A year ago today, the Giants signed Mark DeRosa to a two-year, $12MM deal. Due to a wrist injury, DeRosa wasn't a factor in the team's World Championship. Today's links:
- The Chiba Lotte Marines announced the signing of Bob McCrory, writes NPB Tracker's Patrick Newman. McCrory, 29 in May, had labrum surgery in October of 2009, became a minor league free agent, failed a physical for the Red Sox, and ended up making 19 appearances for Baltimore's Double-A affiliate this year.
- Jeff Zrebiec of the Baltimore Sun is surprised by the lack of a resolution in the Orioles' month-long pursuit of reliever Kevin Gregg. Zrebiec notes that the O's have "some interest" in Jon Rauch, and there are plenty of other available free agents as well.
- Free agent designated hitters lack leverage in contract negotiations, writes Dave Cameron of FanGraphs. We explored this situation yesterday in trying to find possible fits for Manny Ramirez.
- Red Sox lefty Rich Hill explains the origin of his signature curveball, talking to WEEI's Alex Speier.
- A reminder: in addition to our list of remaining available free agents, MLBTR has a free agent tracker that allows you to filter signed players by team, position, years, and amount.