Week In Review

It's been a busy seven days since last Sunday. Let's look back at the top stories from last week:

• Doubters of a Cliff Lee mystery team were silenced when the Phillies swooped in and signed the market's top free agent to a five-year deal worth $120MM with a vesting option. Here's some reactions to Lee's signing and his decision to leave tens of millions of dollars on the table.
• Lee wasn't the only big name pitcher to change teams this week. The Brewers jumped in and acquired Zack Greinke (along with Yuniesky Betancourt and cash) for Alcides Escobar, Lorenzo Cain, Jeremy Jeffress, and Jake Odorizzi. The move came not long after Greinke requested a trade. Here are some reactions.
• The Padres overhauled their middle infield with a pair of moves. The long awaited Jason Bartlett trade was finalized, with four players (Brandon Gomes, Adam Russell, Cesar Ramos, and Cole Figueroa) going to Tampa. San Diego also received a player to be named later. The Padres also agreed to terms with Orlando Hudson on a two-year deal worth $11.5MM, and received Eric Patterson from the Red Sox as the player to be named later in the Adrian Gonzalez trade.
• Minnesota strengthened its middle infield as well, signing Tsuyoshi Nishioka to a three-year deal worth $9MM. There is also an option for a fourth year.
• The A's bolstered their offense with two moves this week. First, they signed Hideki Matsui to a one-year deal worth $4.25MM. Secondly, they acquired Josh Willingham from the Nationals in exchange for Henry Rodriguez and minor leaguer Corey Brown. Oakland also brought back Rich Harden on a one-year, $1.5MM deal and signed Brandon McCarthy for one year and $1MM.
• The Tigers brought back Magglio Ordonez to deepen their lineup, signing him for one year and $10MM. They are now looking at Brad Penny and a few other free agent starters.
• Lee wasn't the only one who turned down more money to go where he wanted. Despite a larger offer from the White Sox, Kerry Wood signed for just one year and $1.5MM to return to the Cubs, where it all began.
• Wood certainly wasn't the only reliever to sign this week, in fact a whole bunch came off the board. The Red Sox signed Bobby Jenks (two-years, $12MM), Dan Wheeler (one year, $3MM with a vesting option), Andrew Miller (minor league contract), and Matt Albers (unknown terms). The Yankees agreed to sign Pedro Feliciano (two years, $8MM with an option) and Mark Prior (minor league deal). The Orioles brought in Jeremy Accardo (one year, $1.08MM) and re-signed Koji Uehara (one-year, $3MM with a vesting option). The Marlins signed Randy Choate (two-years, $2.5MM)and the Dodgers signed Matt Guerrier (three-years, $12MM). The White Sox agreed to deals with Jesse Crain (three-years, $13MM) and Brian Bruney (minor league deal). The Rays signed Joel Peralta (one year, $900K) and J.P. Howell (one year, $1.1MM). The Nationals brought in Chad Gaudin on a minor league deal.
• The Red Sox are still looking at some lefties for their bullpen, and the Phillies will as well after their deal with Dennys Reyes fell apart. Joe Beimel has a few offers, and David Aardsma is available.
• Adrian Beltre received a "significant" offer from the Angels and the Rangers may be pursuing him aggressively. The Nationals are one of several teams interested in Derrek Lee while the O's are on Adam LaRoche. The Braves are optimistic about signing Dan Uggla long-term.
• The quartet of backup catchers landed with new teams. Henry Blanco signed with the Diamondbacks for one-year and $1MM, while Gerald Laird and Dioner Navarro got the same exact contract from the Cardinals and Dodgers, respectively. Matt Treanor took one-year and $850K from the Rangers. The Yankees signed Russell Martin for one-year and $4MM (with incentives), though he'll be a starter.
• Arizona imported Xavier Nady on a one-year deal worth $1.75MM while the Pirates brought in Matt Diaz for two-years and $4.25MM. Lyle Overbay also went to Pittsburgh for one-year and $5MM and Bill Hall joined the Astros for one-year and $3.25MM. The Nats added Matt Stairs on a minor league deal and the Blue Jays brought Edwin Encarnacion back a few weeks after waiving him.
• There's a bit of a hiccup in talks between the Marlins and Ricky Nolasco about a long-term extension. Despite strong interest in Matt Garza, the Rays aren't looking to trade a starting pitcher. Fausto Carmona is a popular target, however. Brandon Webb is likely to decide on a new club soon, but another injury rehab pitcher landed in Washington: Chien-Ming Wang re-upped with the Nats for one-year and $1MM with incentives.
• The Brewers avoided arbitration with Carlos Gomez as did the A's and Joey Devine.
• The Rangers took a flier on Seth McClung, and the Pirates finalized their contract with Kevin Correia. Pedro Martinez is "most likely" finished.

