Montero, General Manager Dave Stewart said finding another catcher was something the club had to do. But after seeing the cost of catchers on the trade market, Stewart doesn't seem to feel that way anymore. "We've not made a whole lot of headway in that area yet," Stewart said. "Without really giving up something that's going to cost us a player that we don't want to give away, we don't have a whole lot of motion yet." After dealing Montero to the Chicago Cubs last month, a trade that unloaded the remaining $40 million on Montero's contract, the Diamondbacks are left with last year's backup, Tuffy

Gosewisch, and Rule 5 selection Oscar Hernandez, who spent last season in the Low Class A Midwest League. The Diamondbacks don't seem to be expecting much offensively out of either player — Gosewisch hit .225 with a .553 OPS in 129 at-bats last season; Hernandez, 21, hit .249 with a .401 slugging for Bowling Green — but they think their surrounding cast is strong enough to overcome the lack of production. "We feel that offensively we're going to be decent enough that we can give away some offense at a position or maybe even a position or two," Stewart said. "If (the right deal) comes our way, it comes our way. But I'm not going to give away a player that we hold in high regard to get a catcher." Or, at least, not the catchers that are up for trade. The Diamondbacks have spoken with Toronto about Dioner Navarro, who became available after the Blue Jays signed free agent Russell Martin. Navarro, 30, has posted solid numbers in recent seasons but is just a .255 career hitter. He is owed $5 million this year. The Diamondbacks have also had discussions about Welington Castillo, who has been the Cubs' primary catcher the past two seasons but whose role is uncertain after they acquired Montero and signed free agent David Ross. The Cubs were said to have been hesitant to discuss Castillo with the Diamondbacks during the Montero negotiations but have been more open to moving him in recent weeks. Castillo had a productive 2013 season, hitting .274 with a .349 on-base, but fell off last year, posting a .237 average and .686 OPS. Stewart suspects rival clubs are viewing the Diamondbacks as dealing from a position of weakness and are thus asking for highly regarded prospects in return. "Our top guys," he said. Tomas' arrival The Diamondbacks say Cuban slugger Yasmany Tomas continues to make progress in securing documentation to come to the United States and are hopeful that he'll arrive within the next two weeks. Stewart said Tomas has been working "really, really hard" at third base at the club's facility in the Dominican Republic and that he's made more strides with his physique. "He's trimmed down a lot, leaned out," Stewart said. "He's still 250 pounds, but his body is changed in a different way. He's a real strong, solid guy. "He's an exciting player," Stewart said. "Once you watch him in his batting practices, look at how he goes about his business. He works hard. He wants to make the transition to third base. It's going to be exciting. Don't get me wrong, he still needs quite a bit of work at third, but he's coming along pretty good." Short hop Stewart said he expects infielder Chris Owings' recovery from left shoulder surgery to stretch into perhaps the first week of the

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Cactus League season. "He's going to be a little behind," Stewart said.

Main Street Minute: D-backs spring training tickets go on sale By KTAR News http://ktar.com/330/1797414/Main-Street-Minute-Dbacks-spring-training-tickets-go-on-sale KTAR's Main Street Minute focuses on local businesses that are hiring, opening and hosting events across the community. These stories air each weekday on KTAR at 7:27 a.m. • Arizona Diamondbacks spring training tickets go on sale Saturday. The first 100 fans to purchase 2015 spring training tickets at the Salt River Fields box office will also receive tickets to next month's Street Eats Festival. • Aerotek has more than 30 job openings in Phoenix, including business development manager, reservations agents and recruiter. • RedLine Athletics is holding a grand opening Saturday at its new Valley location. The youth sports training company located near Chandler Boulevard and Kyrene Road. There is another location in Scottsdale.

Terrell Suggs throws fabulous shade in vintage Arizona Diamondbacks hat By KTAR News http://ktar.com/?nid=164&sid=1797625 Terrell Suggs doesn't hide it when he hates somebody, and that is especially true when it comes to Tom Brady. He doesn't like Brady, doesn't like his hair, blah, blah, bl -- LOOK AT HIS HAT!! His vintage Arizona Diamondbacks hat! We can't stop watching loop after loop of that glorious purple. Throw all the shade you want, Mr. Suggs. You're just a beautiful purple-and-teal "A" making noises to us, at this point. Go Snakes. (Video embedded on webpage).

Randy Johnson: The Big Hall-of-Famer By Fabian Ardaya / The State Press http://www.statepress.com/2015/01/11/randy-johnson-the-big-hall-of-famer/ I remember my first baseball memory. I was just 4 years old when it happened, but it is still crystal clear in my mind. It was early November, and the game turned back from commercial to the voices of Joe Buck and Tim McCarver, who were on the call for the Fox broadcast. I had just finished dinner and sat watching the game, my attention fading in and out as any child’s would. The first picture I saw was an extremely tall man running in a funny-looking white and purple uniform with long-flowing hair that scared me to bits. In a world where I thought every adult was a giant, this man had taken it to another level.

“Don’t worry honey, he’s on our side,” my mother told me as I watched in fear as the freakishly tall and slender man stood out on the mound. That game was Game 7 of the 2001 World Series, with the hometown Arizona Diamondbacks hosting the New York Yankees. It was the eighth inning, with Arizona trailing 2-1. The wiry figure with the mullet on my television was Randy Johnson, who would be named the National League Cy Young Award winner for the third-straight year after going 21-6 with a 2.49 ERA and a league-leading 372 strikeouts (the most since Nolan Ryan in 1974). It was more than just his appearance that amazed me, however. His fastball was perhaps more intimidating than his stare down to home plate, as he regularly threw the ball in the upper-90s with accuracy and movement. Even the sound of the ball hitting catcher Damian Miller’s mitt was different. And this was after throwing 104 pitches the night before, a Game 6 masterpiece in which he gave up just two runs over seven innings to give Arizona new life in the series. How I viewed baseball changed while watching “The Big Unit” pitch that Game 7. He was perfect in an inning and a third as the Diamondbacks completed the incredible comeback and World Series win. At the end of that day it was Johnson, along with Game 7 starter Curt Schilling who were named World Series co-MVPs. In a season where Barry Bonds hit 73 home runs, the Seattle Mariners won 116 games and Mike Piazza helped post-9/11 America heal, they were the ones on top of the baseball world. I would follow Johnson the rest of his career, including the ups and downs that followed. I watched on as he became the oldest pitcher in Major League Baseball history to throw a perfect game, doing so in the midst of a frustrating 2004 season. He went on to play in the pinstripes for the Yankees, drawing stark criticism despite solid play. He would return to the desert as a shell of his former self, battling through an injury-plagued tenure that robbed him of his trademark velocity. But even in the twilight of his career Johnson still oozed greatness. He finally clinched his 300th career win in a San Francisco Giants uniform, reaching the pinnacle that pitchers work their entire careers to accomplish. He is still the most recent person to hit the 300-win plateau. Johnson finished his career with the second-most strikeouts in Major League Baseball history (4,875), posting a record of 303-166 with a 3.29 ERA over 22 seasons. But evaluating Johnson takes more than just numbers. In his prime, there was no pitcher more intimidating than Johnson. Standing at 6 feet 10 inches tall with a mullet and a nasty fastball-slider combination, he was one-of-a-kind. He, like Ryan before him, took his lumps before ultimately honing his skills to be able to put his greatest weapon, his fastball, anywhere he wanted to put it.

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Quite simply, I haven’t seen a better major league pitcher in my lifetime, and I don’t think Major League Baseball will see another Randy Johnson. That’s what the Hall of Fame is all about.

Batter's Up! By Michelle Glicksman / Scottsdale Health (PDF attached)

D-backs: price for catcher still too high By Doug Mittler / ESPN.com http://insider.espn.go.com/blog/mlb/rumors/post?id=20688 The Arizona Diamondbacks would like to add another catcher, but the price on the trade market is too high at this point, general manager Dave Stewart tells Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic. "Without really giving up something that's going to cost us a player that we don't want to give away, we don't have a whole lot of motion yet,” Stewart said. The D-backs traded Miguel Montero to the Diamondbacks last month, leaving them with the light-hitting Tuffy Gosewisch and Rule 5 draftee Oscar Hernandez on their roster. Piecoro reports that Arizona has had talks with the Blue Jays regarding Dioner Navarro and with the Cubs regarding Welington Castillo. A deal with Toronto seems like a nice fit given the Blue Jays have signed Russell Martin to be their starting catcher. Available free agent catchers include Geovany Soto, who hit .250 for Texas and Oakland last season.

Players talk about belief in clutch hitting By Anna McDonald / ESPN.com http://espn.go.com/blog/sweetspot/post/_/id/54496/players-talk-about-belief-in-clutch-hitting?ex_cid=espnapi_public Over the course of 16 seasons in the majors, the worst moment in Mark Grace’s career came in 1998 as he watched 35,000 pictures of his face fall from the sky. "It was Mark Grace poster day at Wrigley field," Grace told ESPN.com. "Every single person got a 6-foot-2 growth chart of Mark Grace with a milk mustache holding a carton of milk." The Chicago Cubs were playing the San Francisco Giants. In the bottom of the ninth, with the tying run on third base, all Grace had to do was hit a sacrifice fly. "Everybody's waving their posters," said Grace, recently named assistant hitting coach for the Arizona Diamondbacks. "Everybody's yelling 'Mark Grace' and I hit a double play to end the ballgame. Thirty-five thousand posters came flying out onto the field. So yes, it was possibly the most down moment I had in my career."

In contrast, as Grace talked about the most memorable hit of his career, he remembers being nervous as he waited to face Mariano Rivera in the bottom of the ninth of Game 7 of the 2001 World Series. "The world's full of guys that will tell you, 'I'm a refuse-to-lose guy,' or 'You got to be tougher mentally than the pitcher,'" Grace said. "That's all bulls---. What it is more than anything is the lack of fear. I'd be a liar if I [said] in those situations I wasn't nervous. Of course I was nervous; we're all human beings." By 2001 Grace had learned to love the spotlight. As he put it, "Baseball and confidence can be taught, I think it can. I think you can take a kid that shies away from the big moment and I think you can help him accept that moment more." So, when he was at the plate facing Rivera to lead off the inning with the Diamondbacks trailing the Yankees 2-1, Grace had learned how to channel his nervousness into excitement. "I just remember my attitude going into the box was 'By hook or by crook, I’ve got to get on base,'" Grace said. "Whether it's a base hit, or whether it's a walk, or if I have to stick my head in front of one and get hit -- you know, you get over a concussion in time -- that was my attitude: My job is to get on base." Grace singled to center field, his only career hit off Rivera. His hit began the historic ninth-inning comeback for the Diamondbacks as they scored two runs and won the World Series. "That’s the funny thing about history," he said. "History kind of remembers its own path. That hit is kind of a historic hit for me, for the Diamondbacks, and for one of the greatest World Series ever played." Throughout baseball history, a clutch hit, like Grace’s in the 2001 World Series, turns a player into a hero, turns teams into champions and propels franchises into baseball history. Identifying clutch hitting ability is tricky. Statistical analysts argue that clutch hits exist, but clutch hitters don't. Players, past and present, say clutch hitting is a skill. They believe some players have the ability to hit better in clutch situations than in normal situations. Or maybe clutch hitting is simply not succumbing to the pressure of a big moment. "If you're a clutch player, you're going to win games for teams. If you're not, it's going to be hard for you," Reds third baseman Todd Frazier said this past season. "So having runners in scoring position, I think that's probably the biggest stat that players should worry about." One way to gauge clutch hits is by using leverage index (LI), which measures the intensity of a batting event: The higher the probability for one plate appearance to change the outcome of the game, the higher the leverage index. In 2014 Frazier had the most home runs in the majors (12) in high-leverage situations. According to many major leaguers, part of the clutch-hitting skill is the ability to handle pressure.

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"There's two ways to channel nervousness," said Grace, who batted .303 in his career while hitting .323 in high-leverage situations, which often come against a team's best late-inning relievers. "You can channel into fear, or you can channel it into excitement." Jay Bruce described a similar approach: "I think that people who are able to slow the game down the most probably are more apt to be more successful in that situation; in higher-pressure situations a lot of times your heart starts racing a little bit, your adrenaline gets going a little more." Matt Holliday, who batted .372 in high-leverage situations this year while batting .272 overall, said clutch hitting is not luck. "There's an intensity level when you're in a big spot that kicks in," Holliday said. “An adrenaline that kicks in. It shouldn't be much different than every other at-bat, but you just can't help that naturally you are much more intense in a big situation." Holliday said players are not immune to the atmosphere at the ballpark. "There's definitely different adrenaline when the crowd's into it in a big spot," said Holliday. "You channel it into concentration. I've got to mentally bear down in my approach and make sure I get the pitch that I want." What does "looking for my pitch" mean? "It means you see [the ball] early out of the pitcher's hand," Ben Zobrist explained. "You know what the pitch is quickly. It's not like fastballs are getting on you before you are ready to swing." Good swing mechanics play a part as well. "It's just a matter of those mechanics being all put together at the right time when the ball is released," Zobrist said. "If those aren't right, a lot of times you have extra thoughts going on in your brain and you are thinking, 'Well, my hands need to get here and there or whatever,' and then you are not just focusing on the ball." The right focus can also mean good plate discipline. Let's look at the plate discipline of players who had the best batting averages in high-leverage situations in 2014 (minimum 100 plate appearances): (Table embedded on webpage) In broad terms, these are good contact hitters. All of these top-10 guys were above the major league average in the percentage of pitches they made contact with inside the strike zone when swinging. Zobrist talked about plate discipline. "It kind of ebbs and flows at times," he said. "When you are feeling well at the plate and you are seeing the ball, you are going to swing at the better pitches. When you are not, instead of backing off, you tend to swing at more stuff." Jonathan Lucroy, who has been told by a psychologist that he has the ability to hyper-focus, said guys get into trouble when

they try to do too much in clutch situations. "It's all mental," said the Brewers catcher. "This game is really more mental than anything. It’s amazing how mental this game can get." As Grace discovered more than a decade ago, the ability to hit in a clutch situation comes down to confidence. "In baseball, you’ve got a lot of people in the game that will tell you, 'You can't do this or you can't do that,'" Grace said. "I was a 24th-round draft pick. I wasn't supposed to do anything. I came up through the system with so many people telling me the things I couldn't do well enough to be a major league player." But Grace knew that getting in the batter's box and facing the pitcher in clutch situations was fun for him. "If you don't believe in yourself, who's going to believe in you?" Grace said. "That wasn’t pressure, that was fun. I enjoyed it."

David Peralta Not the Righty-Killing Hero the D-backs Want, But the One They Need By Ryan P. Morrison / Inside the 'Zona http://insidethezona.com/2015/01/david-peraltas-platoon-split-righty-killer-diamondbacks-need/ David Peralta is starting to pull together a track record from which we can draw solid inferences. He is, essentially, a good-not-great fielder in right field with merely average power — and a knack for knocking the cover off of the ball. But he also has flaws, as we saw toward the end of the season, and as we started to see in his plate appearances versus lefties. But first, let’s review. Back in mid-July, I looked at Peralta’s hot start and the evidence behind it, which suggested that what he had accomplished up to that point was not attributable to luck. Peralta came out of nowhere after shoulder injuries scuttled his pitching career and he languished in baseball limbo for three years, only to start putting up monster seasons in independent ball and an impressive body of work with High-A Visalia and Double-A Mobile. For more on Peralta’s history, please check out that piece from July. One thing that stuck out with Peralta’s track record: he’s always hit for high average. Opening this season with Mobile, he hit for the lowest batting average of his career (then to date): a .297 mark. Before that he hit .392 (373 PA) and .332 (423 PA) in independent ball, started off similarly in 2013 (.352 in 194 PA), and then essentially matched that performance in High-A after getting snatched up by the D-backs (.346 in 219 PA). After hitting 17 bombs in that first independent ball season, he hasn’t hit for much power — just 33 home runs over his 1407 PA from 2012 up through the present. And yet his slugging percentages have been pretty good, on the back of some impressive gap power. Peralta: Major-League Hitter In the majors, it’s not like he hit over .300 — but given that league average in 2014 for non-pitchers was a paltry .255 (!), his .286 mark looks like a strength. And although his eight home runs in 348 PA don’t do much to enhance his reputation, the guy slugged .450 — well above average for the league (.393), and far above the slugging mark of MLB right fielders last year (.397).

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Although Peralta got more than his fair share of singles, it was in extra base hits that the guy excelled. He hit 12 doubles and 9 triples, helping him put up a solidly above-average mark in weighted Runs Created plus (wRC+), which gave Peralta a 110, meaning he was 10% above the average non-pitcher at creating runs. That’s no Paul Goldschmidt (who has wRC+ of 155 in 2014, 156 in 2013), but it’s not too far off from how Goldy started, either (124 wRC+ in 2012, 118 wRC+ in 2011). In 406 at-bats in 2014, Goldy got 220 total bases. Peralta got only 148 total bases, but did so in 77 fewer at-bats. It we made that a ratio, Goldy got 0.54 bases per at bat, Peralta got 0.45 bases per at bat. A big difference, to be sure, but compare that to 0.41 bases per at bat for Mark Trumbo, 0.41 for Chris Owings, 0.37 for Miguel Montero, 0.37 for Aaron Hill, and 0.31 for Tuffy Gosewisch. Total bases is not all there is to hitting; Peralta wasn’t a walks machine (4.6% BB%), but that’s not crazy different from a guy like Owings (4.8% BB%). Peralta’s total bases per at bat was higher than Trumbo’s, but it was also of a better kind. Home runs are great, but a bomb and a flyout is generally worth about 1.11 runs, and two doubles is worth about 1.54. The out makes that kind of difference (using this run value of events table, a home run is worth 1.39 runs, a double 0.77 runs, and a flyout -0.24 runs). Indeed, it’s pretty clear that Peralta’s method of totaling bases is the superior one. That’s all baked into wRC+, which is why we like it so much. And wRC+ makes it look like Peralta was one of the D-backs’ best hitters last year. Sure, there was Goldy and his gaudy 155 wRC+. In just 287 PA, A.J. Pollock put up a magical 134 wRC+. But among all 13 hitters with at least 200 PA last season, Peralta’s 110 wRC+ was third-best. In fact, you’d have to drop all the way down to Cliff Pennington‘s 94 wRC+ (!) to find hitter number four. You might say that Peralta was lucky in 2014. He had a .328 batting average on balls in play, which is significantly higher than the league average, which hovers around .300. ESPN Stats & Info generates a “hard hit average” statistic, and when I limit that to just balls in play, Peralta comes in at a .210 hard hit average, which is just above average. Probably, Peralta was a little lucky. But from the hard hit information, we can probably conclude that he wasn’t a lot lucky. And one wonders if any expected BABIP regression can be made up by the fact that last year was Peralta’s rookie season, and we would normally expect him to improve in his follow-up campaign. Not so fast Good news, right? Peralta was one of the best hitters on the team in his rookie year, and you’d think that would put him in line to start again. In small samples in the outfield, he was terrible in left field, mediocre in center, and very good in right — overall, roughly average for an outfielder. He doesn’t get an extra push to his value from defense like Ender Inciarte does, but he doesn’t take a penalty like Trumbo should, either. The problem is that Peralta can’t hit a lick when he’s facing lefties. He had a 38 wRC+ against lefties last season, meaning he was 62% worse than the average non-pitcher. Tuffy Gosewisch would be a better choice against a lefty than Peralta. Against lefties, Peralta had a triple slash of .197/.247/.263. Not good.

Really just not good. To reach 110 wRC+ overall, though, Peralta scorched righties to the tune of .312/.342/.506. Over .500 slugging! Against righties, Peralta was just as good as Pollock was overall, and no one is dreaming about benching Pollock. Compare slugging heat maps for Peralta. First, against lefties: (Graphs embedded on webpage) By the way, Peralta had some pretty good coverage of the plate against RHP in terms of slugging — a ridiculous 1.417 SLG up and middle, but also nothing lower than .538 for all but three ninths of the zone (up and in, middle in, up and away). Actually, he had pretty good slugging marks away off the plate, too. Many flawed hitters have one happy zone. Peralta has a happy zone at the bottom of the plate, but still gets those up and middle balls. Just reminds me a bit of Goldschmidt, who took a big step forward when he added low and in to his 2012 happy zone of the top part of the plate. The problem is that Peralta is old. As noted here before: Peralta had 348 plate appearances (just over a half season), and his platoon split could not have been more pronounced: 32% above average in creating runs against RHP (132 wRC+), and 62% below average against LHP (38 wRC+). That’s run-for-the-hills territory. I’ll always believe that left-handed hitters who are late to hitting professionally (like Gerardo Parra and Carl Crawford) can improve against left-handed pitching — but only with a ton of plate appearances. Peralta did so bad against lefties that he could improve in a big way and still be a big liability against southpaws. Don’t expect him to get much of an opportunity to change that. It may be that lefties take longer to improve against same-handed pitching in general (our intrepid Jeff Wiser has been hot on that trail with a big-time research project), but Peralta is even farther behind the 8-ball given that he didn’t start hitting full-time until he was 23 years old. Unless 2015 was completely written off, it just wouldn’t make sense to give Peralta a chance to develop against LHP in the majors. He is what he is: a strong-side platoon bat, and a fantastic one at that. He is Ike Davis, basically, except that you can move him around in the outfield. Fitting Peralta into 2015 plans The “play Yasmany Tomas at third base” plan is a good thing for Peralta, who probably stands to be most affected if Tomas is put into the outfield mix. Pollock is set, and although Trumbo and Peralta would be an amazing platoon, Trumbo will almost certainly get a full-time job, as well. That leaves just one starting OF slot (apparently in left, since GM Dave Stewart has stated that he plans to put Trumbo in right). Assuming no Tomas in the mix (and assuming that Tomas doesn’t push Jake Lamb to the outfield), we’re still looking at three outfielders (Peralta, Inciarte, Cody Ross) for one position, left field. If Ross sticks on the roster and he’s vaguely productive, he’s a good match for Peralta. Inciarte doesn’t have a big platoon split, so even though there’s no way to juice extra value out of Inciarte, at least he could also help cover for Peralta.

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And then there’s the fact that while you can deploy position players based on the handedness of the opposing starting pitcher, there’s only so much you can do to protect platoon advantages late in games. Say Peralta was starting left against a right-hander. If Peralta racked up a third plate appearance against the starter in, say, the sixth inning, it would also make sense to immediately pull him in favor of Inciarte, who could immediately give some value back in the form of plus fielding for the rest of the game, while being largely immune to relief pitcher matchups. From a production-at-the-plate standpoint, pairing Peralta with Inciarte instead of Ross or Trumbo is far from perfect. But if Inciarte was also used as a defensive replacement, the team could still end up ahead from the standpoint of overall production. Just as Ross complicated the outfield picture last offseason (and he only does now in a much more minor way), it’s Trumbo that gums up the works now, in that the preoccupation with HR totals is keeping in the starting plans in a way that seems sub-optimal. A Trumbo-Inciarte platoon could be outstanding, all the more now that the team has a fly ball pitching staff. But a Trumbo-Peralta platoon could also be a strong choice for the team, especially if it is more concerned with offense in particular. On its own, however, the promise that Peralta can torch right-handed hitters should convince the D-backs to stay away from the free agent and trade markets, at least as far as outfielders go. The team wants a left-handed thumper? No problem. They already have one that kills RHP, comes with six more years of club control, and will play for the major league minimum for at least two more years.

Mint Condition: Hall Of Fame Memorabilia Market By ESPN.com http://espn.go.com/video/clip?id=12136982&ex_cid=espnapi_public TRISTAR Productions president Jeff Rosenberg breaks down how a player's induction into the Hall of Fame impacts memorabilia market and demand. (Video embedded on webpage)

Low-Minors Prospects Are Still Prospects By Ryan P. Morrison / Inside the 'Zona http://insidethezona.com/2015/01/low-minors-prospects-prospects/ Less than two months but several trades ago, the D-backs acquired Jeremy Hellickson from Tampa Bay for minor leaguers Andrew Velazquez and Justin Williams, two players that had not played above the Single-A level. The trade was reasonable by any measure, but it does seem that either the D-backs liked Hellickson much more than most, or they weren’t quite as high on the two minor leaguers as we expected. In the wake of the trade, members of the Arizona front office talked up all three players, so I hesitate to draw too strong a conclusion from any particular comment. But there was some minor cause for alarm. From indefatigable beat reporter Nick Piecoro just after the Hellickson trade:

“For you to get a starting pitcher at the major league level — and we consider this guy to be a number two or number three starter — to get a guy like that you have to give up some talent,” Diamondbacks General Manager Dave Stewart said. “They could both be All-Stars, but from our standpoint they’re three or four years away from being major league players. We have an opportunity to get a good starter to put in our rotation now and go along with our plans for our team with the 2015 season.” No one was under any illusions that Velazquez or Williams was going to make the 2015 or 2016 active roster, right? And I think it goes without saying that a prospect of a particular quality is worth more if he’s doing his damage at Triple-A rather than Low-A. So at the time, I thought it was curious that both players’ distance from the major league roster was raised here as a reason (rather than offered as a simple description) for why they were traded. A few weeks ago, we did a review of the team’s transactions since the new guard took over, since they pointed in different directions (rebuilding, retooling, “win now,” etc.). Either there’s a method to the madness and the rest of the FO’s plan hasn’t come to fruition yet, or the FO is simply taking every opportunity they see as possible and good. Both possibilities are fine, but no matter what, they point to this: the team is focused on being the best it can be in 2017 while making the 2015 squad better, as well. With the possible exception of getting Domingo Leyba (who seems to have been included in the Gregorius trade to even out value), the team has not departed from that 2015-2017 strategy. There’s nothing wrong with that. Treating low minors prospects as expendable because of the fact that they’re in the low minors? There might be a problem with that. Even if you could guarantee that a particular prospect wouldn’t play in the majors until 2018, it’s still possible that he can help the 2017 club. It’s trade value — maybe you feel strongly that your prospect looks better to the outside world than he does to you, and if you feel relatively certain that he’s likely to flame out soon, of course it makes sense to pull the trigger. And I don’t want to dismiss the possibility that that’s how the organization viewed Williams (who was moving a little slowly) and Velazquez. But even if a low minors prospect has a merely average chance of becoming a high minors prospect, it can still make sense to wait. 2018 may not be in the team’s plans, but isn’t 2017? But for the Hellickson trade, all of the team’s moves thus far this winter fit this model of emphasizing 2017, but getting better for 2015 in any possible way that doesn’t put any kind of dent in 2017. Maybe in Hellickson’s case, the team decided the deal was too good, and that 2016 was also important — Hellickson is only under club control for two more seasons, and the team has a bad recent history with signing mid-level starting pitchers to free agent deals. But the Hellickson acquisition still doesn’t fit; he’s absolutely not a strong bet to be above average in 2015, and yet we can’t really put him in the same data-gathering category as Allen Webster and Rubby De La Rosa and Robbie Ray, because if the D-backs succeed in “finding” Hellickson, the party that stands to benefit most is Hellickson, not the D-backs.

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In other words, the Hellickson trade does put a dent in 2017. He’ll be in a rotation spot that might otherwise have gone to someone who’d get a chance to prove or disprove that they should be in the 2017 plans — and if the idea is just to diversify the portfolio and have one shorter-term turnaround guy in the mix, the team already had an option like that in Daniel Hudson. Churning and re-churning the offseason in my mind, it’s the Hellickson trade that just doesn’t fit. If he were under control for one extra year, or if he was a stronger bet to excel, the trade probably would. Prospects are unplayable assets, and on one level, it makes sense to view a prospect as either worth his present value in trade, or his future value on the field — without a third perspective, future value in trade. In preparing to make this point, I reviewed all of the prospect rating or projection systems that I’m familiar with. Each one focuses on potential playing role, on ceiling in the majors, and on the player’s likely floor. There really isn’t as robust a marketplace for ideas on the likelihood of a particular prospect becoming a better prospect, of whether he might start to look better as a prospect without necessarily changing as a prospect. It’s partly a question of semantics, but it’s also largely a question of emphasis. If you send around an email proposing that a low-minors prospect be traded instead of kept for a 2018 squad, maybe it’s just not that likely that someone will knock on your door and ask why your analysis didn’t include the possibility that the best route might be trading the player in 2017. That’s why I hope the Hellickson trade stays an outlier in terms of selling low-minors guys for short term upgrades that aren’t sure things. If we assume for the moment that the team is gearing up for a 2017 World Series run, which would be completely defensible, what are the chances that a championship team is perfectly complete before the 2017 season starts? The D-backs have tons of experiments to try, and many of them may pan out (at least, one has to plan as if things trended toward the best-case scenario). Maybe all of them will pan out. But the team may still have some hole to fill, or may just be one very good player away — or they may develop a need through injury midseason. What then? If the team has chosen to keep its ETA-2016 and ETA-2017 guys by plundering the ETA-2018 cupboard, it could lack the type of asset needed to acquire a player who is a much surer thing than Hellickson is now while keeping the rest of the major league squad intact. It may look like I’m looking for something to fret about, but I assure you I’m not, and that I’m not trying to raise an alarm. Consider it a polite tap on the shoulder. If a low-minors prospect has a 20% chance of being an average major league player, than he’s worth something like 1/6th of an average major league player who has almost no service time (an adjustment there for time value). His “distance” from the majors is already baked into his value — no one thinks that low-minors guy is worth as much as a high-minors guy with a 50% chance of being an average major league player. If a low-minors prospect is already valued as a low-minors prospect, there’s no extra adjustment to make.

Defensive storylines of the offseason: NL Jason Heyward, Miguel Montero and Howie Kendrick are notable defense-minded acquisitions. By Mark Simon / ESPN.com

http://espn.go.com/blog/sweetspot/post/_/id/54428/defensive-storylines-of-the-offseason-nl?ex_cid=espnapi_public The major league baseball offseason still has a way to go, but I thought I'd take a look at how teams have changed defensively heading into 2015. Here's a look at the National League: NL East Atlanta Braves Every move the Braves made this offseason weakened them considerably defensively. First they traded the best defensive right fielder in baseball in Jason Heyward to the Cardinals (for fear of losing him in free agency next offseason) and signed Nick Markakis (now recovering from neck surgery) to replace him. The difference defensively may be a couple of wins alone (just for all the balls that Heyward chased down in the right-field corner that others don't reach). They also traded Justin Upton with the intent of plugging the hole in left field with Evan Gattis. That could be dicey, given that Gattis chalked up -10 runs saved in 48 games in left field in 2013. They signed Alberto Callaspo to play second base. He's accumulated -28 defensive runs saved there in the past six seasons. And lastly, to mentor Christian Bethancourt, they signed A.J. Pierzynski. All Pierzynski did was rank 34th in defensive runs saved among the 35 catchers with the most innings played last season (-11). Miami Marlins The Marlins remade their infield, though not in a great way with Michael Morse penned in at first base (-5 career runs saved there) and Dee Gordon at second (-5 runs saved). Gordon at least looked comfortable at the position and there's potential for improvement there. Martin Prado was a good get from the Yankees. He has 24 runs saved at third base dating back to the start of the 2010 season and is definitely an improvement over Casey McGehee. New York Mets The Mets don't necessarily have their shortstop yet, and who that is could go a long way in determining their level of offseason success. It could end up being Wilmer Flores by default. Flores had minimal range in a tryout there last season, but proved skilled at converting outs on balls hit at him and at turning double plays. The corner outfield also could be a bit shaky. Michael Cuddyer typically rates among the worst defensive outfielders in baseball and his and Curtis Granderson's aging legs in right and left field respectively could create a lot of extra ground for amazing center fielder Juan Lagares to cover. Philadelphia Phillies

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The Phillies need to find some defensive skill among their young players, as they traded two of the few players on their roster who were decent defensively in Marlon Byrd and Jimmy Rollins. Looks like we'll find out if Freddy Galvis can play shortstop full-time. In 41 games there, he's at -4 defensive runs saved. Washington Nationals The much anticipated move of Ryan Zimmerman to first base will finally come to fruition now that Adam LaRoche has signed with the White Sox. Zimmerman, a former Web Gem champ at third, hasn't been the same since he hurt his right shoulder, limiting his throwing ability. The Nationals also signed Dan Uggla to a minor league deal. His usage should anything happen to Danny Espinosa could be problematic. Twice in the past four seasons, Uggla has ranked last among second basemen in defensive runs saved. Perhaps he could get a look at first base as well. NL Central Chicago Cubs The Cubs' most visible defensive overhaul comes behind the plate, where Miguel Montero and David Ross, both excellent in the pitch-framing department, replace Welington Castillo, who ranked among the worst in that area. "Framing is something [Montero] does well, especially in the low part of the zone which is important for us," said Cubs president Theo Epstein. "We have a lot of guys that pitch down there. He had outstanding framing numbers last season which jibes with the narrative of Henry Blanco working with him [in Arizona]. They really focused on that. It's a nice thing to have. He can steal a couple strikes here and there for your pitching staff." Cincinnati Reds The Reds had done little this offseason that tinkered with their defense until trading for Marlon Byrd. Byrd should be a nice fit in left field for a year, though he's played only two games there in the past five seasons. He's been credited with 18 defensive runs saved the past two seasons in right field, which is currently occupied by Jay Bruce. Milwaukee Brewers The Brewers finally found a first baseman to replace Prince Fielder by trading for Adam Lind, but he's a shaky defender there (-13 career runs saved). There is an addition by subtraction element with the departure of second baseman Rickie Weeks, but Scooter Gennett needs to improve, lest he'll give the team below average production at that position. In short, this could be a very shaky infield. But at least the Brewers have Carlos Gomez and (at least sometimes) Gerardo Parra in the outfield to make up for it. Pittsburgh Pirates The Pirates couldn't afford Russell Martin, so they went back to the well that yielded him and Chris Stewart by trading for another good pitch framer (though one likely not in Martin's class) in Francisco Cervelli. The Stewart/Cervelli platoon will make for an interesting experiment.

Pittsburgh also will have a new first baseman with the move of Pedro Alvarez there and Corey Hart as his backup. Sean Rodriguez, in his jack-of-all-trades role, could also see time there, as he's someone capable of filling in defensively just about anywhere. St. Louis Cardinals The team with the most defensive runs saved in baseball last season just got better with the outstanding Jason Heyward patrolling right field. His defense could add a couple of wins by itself, considering Cardinals outfielders combined for -4 runs saved there last season. NL West Arizona Diamondbacks The Diamondbacks face two questions regarding their defense heading into spring training. Can Yasmany Tomas handle third base? Who is going to catch with the trade of Miguel Montero to the Cubs? The answer to each is unknown. What is known is that Mark Trumbo is not a great fit in such a spacious outfield (to his credit, he is a good first baseman), but he'll be given another shot in left field. Colorado Rockies It sounds like the Rockies are going to try to see if former Gold Glove winner Carlos Gonzalez can shift to right field full-time, with Corey Dickerson now in left. The sample size on Gonzalez is less than 1,000 career innings there, but the results are decent (9 runs saved). Los Angeles Dodgers The Dodgers will look very different on the defensive side with a new double-play combination in Jimmy Rollins and Howie Kendrick (described by team president Andrew Friedman as "dynamic players on both sides of the ball"), rookie Joc Pederson in center and a stellar pitch framer in Yasmani Grandal behind the plate. "There's no question we're going to be significantly better defensively. I think it's going to help on the run-prevention side quite a bit," Friedman said earlier this offseason. San Diego Padres The Padres have an all-new outfield with some combination of Matt Kemp (most likely in right), Wil Myers (most likely in center) and Justin Upton (most likely in left). The hope will have to be that they hit more than they let in. Kemp doesn't rate well at any of the three outfield spots, so it's a matter of finding where he'll do the least damage. Myers is basically stuck playing center by default, but given that he was at -11 runs saved over two seasons in right field, who knows how that will go. Upton is great at getting to balls, but there's only so far he can go playing left field, and his throwing arm tends to spray balls all over the place.

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The one thing the Padres do have going for them is that they can put a better defensive team on the field late in games, with Cameron Maybin and newly acquired infielder Clint Barmes serving a useful role on the bench. San Francisco Giants The big thing to watch will be how much the Giants miss the presence of Pablo Sandoval, who was actually a very good defensive third baseman when he was in good shape (such as last season). Casey McGehee has never rated particularly well at the position and we'll see how big a drop-off he represents. Joe Panik rated about average at second base in a 70-game look in 2014, though he looked better than that in the postseason. He should get a full-time look there in 2015.

Randy Johnson's hotel pseudonym has Hall of Fame twist By Mark Townsend / Yahoo! Sports http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/mlb-big-league-stew/randy-johnson-s-hotel-pseudonym-has-hall-of-fame-twist-190135889.html There's not much 2015 Hall of Fame electee Randy Johnson can do to fly under-the-radar in public. After all, he stands 6'10" tall, in addition to having one of the more distinctive looks in sports with his mustache and longish hair combo. Short of shaving his hair off, which understandably doesn't appear to be an option, he's always going to draw a crowd when spotted. But those issues still don't stop Johnson from trying to go incognito wherever possible. As a part of that, Johnson, like so many other professional athletes and celebrities, often checks into hotels under a false name. And for his special trip to partake in the Hall of Fame media blitz in New York this week, he put a very fitting Hall of Fame twist on his assumed identity. My last day being Eddie Plank at the Hotel,first @MLB pitcher to win 300 games.Been an amazing 3 days Thank-You pic.twitter.com/Ir5TWGyFph — Randy Johnson (@RJ51Photos) January 8, 2015 Eddie Plank was one of baseball's earliest Hall of Famers, earning his election in 1946. Like Johnson, he was among the most dominant left-handed pitchers of his era. Although granted, Plank's career lasted from 1901-1917, which essentially covers what's recognized as baseball's dead-ball era. Still, Plank became the first left-hander in MLB history to notch 300 wins, which is important to note because Johnson's tweet says Plank was the first pitcher overall. That distinction belongs to Pud Galvin, who won No. 300 on Sept. 4, 1888. Over his 16 seasons, Plank finished with 326 wins, a career 2.35 ERA, 2,246 strikeouts and 69 shutouts, which remains the record for lefties. Of course, Johnson is the most recent pitcher to reach 300 wins. He reached that plateau on June 4, 2009 and would finish with 303 wins. He also posted, a 3.29 career ERA, a remarkable 4,875 strikeouts, which ranks second in MLB history, and 37 shutouts, which includes MLB's 17th perfect game.

Though they were similarly awesome pitchers, there's no real comparison physically. Plank only stood at 5'11", a full foot shorter than Johnson. But that's only a minor detail in history. Both are giants of the baseball world now, and it's definitely cool to see Johnson give that small nod of acknowledgement to his Hall of Fame predecessor.

John Smoltz Stands on Chair to Help Randy Johnson with Hall of Fame Hat, Jersey By Kyle Newport / Bleacher Report http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2322644-john-smoltz-stands-on-chair-to-help-randy-johnson-with-hall-of-fame-hat-jersey Randy Johnson is one of the greatest pitchers who ever lived, but as we found out during his Hall of Fame induction press conference, getting dressed on game days may have been a challenge for him throughout his playing days. "The Big Unit" was voted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame on Tuesday. On Wednesday, he took part in a press conference with fellow 2015 Hall of Fame inductees Craig Biggio, Pedro Martinez and John Smoltz. Johnson has to be thankful that Smoltz was inducted this year. When it came time for the new inductees to put on the Hall of Fame hat and jersey, The Big Unit had quite a bit of trouble. Luckily, Smoltz (6'3") was there to help Johnson (6'10"). In his defense, Johnson has not had to put on a uniform since 2009. We are just glad that he was able to figure out how to get his uniform on throughout his 22-year career so he could appear in 618 games.

Randy Johnson's Photography Logo Pays Tribute to the Bird He Hit with Pitch By Kyle Newport / Bleacher Report http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2320859-randy-johnsons-photography-logo-pays-tribute-to-the-bird-he-hit-with-pitch ----

Jeff Passan ✔ @JeffPassan The best thing you'll see today: The logo for Randy Johnson's photography company is of a dead bird. ---- After seeing the logo for his photography company, the Big Unit needs to find a way to include his infamous bird friend on his Hall of Fame plaque. Former MLB pitcher Randy Johnson is expected to be voted into Cooperstown on Tuesday. On the morning of the day in which the results of the voting are announced, Yahoo Sports' Jeff Passan came up with a great find. Of course, Johnson's logo pays tribute to the bird he hit with a pitch during a spring training game back in 2001. (Video embedded on webpage)

Report: D-Backs, Blue Jays don't get far in Navarro trade talks By Michael Hurcomb / CBSSports.com

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http://fantasynews.cbssports.com/fantasybaseball/update/24956743/report-d-backs-blue-jays-dont-get-far-in-navarro-trade-talks The Diamondbacks inquired about Blue Jays catcher Dioner Navarro, but talks didn't progress much beyond that, sources told FOX Sports. Diamondbacks general manager Dave Stewart indicated in December that Navarro could be an option for Arizona after dealing catcher Miguel Montero to the Cubs. Navarro has been seeking a trade from Toronto since the Blue Jays signed catcher Russell Martin to a five-year deal in November.

