Fan News

The Baltimore Orioles have reportedly reached an agreement with relief pitcher Grant Balfour on a two-year deal.

Roch Kubatko of MASN Sports reported the news:

The Tampa Bay Rays have been relatively quiet, as usual, this offseason.

Some teams make big splashes in the offseason, signing expensive high-profile players, while others make ripples. The big splashes garner a lot of attention, are seen and heard from further distances and are projected to make a significant impact immediately.

Small ripples make less noise and attract a smaller national audience. Instead of a single large splash, multiple ripples need to be put together with the intent of building a sustained winner.

The New York Yankees have reportedly come to terms on a two-year deal with relief pitcher Matt Thornton.

According to Jack Curry of the YES Network, Thornton will make $7 million over the life of the contract.

CBS Sports' Jon Heyman adds that Thornton will have to pass a physical:

If it were profitable, Alex Rodriguez would get on the biggest hill he could find, spin around and sing his story for all to hear like a baseball Julie Andrews. Instead, he is opting to just write a tell-all book about his plight and possibly secure a documentary feature. 

Even though the results aren't showing up at Wrigley Field, the Chicago Cubs are heading in the right direction. It's hard to see when a team is coming off a last-place finish in the National League Central and 96 losses in 2013, but there is a plan in place that will start to bear fruit soon. 

Late last night, news broke from Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports that longtime Baltimore Orioles second baseman and fan-favorite Brian Roberts was "likely" to sign a deal with the New York Yankees.

The old adage of "you win some, you lose some" sure rings true when it comes to the moves the Oakland Athletics have made so far this offseason. Assembling a bullpen of this caliber could be an A+ by itself. But the A's failed to fill crucial holes with big trade chips.

The starting rotation is young and talented.

Bartolo Colon was the lone veteran of the staff, but he became a free agent. Rather than look internally, the A's filled Colon's spot in the rotation with another free agent.

With the large amount of turnover the New York Yankees are experiencing this offseason, general manager Brian Cashman is continuing to piece together the 2014 version of the club.  As he does so, the batting order that skipper Joe Girardi writes down on his lineup card for Opening Day gradually becomes clearer.

At first glance the numbers seem preposterous; $400 million for a single player? 

Not even Alex Rodriguez's gaudy $275 million figure comes close. Not a single player in Major League Baseball history has ever even cracked the $300 million mark.

In fact, Rodriguez ranks both first and second when it comes to all-time record salaries. His previous 10-year, $250 million contract comes in second.

The Cleveland Indians came into the 2014 offseason with some glaring needs in the bullpen, starting rotation, on the bench and also at third base.

The team was able to remedy some of those needs by signing the likes of John Axford, Shaun Marcum, David Murphy and Jason Giambi among others.