One of the busiest weeks in MLBTR history has come to a close, as the 2010 Winter Meetings are officially in the books. Here's your look back at the past seven days:

• No way to link to everything that happened during the Meetings, but as part of our 24/7 coverage we provided daily recaps of the action. Here's a look at Day One, Day Two, Day Three, and Day Four.
• Be sure to check out our Transactions page to see everything that went down this past week, but for the purposes of this post, we'll cover the big moves and most active teams, starting with Boston's acquisition of Adrian Gonzalez. San Diego received Casey Kelly, Anthony Rizzo, Reymond Fuentes, and a player to be named later. After nearly two years of expressing trade interest, Boston landed the big first baseman. The Red Sox want to extend him, but there's no deal in place so far.
• Gonzalez was just a warm-up for Theo Epstein, who also signed Carl Crawford to a seven-year, $142MM deal later in the week. Much had been made about the Angels' interest in Crawford, but the Sox outbid their competition and added two of the game's best players in a four-day span.
• The other top free agent outfielder came off the board too, as Jayson Werth signed his own seven-year deal with the Nationals. Washington came from out of nowhere with a $126MM bid to secure Werth's services.
• The Cubs found a replacement for Derrek Lee when they signed Carlos Pena to a one-year deal worth $10MM. Half of the money on Pena's deal is deferred.
• On the other side of Chicago, the White Sox resolved their own first base situation when they re-signed Paul Konerko to a three-year deal worth $37.5MM. Konerko and newly-signed Adam Dunn should create a fearsome 3-4 tandem on the South Side.
• Lots of trades and near-trades this week. In addition to the Gonzalez deal, we saw the Brewers and Blue Jays make a swap of Brett Lawrie and Shaun Marcum. The Brew Crew is already hoping to extend their new righty.
• Baltimore's infield has a new look. They acquired Mark Reynolds in exchange for David Hernandez and Kam Mickolio. The Orioles also acquired J.J. Hardy on the cheap from Minnesota, giving up Brett Jacobson and Jim Hoey. The O's received $500K in the deal as well, though they had to take on Brendan Harris and his $1.75MM salary. Lastly, Baltimore signed one of the better relievers available, securing the return of Koji Uehara on a $3MM deal.
• A similar deal to the Hardy trade may or may not go through; the Padres are attempting to acquire Jason Bartlett from Tampa Bay in exchange for Adam Russell and Cesar Ramos, but there's been a hitch in either Ramos or Russell's physical.
• Scott Downs landed the next big contract for free agent relievers, securing himself $15MM over three years with the Angels. That deal could have some implications for Rafael Soriano, who was seen as a good fit for the Angels.
• Odd as it sounds, the Pirates signed a trio of players and are looking at a trade for a fourth. Kevin Correia and Matt Diaz both received two-year deals, while Scott Olsen got a high-incentive one-year deal. Pittsburgh is also looking into acquiring Kenshin Kawakami.
• In addition to trading Reynolds, the D'Backs also had a trio of signings, including their new closer, J.J. Putz, for two years and $10MM with a club option, as well as Melvin Mora on a one-year deal for $2MM and Mike Hampton on a minor league deal.
• Ty Wigginton suprisingly found a two-year deal, signing with Colorado for $8MM. The Rockies have had a busy and expensive offseason to date.
• Former Rockie Miguel Olivo received a two-year contract of his own, signing in Seattle for $7MM. Seattle has had Olivo in the past, and is looking for better results this time around.
• More than just trades and signings this week: The Reds likely used Justin Upton's contract as a model in extending Jay Bruce for six years and $51MM. Cincinnati holds a $13MM club option for 2017 as well.
• This week was also home to the 2010 Rule 5 Draft, the results of which can be viewed right here.
• Cliff Lee rumors swirled all week, though the latest is that the Yankees have a seven-year deal on the table while the Rangers are likely maxing out at six guaranteed and possibly a vesting option for a seventh year. His decision may come as soon as Monday night.

It's time to take a look back at the week that was..

• After months and months of speculation, the Red Sox and Padres agreed to a deal that would send Adrian Gonzalez to Boston for Casey Kelly, Anthony Rizzo, and Reymond Fuentes.  Gonzalez and Boston had until 2pm EST to reach agreement on a new contract but were unable to get anything done.  Eventually, Boston relented and pulled the trigger on the trade.
• No surprise here, the Yankees and Derek Jeter hammered out a new three-year deal with a fourth-year option worth at least $56MM.  Before he re-upped with the Bombers, five teams called to express interest in him, though the shortstop never considered going elsewhere.
• The Bombers also re-upped another piece of their core four when they gave Mariano Rivera a two-year, $30MM deal.  The Red Sox and Angels were two of three teams to offer the closer a three-year contract.  Rivera has indicated that this contract could be his last, but he's said that before.
• Troy Tulowitzki agreed to an extension that will keep him in Colorado until 2020.  The shortstop will earn $119MM over the course of the deal.  The extension was unexpected as he was already in the midst of a six-year, $31MM extension he signed before the 2008 season.
• What a week for the White Sox.  GM Kenny Williams landed free agent slugger Adam Dunn and re-signed catcher A.J. Pierzynski.  Dunn will get up to four-years, $56MM while Pierzynski will get $8MM over two seasons.
• The best pitcher on the open market, Cliff Lee, is still out there.  The Rangers won't say whether they've made the ace a formal offer.  It seems to be a two-horse race for Lee's services, though that could change.
• Jorge de la Rosa reached agreement with the Rockies on a three-year, $32MM deal.  The pitcher holds a player option on the third year of the contract while Colorado has a team option for year four for $11MM.
• One of the most surprising moves of the week came when the Cardinals signed Lance Berkman to a one-year, $8MM deal.  The veteran hasn't played in the outfield since 2007 but will start in left field for St. Louis.
• Juan Uribe landed the first multiyear deal of his career when he left the Giants for the Dodgers.  The infielder is set to earn $21MM over three seasons.  Uribe will serve as the Dodgers second baseman but could also play some third and, obviously, shortstop.
• Miguel Tejada landed in San Francisco on a one-year, $6.5MM deal.  The contract includes a $500K bonus and gives the Giants a shortstop after losing Juan Uribe to the Dodgers in free agency.
• Toronto continues to show interest in Royals ace Zack Greinke.  Meanwhile, the Rangers are dreaming of a scenario in which they can re-sign Cliff Lee and also acquire Greinke.  Kansas City won't trade him anywhere inside of the division but the field could be pretty open as Greinke seems willing to consider big market teams.  The market for the hurler could heat up once Lee finally signs.
• We've heard Heath Bell's name in trade rumors for some time now but there are conflicting reports as to whether or not the Padres will deal him.
• The Cards acquired second baseman Ryan Theriot from the Dodgers in exchange for righty Blake Hawksworth.
• Toronto and Arizona have discussed a deal for Mark Reynolds, though the slugger won't be dealt to the Padres.  The Orioles are also said to be interested.
• Texas has "kicked the tires" on Carl Crawford but the club seems much more interested in Paul Konerko.  Most league execs feel that Konerko will be back with the White Sox.  Both Dunn and Pierzynski will accept deferred money in their contracts in order to give the club the flexibility needed to keep Konerko.  The O's made a significant offer to the veteran.
• San Francisco brought Pat Burrell back on a one-year deal worth $1MM.  The deal does not include any incentives.
• The Braves acquired Scott Linebrink and a check for $3.5MM from the White Sox for minor league pitcher Kyle Cofield.
• Pitcher Bronson Arroyo inked a three-year, $35MM extension with the Reds this week.  The contract is similar to the one the Dodgers gave Ted Lilly.
• Javier Vazquez is returning to the National League after signing a one-year, $7MM deal with the Marlins.
• The Yankees and five other clubs are interested in free agent catcher Russell Martin.  The Yanks tried to deal for him before he was non-tendered by the Dodgers.
• Colorado acquired Jose Lopez from the Mariners for right-hander Chaz Roe on Thursday.
• Earlier this week Toronto acquired pitcher Carlos Villanueva from the Brewers for a player to be named later.
• The Padres agreed to terms on a one-year, $3MM deal with pitcher Aaron Harang.  The San Diego native should do well in Petco.
• The Cubs and Nats are stepping up their pursuit of Brandon Webb.
• Jim Thome plans on playing in 2011.
• Hisanori Takahashi received a two-year deal worth $8MM from the Halos.
• Jason Varitek will return for a 15th season in Boston after agreeing to a one-year, $2MM deal.
• The D'Backs avoided arbitration with pitcher Zach Duke by agreeing to a one-year deal for $3.5MM with a $5.5MM mutual option for 2012.
• Minnesota avoided arbitration with Jason Repko and Pat Neshek.
• Atlanta re-signed Eric Hinske to a one-year deal with an option for 2012.
• The White Sox exercised their option on Alexei Ramirez.
• The Dodgers will welcome back Rod Barajas in 2011 after agreeing to a one-year, $3.25MM deal with the backstop.
• Pittsburgh signed a trio of interesting players to minor league deals.
• Kansas City agreed to one-year deals with Wilson Betemit and Brayan Pena.

Time to review the week that was, with the Winter Meetings just less than eight days away…

• The first big name free agent changed teams this week, with the Tigers signing Victor Martinez to a four-year contract worth $50MM. Fellow Venezuelan Miguel Cabrera helped lure him to Motown, and the Red Sox received two draft picks (including the 19th overall selection) as compensation.
• Aubrey Huff re-signed with the Giants for two-years and $22MM guaranteed, plus an option for a third year. GM Brian Sabean was given the okay to match any offer Huff received, and he's now focused on finding a shortstop.
• The Dodgers signed Jon Garland for one year and $5MM, plus an $8MM option for 2012 that will vest with 190 innings. GM Ned Colletti now turns his attention to a bat, a reliever, and his catching situation. The Marlins, meanwhile, landed Javier Vazquez for one year and $7MM, pending physical.
• The Twins won the rights to negotiate with Japanese infielder Tsuyoshi Nishioka, and his NPB team announced that they've accepted the bid. The agent for right-hander Hisashi Iwakuma explained his side of the story after the A's broke off contract talks last weekend.
• Arizona acquired Zach Duke from the Pirates for a player to be named later, and will attempt to sign him for 2011 at a lower rate than his 2010 salary of $4.3MM. If they can't, they'll non-tender him. Pittsburgh has interest in Scott Olsen, who could fill Duke's vacated rotation spot.
• A total of 35 free agents (14 Type A, 21 Type B) were offered arbitration before the Tuesday night deadline. Pedro Feliciano is "seriously considering" accepting the offer, ditto Frank Francisco.
• Yankees GM Brian Cashman encouraged Derek Jeter to test the open market after making several contract offers. The two sides remain far apart. The Yanks prefer to limit Mariano Rivera's contract to one year, and they have yet to make an offer to Cliff Lee.
• The Reds are going to talk to NL MVP Joey Votto about a long-term contract and the Rangers are going to do the same with AL MVP Josh Hamilton.
• Both the Cardinals and Padres are interested in trading for Jason Bartlett as well as Miguel Tejada (add the Giants), while the Brewers and Braves are making a push for Eric Hinske. Jose Reyes is available, but the Mets want three or four young players for their shortstop.
• Nine teams have interest in Jesse Crain, eight have interest in Lance Berkman, seven have interest in Brandon McCarthy, a half-dozen have interest in Cliff Lee, and several have interest in Jarrod Washburn. The Royals are interested in Kevin Millwood, the Red Sox Rod Barajas and Matt Guerrier, the Cubs Carlos Pena, the Rockies and Nationals Brandon Webb, the Dodgers Juan Uribe, and the Phillies Dennys Reyes. Both the Cubs and Rockies have interest in several free agent pitchers.
• Lots of players signed minor league contracts this week, including Dontrelle Willis (Reds), Dana Eveland (Dodgers), Raul Valdes (Cardinals), and Charlie Haeger (Mariners). Former first overall pick Bryan Bullington landed with the Hiroshima Carp while Kaz Matsui joined the Rakuten Golden Eagles.
• Kevin Towers is growing more pessimistic about trading Justin Upton.

The hot stove jumped into another gear this past week, with several trades and free agent signings going down. Let's recap… 

• Last Sunday we heard that the Braves' pursuit of a hitter could pick up during the week, and sure enough they soon traded Omar Infante and Mike Dunn to the Marlins for slugger Dan Uggla. Florida intends to focus on pitching now, and they have interest in Javier Vazquez (it's mutual). The Nationals could make Vazquez an offer this week, however.
• The first two significant free agents came off the board, as the Marlins signed John Buck (three years, $18MM) and the Tigers signed Joaquin Benoit (three years, $16.5MM).
• Two starting pitchers re-signed with their old clubs. The Dodgers brought back Hiroki Kuroda to a one-year, $12MM contract while the Cardinals re-upped Jake Westbrook for two years and $16.5MM with a third year option.  
• Miscellaneous trades: The Blue Jays traded a pair of prospects for Rajai Davis, the Rockies and Astros swapped Clint Barmes and Felipe Paulino. and the Yankees flipped Juan Miranda to the Diamondbacks for prospect Scottie Allen.
• The D'Backs were featured prominently this week, and not just because they signed Geoff Blum to a two-year, $2.7MM contract or have interest in J.J. Putz. GM Kevin Towers said he'd listen to offers for Justin Upton, but he's asking for a ton in return. Upton has four teams on his no-trade list.
• Gavin Floyd is reportedly on the market and the Rockies have shown interest. They also have interest in Kevin Kouzmanoff, Jorge Cantu, Jose Lopez, Ty Wigginton, and Kevin Millwood. Colorado released Manny Corpas and has drawn the line at three years with Jorge de la Rosa, 
• Derek Jeter wants a four-year deal from the Yankees, but they offered three years and $45MM. The Yanks also have interest in Pedro Feliciano and J.C. Romero, as well as Bill Hall. New York is expected to sign Dominican righty Rafael DePaula.
• Infielder Tsuyoshi Nishioka was posted by the Chiba Lotte Marines, and the Red Sox, Twins, and Orioles will submit bids. The O's also have interest in J.J. Hardy and Jason Bartlett.
• The Rangers met with Cliff Lee this past week, though Nolan Ryan expects to be outbid. Texas did sign free agent (but former sixth overall pick) Barret Loux for $312K.
• Brewers GM Doug Melvin told reporters that he's not shopping Prince Fielder while Scott Boras said that Manny Ramirez is seeking a one-year, incentive-laden contract to DH somewhere. Vladimir Guerrero is seeking a multiyear deal. Both the White Sox and Tigers met with Adam Dunn and his agent, and several teams have interest in Josh Willingham.
• The Orioles and 11 other teams have interest in Adrian Beltre, but the Athletics offered him five years and $64MM. The Red Sox will not go more than four years, however.
• The A's, meanwhile, broke off talks with Hisashi Iwakuma because of his contract demands.
• The Mets have a new manager, giving the job to Terry Collins. Twins manager Ron Gardenhire received a two-year contract extension. Drayton McLane announced his decision to put the Astros up for sale.
• The Phillies re-signed Jose Contreras to a two-year deal worth $5.5MM with a option for a third year, and they also have interest in Hisanori Takahashi. The Reds claimed Takahashi but were unable to work out a deal before he became a free agent.
• Yorvit Torrealba cut ties with the Padres and three clubs have interest in Miguel Olivo. The Reds re-signed Ramon Hernandez (one-year, $3MM).
• The Red Sox claimed Taylor Buchholz off waivers and are willing to trade Marco Scutaro.
• The Pirates designated three for assignment: Zach Duke, Andy LaRoche, and Delwyn Young.
• The Indians re-signed Anthony Reyes, but the big news in Cleveland is that Shin-Soo Choo will likely be exempt from mandatory military service back home in South Korea.
• Several players are trying to make comebacks, including Bartolo Colon, slugger Wily Mo Pena, and former Athletic Eric Chavez.
• "Six or eight" teams have shown interest in Carl Pavano while five have done the same with Jeff Francis and four with Brandon Webb. 
• The Dodgers selected outfielder Anthony Jackson from the Rockies to complete September's Octavio Dotel trade.

I doubt that the Marlins were thinking they'd flip the two centerpieces to the Miguel Cabrera/Dontrelle Willis trade for three relievers just three years after making the trade, but sometimes trades don't go as planned, and that's just what we saw this week. Here's your rundown of the last seven days here at MLBTR:

• The Marlins sent Cameron Maybin to the Padres in exchange for relievers Ryan Webb and Edward Mujica. Maybin, the former centerpiece to their blockbuster deal with the Tigers in 2007, was out of options and would have had to clear waivers to be sent to the minors. He'll likely receive every chance to be San Diego's everyday center fielder.
• The other centerpiece to that same deal, Andrew Miller, was flipped to Boston in exchange for reliever Dustin Richardson. As I said before, hardly the outcome the Fish had envisioned.
• Busy week for Oakland! The A's acquired David DeJesus from Kansas City in exchange for Vin Mazzaro and minor leaguer Justin Marks. DeJesus presents an upgrade to Oakland's offense, but isn't exactly an impact bat. The Royals receive a young pitcher they can control for years to come, although Mazzaro's peripherals aren't particularly dazzling.
• Oakland was able to comfortably move Mazzaro because they'd won the bidding on Hisashi Iwakuma earlier in the week. The A's bid about $17MM for Iwakuma and now must negotiate his contract.
• The A's also signed Dominican outfielder Vicmal de la Cruz for $800K. The 16-year-old topped Blake Bentley's list of Dominican prospects for MLBTR this past July. Baseball America's Ben Badler had high praise for the center fielder as well. The A's also claimed Edwin Encarnacion from the Blue Jays this week and are rumored to have interest in Lance Berkman.
• The Dodgers are closing in on a one-year deal with Hiroki Kuroda worth $12MM. I'm surprised to see Kuroda signing for just one year, as he's one of the best names available on the free agent market. If the deal gets done, it'll be a nice bargain for the club and provide them with a strong 1-4 in its rotation.
• The D'Backs are nearing a two-year deal with Geoff Blum that's reportedly worth just over $2MM. I'm not sure why Arizona felt they needed to guarantee Blum two years, or sign him this early, but it's not a move that will cripple them even if it flops.
• Iwakuma wasn't the only Japanese name in the news this week. The Braves outrighted Kenshin Kawakami to Double-A, removing him from their 40-man roster. We also learned that Japanese batting champ Tsuyoshi Nishioka is hoping to be posted. The 26-year-old can play either middle infield position and would draw plenty of interest. Akinori Iwamura reached a deal with Iwakuma's former team, the Rakuten Golden Eagles, this week as well.
• The Marlins broke off extension talks with Dan Uggla this week and are now measuring trade interest in the slugger. Earlier today, Buster Olney reported that the Jays would be the favorites to land Uggla's services in a trade. The Tigers are also interested.
• The Tigers are also interested in Victor Martinez, though they're not the only team. The Red Sox are prioritizing V-Mart, along with Adrian Beltre. If they miss out on Martinez, Boston may turn to John Buck.
• Both Jeff Francoeur and Brian Bannister elected free agency this week; they both were locks to be non-tendered anyway.
• The Yankees' main target may be Cliff Lee, but they're also interested in Jorge de la Rosa. We also heard they're planning on offering Derek Jeter $45-$60MM.
• We've heard that there's a good chance Aubrey Huff winds up back with the Giants, but he'll at least have a decision on his hands. He's received offers from several clubs.
• The Phillies signed both Eddie Bonine and Erik Kratz to minor league deals this week, but there were far more minor transactions than that. Be sure to check out our Transactions section for all of this week's minor moves!

Free agency officially began this week, which makes for some busy times around MLBTR. Let's take a look back at the last seven days:

• One of the more interesting stories of the week saw the Blue Jays acquire Miguel Olivo from Colorado and immediately decline his 2011 option. Toronto will send a player to be named later or cash to Colorado, and will offer Olivo arbitration. Should Olivo decline, the Blue Jays have essentially purchased a supplemental round draft pick, as Olivo is a Type B free agent.
• It may be the end of the road for Jamie Moyer, who suffered an elbow injury in the Dominican Winter League this week. The 48-year-old lefty has spent a quarter of a century as a major leaguer.
• More manager/front office news this week; the Brewers hired Ron Roenicke, the Marlins will stick with Edwin Rodriguez, Ron Washington received a two-year extension, and the Mets hired J.P. Ricciardi as a special assistant to Sandy Alderson.
• The Rakuten Golden Eagles posted Hisashi Iwakuma this week, and are hoping for a $16MM-$17MM posting fee. Bidding has reportedly closed, and the Mariners may be the favorites.
• Jay Bruce and Chris Perez are among the bigger names of players who reached Super Two status this week.
• The Astros won't pursue bringing Lance Berkman back to Houston.
• San Francisco is likely to retain Aubrey Huff but unlikely to try to move Barry Zito.
• The White Sox are looking to extend John Danks but haven't made an offer to A.J. Pierzynski. They also announced Omar Vizquel will be back on a one-year, $1.75MM deal.
• Sticking in the AL Central, the Tigers and Jhonny Peralta are nearing completion on a new two-year, $11.25MM contract to keep the infielder in Detroit.
• The Nationals are looking to make a splash this offseason, and we heard earlier today that Cliff Lee will listen to their pitch. They also released Tyler Walker this week.
• It's a bit out of the ordinary for them, but the Pirates are planning on pursuing free agent starting pitching to strengthen their rotation.
• The Yankees will be all over Cliff Lee, we know that much. We learned this week though, that Carl Crawford and Jayson Werth are not in their offseason plans.
• The Marlins offered Dan Uggla a four-year deal, beginning with an $8MM salary in 2011, but the second baseman is looking for five years.
• Hisanori Takahashi will seek a three-year deal worth $4MM or $5MM annually.
• World Series MVP Edgar Renteria may have had his option declined (no surprise there), but he also announced this week that he does intend to play in 2011. Obviously, he'll be taking a pay cut.
• The Padres exercised Adrian Gonzalez's 2011 option, but GM Jed Hoyer said he'll listen to offers on his first baseman as well as All-Star closer Heath Bell.
• The Pads declined their 2011 option on Chris Young. Yorvit Torrealba declined his half of his mutual option with San Diego as well. Ditto for Jon Garland.
• Tons more option news this week; we'll try to list them all here. The Red Sox picked up David Ortiz's option and announced they'd do the same with Scott Atchison, while declining their options on Felipe Lopez and Bill Hall. Adrian Beltre declined his player option.
• The A's picked up Coco Crisp's option as well as their option on Mark Ellis.
• The Braves picked up options on Alex Gonzalez and Omar Infante, while declining options for Rick Ankiel and Kyle Farnsworth.
• The Rockies declined their option on Octavio Dotel and their option on Jeff Francis.
• The Reds exercised Bronson Arroyo's option, while we learned in this piece that they'll do the same with Jonny Gomes, but not Orlando Cabrera or Aaron Harang.
• Milwaukee declined options on Gregg Zaun, Trevor Hoffman, and Doug Davis.
• Arizona declined its option on Adam LaRoche, as did the Nationals with Adam Kennedy, the Orioles with Mark Hendrickson, the Blue Jays with Kevin Gregg, and the Rangers with Vladimir Guerrero.
• The Rays declined options on Dan Wheeler and Willy Aybar, while the Mariners declined options on Erik Bedard, Russell Branyan, and Jose Lopez.
• The Mets picked up their 2011 option on Jose Reyes, and Aramis Ramirez exercised his player option.
• Scott Podsednik declined his side of his mutual option with the Dodgers and hit free agency.
• In addition to all of the options that were declined, several other names were added to the free agent list after being outrighted by their teams, including Casey Kotchman, former top prospect Andy Marte, and Scott Olsen of the Nationals. Check out the Transactions section for all of the news from the week — dozens of minor moves took place.

While the baseball world enjoys Game Four of the World Series, let's review the week that was on the rumor circuit…

• The Mets officially named Sandy Alderson their new general manager this week, and he indicated that they will not be big spenders on the free agent this winter.
• Rumors of an Ozzie Guillen for Mike Stanton swap surfaced, though the reports were later shot down. Don't expect it to happen, but that sure would be fun.
• The Blue Jays hired John Farrell to be their new manager, and Manny Ramirez wouldn't mind playing for him.
• Dave Duncan agreed to a new two-year deal to stay in St. Louis, making him the game's highest paid pitching coach.
• Bobby Valentine is the leading candidate to manager the Brewers. Unless Don Wakamatsu landing a managerial job elsewhere, he will be the Orioles' bench coach in 2011. The Marlins are leaning toward keeping interim manager Edwin Rodriguez on a full-time basis.
• The Yankees re-signed manager Joe Girardi to a new three-year, $9MM contract. They will discuss how much they're willing to offer Cliff Lee this week, and will look for a lefty reliever this offseason.
• Philadelphia has money to spend, and they have made contact with Scott Boras about Jayson Werth. The Phils are unlikely to bring Jamie Moyer back on anything but a non-guaranteed deal.
• The Mets and Hisanori Takahashi have extended their deadline to get a new contract worked out to November 5th after he hired a new agent. They offered the lefty a one-year deal recently.
• The Rakuten Golden Eagles are hoping to receive $16MM-17MM when they post righty Hisashi Iwakuma. Hiroyuki Nakajima hasn't given up on being posted.
• It's unclear if the Blue Jays will go to arbitration with Jose Bautista, or offer him a one- or multi-year deal. Jorge de la Rosa intends to test the free agent market.
• The White Sox are targeting Colby Rasmus in a trade, while their captain Paul Konerko will be a priority of the Diamondbacks this offseason. The Tigers are said to be "deeply interested" in Carl Crawford and are expected to work something out with Jhonny Peralta.
• Dan Uggla and the Marlins made some movement towards a contract extension, and David Ortiz still wants security in the form of a multi-year deal. The Giants don't figure to increase their payroll much despite going to the Fall Classic.
• Jose Molina had his 2011 option picked up by the Blue Jays, as did Matt Thornton and Ramon Castro of the White Sox. The Twins exercised Jason Kubel's option while declining Nick Punto's. The Yanks declined their options for Kerry Wood, Lance Berkman, and Nick Johnson, as did the Phillies with J.C. Romero.
• Both the Padres and Yankees signed a high profile international free agents; San Diego Edwin Moreno and New York Wilmer Romero.
• Among the players that elected free agency this week: Gabe Gross and Jeff Larish of the Athletics, Chris Gimenez and Anthony Reyes of the Indians, and Greg Dobbs of the Phillies.
• Rangers' CEO Chuck Greenberg confirmed that they will discuss a contract extension with GM Jon Daniels after the season.
• Last, but certainly not least, Pedro Martinez is looking for motivation to come back.