La Russa is happy to do battle again By Dan O'Neill / St. Louis Post-Dispatch http://www.stltoday.com/sports/baseball/professional/la-russa-is-happy-to-do-battle-again/article_758223b0-b5aa-5d31-8921-e8880bf5689a.html With spring training only weeks away, Tony La Russa’s gut is a remake of Francis Ford Coppola’s “Apocalypse Now.” He loves the smell of competition in the morning. “Getting back in the game, having an investment with a team where you care about the record ... it’s a good feeling,” La Russa said. “It’s funny, the morning we were going to announce officially that I was to be a member of the Diamondbacks, I woke up and my gut was churning. And it’s been that way ever since. That feels normal.” With 1,408 Cardinals wins, La Russa is the winningest manager in franchise history. He returns this weekend to host “Wine and Whiskers” at the Redbird Club in Busch Stadium on Friday, and to sign autographs at the Winter Warm-Up on Saturday. “Wine and Whiskers” is a food and wine-tasting soiree, a chance to hobnob with La Russa and celebrate his Hall of Fame election last summer. Proceeds from the event go to Animal Rescue Foundation (ARF) programs. La Russa capped 16 years in St. Louis with a 2011 world championship. He retired from managing before taking a $2 million-a-year job with the commissioner’s office. Nice work if you can get it, eh? But something was amiss, and a soft stomach told La Russa so. “It was a tremendous experience,” La Russa said. “I met a lot of really good people. But being neutral is just unnatural.” The stir-crazy competitor was offered an opportunity to be chief baseball officer for Arizona. He accepted last May and has been chasing the improvement curve ever since. The Diamondbacks Way was not flattering in 2014, producing the worst record in baseball (64-98). It led to the highway for incumbent general manager Kevin Towers, manager Kirk Gibson and other members of the staff. La Russa is starting fresh. He hired former Oakland A’s pitcher Dave Stewart as general manager. He promoted Chip Hale from

within to become the new manager. He brought in some new faces and brought in some old reliables — Dave Duncan (assistant general manager) and Dave McKay (first base coach). The roster also has been tweaked. Catcher Miguel Montero was traded, Cuban slugger Yasmany Tomas was signed. Injured incumbents like Paul Goldschmidt are rehabbing. All that remains is cleats on the ground. But the war on losing isn’t easily reversed. The skirmishes take place everywhere. “If you want to be a championship contender, you have to pitch at the beginning of the game and now, for about the last 30 years, you have to pitch really well at the end of the game,” La Russsa said. “Your defense has to complement your pitching. The better it is, the less you have to score — but you still have to score. So I think we’ve been evaluating the whole team. “And actually, I think we have a better nucleus than most people would figure.” He doesn’t look it, but La Russa is 70. And he is not the most patient man anyway. The D’backs will get better sooner rather than later. “A lot of it has to do with getting some people healthy,” La Russa added. “But we’ve had some young guys coming along. We had five minor league teams play in the postseason last year, so there’s some help coming. We are going to draft high, so we might get some help right away. “We’re not sending a message to our fans that this is a five-year plan.” La Russa met with scouts and player development types last week. With its abysmal 2014 record, Arizona has the No. 1 pick in the June draft. La Russa wants to make sure everyone is on point, ready to take advantage. “The awakening is, (as a manager) you kind of get sheltered in your little cocoon, with a 25-man team, coaches, equipment guys and trainers,” La Russa said. “But when you talk about an entire organization … “There’s a lot more that goes on, especially during the winter. It’s been very challenging and time-consuming, but I’m not complaining. That’s what I asked for and I’m excited to be part of it.” La Russa has done lots of homework. He has put people in place he believes can advance the cause. He is striking a balance between in-uniform experience and statistical analysis, a “Moneyball” tug of war that has existed in baseball for several years. He has talked with other sports figures who have transitioned from white lines to cluttered desks. He knows part of the challenge is to provide people space.

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“I’m going to have to answer to my owner and president,” La Russa said. “And the answers I want to have are to questions like: Did the scouting department do a first class job of scouting the amateur guys? Did Stew and his group do a first-class job of trying to fill the roster? And are Chip and his coaches doing a first-class job of picking the talent and competing? “So I’ll monitor all that stuff, but I know how hard it is, so ...” Where the La Russa factor is felt, how quickly it materializes, remains to be seen. White Sox owner Jerry Reinsdorf hired La Russa as a manager back in 1981. When he heard the Diamondbacks were bringing La Russa back, he told ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick, “I’m glad the Diamondbacks are in the National League.” All that aside, La Russa will be a Cardinal again for some 36 hours this weekend. In many cities, he insists, his celebrity already would be diminished. “They’d be saying, ‘Who is that old-timer? Did he play?’” La Russa said. In St. Louis, that won’t happen anytime soon. “The fans don’t forget their history and tradition, so it’s a little different in St. Louis,” he added. If La Russa has his way, it soon will be different in Arizona, as well.

It’s Out of the Question: Randy Johnson’s shot at Pro, College of Newspaper Hall of Fame? None By Tom Hoffarth / Los Angeles Daily News http://www.dailynews.com/sports/20150110/before-becoming-the-big-unit-randy-johnson-was-a-daily-trojan-photographer Randy Johnson? Hmmm, yeah, the name sounds familiar. Have a look at this photo uncovered from 1982. That’s a definite ID on the guy. Back row to himself, all 6-feet-10, trying to look unassuming. You can’t blame him. How was this 19-year-old — or anyone else really — supposed to know that he’d become one of the greatest left-handed pitchers in big-league history, a four-time Cy Young Award winner, second all-time in strikeouts and just this week voted near unanimously into Cooperstown’s Baseball Hall of Fame, just 30-something years after this snazzy group photo was snapped? The rest of the journalists-wannabes from the USC Daily Trojan newspaper staff filling out that frame — including me, sporting the Trojan helmet in the front row, for example — were only certain after this particular autumn day that we would never see Johnson’s bust in the Pro Football Hall in Canton, Ohio. Actually, the Randy Johnson we thought we knew way back then was really someone we hardly knew. Know what I’m saying?

A full-ride scholarship member of Rod Dedeaux’s Trojan baseball team (along with this other pitching prospect named Mark McGwire), Johnson’s interest in photography would occasionally bring him to the student newspaper office, as well as the school’s Sports Information Department, to see if there were any assignments he could shoot. The advantage he had was obvious — no need for an extended tripod for the future-named “Big Unit.” So now it can be told, hopefully without fear of the retribution of a fastball thrown at our dome: Someone had the inspired idea to recruit Johnson as something of a ringer to play for the Daily Trojan flag football team in the annual “Blood Bowl” game against UCLA’s Daily Bruin. If we used him as a towering tight end, it would be such an easy target for the quarterback Casey Wian (now reporting news at CNN) and Jon SooHoo (who would become the Dodgers’ longtime official team photographer) to hit over the middle. If only Johnson could catch an actual pass. That wasn’t obvious until the game started. Those who try to piece together the facts of what happened that day start with the ridiculousness of a wet, sloppy, muddy mess of the Bruins’ practice field next to Pauley Pavilion. Getting any kind of traction was tough for anyone. Johnson looked like a newborn giraffe. In a fierce-hitting game (even though it was just flags) recorded as a controversial 12-0 UCLA victory aided and abetted by the Westwood referees, Johnson’s most memorable contribution involved the lone USC touchdown that wasn’t a touchdown. The 80-yard play converted by Paul Vercammen (now at CNN) was called back because of an illegal downfield block. It was called on Johnson, the human broomstick who was probably just looking for someone to grab so he wouldn’t fall over. He couldn’t have blocked anyone if he tried. But the Legend of Randy Johnson merely started that day. Who could forget all that he meant to the team after that? And as a side note, there was another question that needs to be addressed: Whatever happened to the quarterback of that UCLA team? David Kahn, whose career path started in sports writing but recently ended with him the ex-director of basketball operations for the NBA’s Minnesota Timberwolves, has been on a professional trajectory that may be more Ripley’s-related than what happened to Johnson. Except Kahn won’t be enshrined anytime soon in the Basketball Hall. Probably. Right? So what’s the moral of whatever this story has become? Pay attention to those kids you hang out with in college who may not always be the gangly, useless knuckleheads you think they’ll turn out to be. Because years later, when you try to reconnect with them, they’re likely to easily forget you ever existed. • Making an appearance as part of David Letterman “Top Ten” list the other night for “Things I Said When I Learned I Made the Baseball Hall of Fame,” one of Johnson’s lines included:

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“One step closer to becoming People Magazine’s ‘Sexiest Man Alive’.” Is that some kind of left-handed compliment? • Since Mike Piazza has had three straight years now of not-so-near misses at getting enough Hall votes, what kind of numbers does the greatest-hitting-ever-catcher need to put up in 2015 to qualify for the Cooperstown Class of 2016? • What’s the worthiness of the College Football Hall of Fame without admitting new/tarnished inductees such as Jim Tressel and Brian Bosworth? • Outside of putting on a pretty decent marathon, Boston’s emergence as the revolutionary choice by the USOC to host the 2024 Summer Olympics must be because of ... its world-class tea parties? No overtures of a boycott yet from England? • Who again is Steven Gerrard MBE, and why are to believe this lad from Liverpool could send the Galaxy into another new soccer-ific stratosphere? • Now that the fast-food industry has developed an all-natural, grass-fed burger with no added hormones, no antibiotics and no steroids, can the same technology cross over to the world of athletics? • What’s the worst thing that could happen if I don’t return this O.J. Simpson Heisman Trophy that I recently picked up in an LAPD get-rid-of-the-evidence auction? • To those who predict that Jameis Winston is a future Pro Bowler, are they confusing what he can do with an NFL pigskin versus the 16-pound balls he’d need to compete regularly on PBA Tour? • Stan Kroenke hasn’t been returning my phone calls either. Should I be ramming my head into a wall?

Rough 2014 season notwithstanding, Wade Miley has plenty of potential By Brian MacPherson / Providence Journal http://www.providencejournal.com/sports/red-sox/content/20150111-rough-2014-season-notwithstanding-wade-miley-has-plenty-of-potential.ece Before he was hired as Arizona Diamondbacks pitching coach, Mike Harkey spent six seasons as the bullpen coach of the New York Yankees. Those were the six seasons during which Jon Lester established himself as the ace of the starting rotation of the rival Red Sox. When Harkey looks at Wade Miley, the lefty his Diamondbacks team traded to Boston about a month ago, he sees similar upside — albeit with one reservation. “I truly believe that once his fastball command gets where he’s capable of getting to, he’s going to be a guy like a Jon Lester,” Harkey said in a phone interview recently. “One of the things Jon Lester possesses is the ability to put his fastball where he wants to in key situations, and that’s what makes him so good in big games. Wade is right on the verge of that, of being that guy

who can consistently repeat his delivery and make pitches with his fastball.” A former first-round draft pick, Miley finished second in National League Rookie of the Year voting in 2012 after compiling a 3.33 ERA in 194 2/3 innings. His ERA has climbed in each of the two seasons since then, peaking at 4.34 last season — and that was in the National League West. “I look at it as sort of a down season,” Miley said after the trade. “You learn from some things. I feel like I learned a lot about it, and I’m just going to move forward into next season.” “He definitely hasn’t reached his full potential yet,” Harkey said. If there was a silver lining for Miley, it was a spike in his strikeout rate. The lefty had struck out fewer than 150 batters in his first two seasons but then struck out 183 batters last season in 201 1/3 innings. The difference-maker for Miley has been a revamped slider, a pitch he tightened up and threw harder than ever before. Two seasons ago, he threw it around 84 mph and used it about 16 percent of the time. Last season, he threw it around 86 mph and used it 25 percent of the time. He threw it in the strike zone more, and he saw it hit over the fence less. The result was a pitch that was a legitimate weapon — even against righties, the hitters with whom opposing teams loaded up their lineups last season. He threw his sliders to righties more than ever before, and righties hit just .199 with a .284 slugging percentage when he threw it. Thanks in large part to his willingness to use his slider, he struck out more than 21 percent of the righties that he faced last season — a jump from 17.6 percent the previous season. “There were some things that he and I worked on to keep him from getting too far across his body,” Harkey said. “He does throw across his body a lot, which adds to his deception and his ability to hide the ball from right-handers, but he made some strides with that. He worked really hard to try to calm those things down.” But a weapon like his slider only works if it has an effective fastball to go with it, a fastball that Miley can throw not just for strikes but to different spots in the strike zone. His former pitching coach thinks it’ll come in time, but the Red Sox have learned with some of their young pitchers in the last year or two, control of a fastball doesn’t always come. “The biggest thing is his fastball command,” Harkey said. “He’ll probably be the first one to tell you that he works really hard on that — and if he ever does get that fastball command that’s comparable to a Jon Lester, then he’s going to be that guy that’s going to be a consistent winner in the big leagues.”

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January 12, 2015 • sports.yahoo.com/mlb/morenews http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/morenews January 12, 2015

Baseball Prospectus names Tim Anderson No. 1 Sox prospect 10:33 am EST (Comcast SportsNet Chicago)

Yep, it’s January. We’re talking about “selfie rules” at baseball games 10:30 am EST (NBC Sports)

White Sox sign their second LaRoche of the offseason 10:15 am EST (NBC Sports)

The Rockies are talking to Ryan Vogelsong 9:31 am EST (NBC Sports)

Rays keep turning over roster 9:16 am EST (Comcast SportsNet Mid Atlantic)

Hank Aaron to join group interested in buying the Atlanta Hawks 9:09 am EST (NBC Sports)

Pastor/actor/criminal seeks canonization for Roberto Clemente 8:30 am EST (NBC Sports)

Guy who voted for Troy Percival for the Hall of Fame claims that East Coast Bias keeps Percival out 7:18 am EST (NBC Sports)

Would rumored trade have made Nats better? 12:31 am EST (Comcast SportsNet Mid Atlantic)

January 11, 2015

Marlins in search of a fourth outfielder 11:50 pm EST (NBC Sports)

AL executive: Alexi Ogando’s medical records “don’t look great” 11:00 pm EST (NBC Sports)

Report: Dan Haren will show up to spring training with the Marlins 10:36 pm EST (NBC Sports)

Marlins sign Tyler Colvin and Scott Sizemore to minor league deals 10:05 pm EST (NBC Sports)

Farrell leaning towards batting Hanley Ramirez fourth 9:13 pm EST (Comcast SportsNet New England)

John Farrell leaning towards batting Hanley Ramirez fourth 9:10 pm EST (NBC Sports)

Nationals, Mets, Rays discussed trade involving Ian Desmond and Ben Zobrist 8:17 pm EST (NBC Sports)

Report: Nats almost sent Ian Desmond to the Mets 7:45 pm EST (Comcast SportsNet Mid Atlantic)

Roy Halladay fan doesn't see Roy Halladay right next to him 7:11 pm EST (Comcast SportsNet Philadelphia)

A.J. Burnett: “I got one (season) left.” 7:10 pm EST (NBC Sports)

Report: Yankees to hire Jeff Pentland and Alan Cockrell as hitting coaches 6:05 pm EST (NBC Sports)

Zobrist: 'Part of my heart still stuck in Tampa Bay' 3:34 pm EST (Comcast SportsNet Bay Area)

Dan Duquette still candidate for Blue Jays president 3:28 pm EST (NBC Sports)

Bundy will be big story at this week's minicamp 2:18 pm EST (Comcast SportsNet Mid Atlantic)

Tigers agree to deal with infielder Josh Wilson 1:15 pm EST (NBC Sports)

Report: Red Sox sign Jeff Bianchi to minor league deal 12:30 pm EST (Comcast SportsNet New England)

Red Sox sign Jeff Bianchi to minor league deal 11:33 am EST (NBC Sports)

Video: Braves’ tribute to new Hall of Famer John Smoltz 9:06 am EST (NBC Sports)

Cubs ink three players to minor-league deals 12:36 am EST (Comcast SportsNet Chicago)

January 10, 2015

Adam Jones will make a donation to David Ortiz’s charity after losing a bet 11:51 pm EST (NBC Sports)

White Sox sign Andy LaRoche, two others to MiLB contracts 11:48 pm EST (Comcast SportsNet Chicago)

CC Sabathia likely to begin bullpen sessions this month 9:57 pm EST (NBC Sports)

Shin-Soo Choo says he feels “too good” nearing spring training 8:43 pm EST (NBC Sports)

Hall of Famer Martinez arrives home, 10 orchestras await 8:17 pm EST (The Associated Press)

