Kevin Youkilis

Kevin Youkilis is heading to Japan to continue his baseball career. The veteran infielder has reportedly reached an agreement with the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles for the 2014 season.

And then there was one.

With news Friday that James Loney has re-upped with the Tampa Bay Rays for $21 million over three years, according to Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports, there aren't many first basemen of note left on the free-agent market.

It may be a while before the New York Yankees receive any contributions from third baseman Kevin Youkilis.

Sweeny Murti of WFAN New York reports that New York Yankees third baseman Kevin Youkilis will miss 10-12 weeks after recovering from surgery to repair a herniated disc on Thursday.

The inevitable has finally happened.

New York Yankees third baseman Kevin Youkilis has been out since last Saturday against the Toronto Blue Jays (in Toronto) with a sore lower back. There were no initial plans to place him on the 15-day disabled list, though that could now become an option.

New Red Sox manager John Farrell has his work cut out for him as he tries to pick up the pieces from last year's horrendous showing under Bobby Valentine. He's been tasked with patching up the leaking holes that led to the Red Sox' worst season in nearly 50 years—and then some.

If he can take anything away from his predecessor, it's a long list of don'ts.

When thinking about all of the things Farrell should approach differently this year than Valentine, the short answer is everything. But here are five crucial lessons to be learned for a guaranteed turnaround in 2013.

The American League East is the most competitive division in baseball. From this division, the New York Yankees and Baltimore Orioles made the playoffs last October. The Tampa Bay Rays came up just short in their playoff push, but have competed for the division crown in each of the past five seasons.

It's been a quiet offseason so far for the New York Yankees. Brian Cashman and the front office only gave fans one new present for the holiday season in Kevin Youkilis (the rest, re-signing Mariano Rivera, Andy Pettitte, Hiroki Kuroda and Ichiro Suzuki, were recycled gifts).

The New York Yankees have filled their void at third base—left by the ailing Alex Rodriguez—by signing free-agent infielder Kevin Youkilis on Tuesday, reported first by Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports.