Odds & Ends: Sano, Towers, D'Backs, Fehr

Links for Wednesday...

• Kevin Towers has a standing offer from the Red Sox, according to Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe.  For now, Towers plans on taking a few months off.  In contrast, a week ago ESPN's Buster Olney wrote that "there would appear to be excellent odds that Towers will land with the Yankees as a special assistant sometime in the months ahead." 
• The Cubs' contract with hitting coach Rudy Jaramillo is official.
• Miguel Angel Sano received his U.S. work visa, according to SI's Melissa Segura.
• The new Rays hitting coach is Derek Shelton, according to Marc Topkin of the St. Petersburg Times.
• Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic crafts an offseason plan for the Diamondbacks, who have a decent amount of money to work with.  We did our Offseason Outlook for the team back in September.
• J.C. Bradbury of Sabernomics says tendering a contract to arbitration-eligible right fielder Jeff Francoeur is probably worthwhile for the Mets.  I don't sense that non-tendering him is a serious consideration.
• Donald Fehr will receive an $11MM parting gift when he steps down from his MLBPA position, says ESPN's Amy K. Nelson.  The players were mostly in favor of the decision, according to Curtis Granderson.
• The Rangers met with Jim Crane's group Tuesday, according to MLB.com's T.R. Sullivan.  Two more potential investing groups are scheduled.
• Backup catcher Mike Redmond told MLB.com's Kelly Thesier he plans on playing next year, whether or not it's with the Twins.
• 41-year-old righty Keiichi Yabu also hopes to play in 2010, says NPB Tracker's Ryo Shinkawa.
• Reliever George Sherrill has no hard feelings about the Orioles trading him to the Dodgers, says Dan Connolly of the Baltimore Sun.
• MLB.com's Dick Kaegel talked to Zack Greinke, who was characteristically blunt.
• In a Saturday post, Jon Weisman of Dodger Thoughts said he'd like to see how GM Ned Colletti handles the decreased payroll flexibility once his young players reach arbitration.  Weisman is even-handed in his assessment of Colletti, but here's a funny quote: "I don't laud him for retaining the young core of the team: Kershaw, Kemp, Billingsley, Broxton, Martin, et al. Knowing not to dump those guys is like knowing not to show up to work in your underwear."

Odds & Ends: Redmond, Mauer, Bay

Another round of links...

• Backup catcher Mike Redmond wants to re-sign with the Twins this offseason, according to Sid Hartman of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune. Rookie Jose Morales has been backing Joe Mauer  up lately, so the Twins have options behind the plate.
• Charley Walters of the Pioneer Press says the Twins "are expected" to try to sign Joe Mauer for about $120MM over seven years after this season. If Mauer hits free agency after next season, he'd probably see multiple offers worth more than $120MM.
• The Red Sox will have an opening in left field after the season and Curt Schilling knows how he'd attempt to fill it. He said on WEEI's The Dennis & Callahan Show that he'd rather re-sign Jason Bay than pursue Matt Holliday because Bay has proven he can play in Boston.
• ESPN.com's Keith Law reports that the D'Backs are about to sign their first European player. Andrea Pizziconi, a 17-year-old Italian, has a "promising" slider and may develop into a four-pitch pitcher.