Marlins holding out hope Dan Haren changes his mind about pitching on the West coast 7:32 pm EST (NBC Sports)

Johan Santana expects to return to the major leagues in 2015 6:24 pm EST (NBC Sports)

A's get Zobrist, Escobar from Rays for Jaso, minor leaguers 5:41 pm EST (The Associated Press)

Rays sign Juan Francisco 5:29 pm EST (NBC Sports)

Red Sox, Orioles set up bet for Ravens-Patriots 5:21 pm EST (Comcast SportsNet Mid Atlantic)

Josh Reddick is now on board with Billy Beane’s plan 5:00 pm EST (NBC Sports)

Padres sign Jose Valverde 4:26 pm EST (NBC Sports)

Mark Mulder still mulling over the possibility of a comeback 3:49 pm EST (NBC Sports)

A's, not Giants, had what Rays wanted for Zobrist 3:21 pm EST (Comcast SportsNet Bay Area)

Miguel Cabrera scheduled to have CT scan of ankle/foot in February 2:30 pm EST (NBC Sports)

Cross Ben Zobrist off the list of potential options for Nats at 2B 1:46 pm EST (Comcast SportsNet Mid Atlantic)

A's acquire Zobrist, Escobar from Rays for Jaso, prospects 1:29 pm EST (Comcast SportsNet Bay Area)

Unique offseasons for Nats' Craig Stammen, Kevin Frandsen 1:28 pm EST (Comcast SportsNet Mid Atlantic)

UPDATE: Athletics acquire Ben Zobrist and Yunel Escobar from Rays 1:24 pm EST (NBC Sports)

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Diamondbacks asking around about catching, but finding price is too high 11:48 am EST (NBC Sports)

Orioles week included expected signing, one unexpected 11:33 am EST (Comcast SportsNet Mid Atlantic)

Mariners give Robinson Cano permission to play in Dominican Winter League 10:21 am EST (NBC Sports)

HOFer Smoltz sets the bar for other Tommy John veterans 9:59 am EST (Comcast SportsNet Mid Atlantic)

Pirates and Jung-ho Kang expected to get a deal done next week 8:58 am EST (NBC Sports)

January 9, 2015

Shoulder surgery for Nationals' Werth, out 2-3 months 11:34 pm EST (Comcast SportsNet Bay Area)

Blue Jays’ deal with Ryan Kalish has fallen through 11:24 pm EST (NBC Sports)

Asdrubal Cabrera deal with Rays finalized 10:37 pm EST (NBC Sports)

Kevin Costner: 'Something very American' about Wrigley Field 10:25 pm EST (Comcast SportsNet Chicago)

Jurickson Profar to begin a throwing program soon 9:46 pm EST (NBC Sports)

John Axford drawing interest from four teams, including the Blue Jays 8:59 pm EST (NBC Sports)

Did Carlos Delgado deserve more Hall of Fame support? 8:04 pm EST (NBC Sports)

Cubs add Chris Denorfia to outfield mix with $2.6 million deal 7:49 pm EST (Comcast SportsNet Chicago)

Dodgers outright Erisbel Arruebarrena to Triple-A 7:21 pm EST (NBC Sports)

OF Chris Denorfia completes $2.6M deal 1-year deal with Cubs 6:36 pm EST (The Associated Press)

Delmon Young, Orioles finalize $2.25M, 1-year contract 6:24 pm EST (The Associated Press)

Cubs make Chris Denorfia signing official 6:11 pm EST (NBC Sports)

McGehee marvels at Romo's slider, happy he won't face it 6:09 pm EST (Comcast SportsNet Bay Area)

Nationals' Werth has arthroscopic surgery on right shoulder 5:49 pm EST (The Associated Press)

Who's left? Best remaining MLB free agents for Nats and others 5:26 pm EST (Comcast SportsNet Mid Atlantic)

Ryan Lavarnway has been let go by four teams since late November 5:22 pm EST (NBC Sports)

Jayson Werth's shoulder surgery successful, rehab now begins 5:18 pm EST (Comcast SportsNet Mid Atlantic)

Orioles re-sign Delmon Young to one-year contract 5:18 pm EST (Comcast SportsNet Mid Atlantic)

Mariners Cano to play limited winter ball games in Dominican 5:16 pm EST (The Associated Press)

Cardinals surface as potential suitor for Cole Hamels 5:03 pm EST (Comcast SportsNet Philadelphia)

Krukow: Shields' price coming down as market corrects 4:38 pm EST (Comcast SportsNet Bay Area)

Brandon McCarthy: admit the PED players to the Hall of Fame 4:31 pm EST (NBC Sports)

Tigers official on Max Scherzer: we “have to have him” 3:05 pm EST (NBC Sports)

Schilling reverses position, backs Bonds for Hall of Fame 2:14 pm EST (Comcast SportsNet Bay Area)

Sammy Sosa was not invited to the annual Cubs Convention 1:45 pm EST (NBC Sports)

Curt Schilling: my comments were made in jest 1:30 pm EST (NBC Sports)

Orioles have a groundskeeper in Hall of Fame, too 12:46 pm EST (Comcast SportsNet Mid Atlantic)

One Hall of Fame voter recuses himself from “creating the news that drives the outrage” 12:37 pm EST (NBC Sports)

January 12, 2015 • MLB.com http://www.cbssports.com/mlb/transactions

Last updated: Mon, January 12, 2015, 03:34 EST

Sunday, January 11, 2015

Team Player Transaction

Baltimore Orioles

Cesar Cabral

Signed to a Minor League Contract

Detroit Tigers Josh Wilson

Signed to a Minor League Contract

Los Angeles Dodgers

Chin-hui Tsao

Signed to a Minor League Contract

Miami Marlins Tyler Colvin

Signed to a Minor League Contract

Pittsburgh Pirates

Josh Stinson

Signed to Play in Korea, (Kia Tigers)

Washington Nationals

Kevin Mattison

Signed to a Minor League Contract

Saturday, January 10, 2015

Team Player Transaction

Atlanta Braves Joe Benson

Signed to a Minor League Contract

Atlanta Braves

Leyson Septimo

Signed to a Minor League Contract

Boston Red Sox

Blake Tekotte

Signed to a Minor League Contract

Chicago Cubs

Taylor Teagarden

Signed to a Minor League Contract

Chicago Cubs Jorge De Leon

Signed to a Minor League Contract

Chicago White Andy LaRoche Signed to a Minor League

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Sox Contract

Kansas City Royals

Alex Liddi

Signed to a Minor League Contract

Kansas City Royals

Roman Colon

Signed to a Minor League Contract

Los Angeles Dodgers

Lars Anderson

Signed to a Minor League Contract

Oakland Athletics

Yunel Escobar

Traded From from Rays, Tampa Bay (for C John Jaso, five-player deal)

Oakland Athletics

Ben Zobrist

Traded From from Rays, Tampa Bay (for C John Jaso, five-player deal)

Oakland Athletics

Jason Pridie

Signed to a Minor League Contract

Oakland Athletics

Andy Parrino Designated for Assignment

San Diego Padres

Jose Valverde

Signed to a Minor League Contract

San Diego Padres

Scott Elbert

Signed to a Minor League Contract

Tampa Bay Rays

Joey Butler

Signed to a Minor League Contract

Tampa Bay Rays

John Jaso

Traded From from Athletics, Oakland (for INF Ben Zobrist, five-player deal)

Tampa Bay Rays

Juan Francisco

Signed to a Minor League Contract

Tampa Bay Rays

Asdrubal Cabrera

Signed as Free Agent, ( 2015)(one-year contract)

Friday, January 9, 2015

Team Player Transaction

Baltimore Orioles

Ryan Lavarnway

Designated for Assignment

Baltimore Orioles

Delmon Young

Signed as Free Agent, ( 2015)(one-year contract)

Chicago Cubs Chris Denorfia

Signed as Free Agent, ( 2015)(one-year contract)

Chicago Cubs Mike Kickham Designated for Assignment

Kansas City Royals

Ryan Jackson Outrighted to Minors

Los Angeles Ali Solis Signed to a Minor League

Dodgers Contract

Los Angeles Dodgers

David Huff

Signed to a Minor League Contract

Los Angeles Dodgers

Erisbel Arruebarrena

Outrighted to Minors

Los Angeles Dodgers

Ryan Buchter

Signed to a Minor League Contract

Pittsburgh Pirates

Charlie Leesman

Signed to a Minor League Contract