Free Agency

The (AL) West just got wilder.

Rich Harden has reportedly signed a one-year, $7.5 million deal with the Texas Rangers.

The deal, which is contingent upon Harden passing a physical, is believed to have an option for 2011 valued at $11.5 million.

The Ace List

The Seattle Mariners mean business.

General Manager Jack Zduriencik is entering just his second offseason at the club’s helm, but clearly has the franchise headed in the right direction.

Last offseason, he engineered a number of low-risk, high-reward deals and helped turnaround a club that had just 61 wins in 2008 to 85 victories a year ago.

With baseball's free agency period already beginning well over a week ago, teams are slowly starting to make moves.

Marco Scutaro signed a deal to be the Boston Red Sox new shortstop.

Chone Figgins signed a deal to be the Seattle Mariners new third basemen.

The winter meetings are about to begin on Monday in Indianapolis with all the general managers in baseball and they will look to start making deals, maybe potentially looking to trade some top talent.

But more importantly, next week, a lot of people expect the free agents to start signing.

According to Will Carroll from Baseball Prospectus, the Cubs will sign free agent Mike Cameron to play center field as soon as Milton Bradley is moved. Carroll tweets that the Bradley deal has been "imminent for 72 hours."

Cameron will turn 37 in January but is still an above average defender, at least according to a UZR/150 of 10.3, despite a weak arm. He should be a huge improvement over Kosuke Fukudome, who can move back to right field.

With potential free agent infielders being snatched up faster than the testimonies of Tiger Woods’s mistresses by tabloids, I figured I had better relate some thoughts about the Twins infield situation before the market is completely dry (which, at this pace, could be any day now).

According to Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports, the Seattle Mariners are "clear front-runners" to sign free agent third baseman Chone Figgins . The Mariners did offer Adrian Beltre , their starting third baseman for last several years, arbitration but he will likely sign elsewhere as he is only a Type-B free agent and his Gold Glove defence should be enough for him to get a contract he wants.

The Red Sox shortstop saga appears to be at an end. According to reports, the club and free agent shortstop Marco Scutaro have reached agreement on a two-year contract, pending a physical.

Alas, the Sox no longer have to contemplate shifting Dustin Pedroia to shortstop!

Back in July, there were some people that thought the Cubs should have traded pitcher Rich Harden. I was among those that though Harden, having a good, healthy season, had arguably the highest trade value of his career and could have helped the future of the Cubs at the expense of a lost 2009 campaign.

Cubs GM Jim Hendry didn't agree; Harden stayed in Chicago.

Then, in August, we learned that the Minnesota Twins placed a waiver claim on Harden. Around the same time the Anaheim Angels won a waiver claim on, and paid a fairly steep price for, an underwhelming Scott Kazmir.

The passing of the deadline for Major League Baseball teams to offer arbitration to their former players clears the landscape slightly in the free agent market.

Players who have been offered arbitration have until Monday to decide whether to accept, but at least now teams know which players will cost them draft choices if they decide to sign them.