Seems hard to believe that the World Series is already upon us, but we're just three days away. Congratulations to both the Rangers and the Giants! That said, let's take a look back at the MLBTR world over the past seven days:

• The Tigers and Brandon Inge agreed on a two-year extension that will pay the 34-year-old $11.5MM. Beyond Adrian Beltre, there's not much on the free agent market, so Detroit stuck with what it had, even if the price was a bit steep.
• Details emerged on the Ted Lilly signing, as we heard the Dodgers will pay the left-hander $33MM over the next three seasons. That's one free agent starter off the market, and another could be gone soon as well, with Jake Westbrook and the Cardinals discussing an extension.
• Some news about the market's other top pitchers: Texas will bid aggressively on Cliff Lee to keep him in Arlington, Zack Greinke's no-trade clause is larger than originally thought, and Javier Vazquez is interested in pitching for the Nationals.
• The Nationals signed Mike Rizzo to a five-year extension this week as well. Tough to argue with Rizzo's results to this point, although the Adam Dunn situation is questionable.
• In managerial news this week, the Cubs hired Mike Quade, and we heard that John Farrell was offered the Blue Jays job before this morning's announcement that Toronto would indeed hire him. Also, the Cardinals re-signed Tony La Russa for 2011 with a mutual option for 2012.
• The Mets have narrowed their GM search down to two candidates: Sandy Alderson and Josh Byrnes. We heard that Alderson is the favorite, but no decision has been made yet.
• We already know the Reds will pick up Bronson Arroyo's option, but we also learned this week that they'll probably exercise the $1.75MM option on Jonny Gomes. Orlando Cabrera's $4MM option will most likely be declined, despite the fact that the Reds will be increasing payroll in 2011.
• The Yankees sent Andrew Shive and Matt Cusick to Cleveland in order to complete July's Kerry Wood trade. Neither prospect is particularly impressive, though that's not a surprise given Wood's injuries and salary.
• The Braves had a busy Tuesday as they released Melky Cabrera and also released Takashi Saito, as they were contractually obligated to do. Saito adds an intriguing arm to the late-inning relief market, while Melky could make a nice fourth outfielder if he can trend back toward his Yankee numbers.
• Josh Willingham would like to sign an extension to remain with the Nationals.
• The Padres will seek production for the top of their lineup this offseason as they look to improve the table-setters for Adrian Gonzalez.
• Interesting note on a trio of players: Bengie Molina is still probably ready to call it a career, while Randy Winn is hoping to avoid that fate and play in 2011, and Orlando Hernandez wants to come out of retirement and pitch again in 2011.
• In international news, Yu Darvish announced that he's planning on remaining in Japan next season, while we learned that multiple Japanese teams are interested in Kenshin Kawakami. One team said it will pay as much as $3MM of Kawakami's 2011 salary.
• The Mets and Francisco Rodriguez resolved their grievance, with the Mets not paying his final $3.1MM of 2010, but paying him in full for 2011.
• In a couple of minor moves, the Brewers signed Mike Rivera and the Marlins re-signed Donnie Murphy.

As excited as I am to get to use "10/10/10" as a date in the title of this post, I'll contain myself as we take a look back at the past seven days here on MLBTR:

• The market for free agent starting pitcher continues to get weaker. Two weeks ago we learned that the Reds will definitely pick up Bronson Arroyo's 2011 option, and this week another name got crossed off the list as Ted Lilly agreed to a three-year deal to stay with the Dodgers. Guys like Hiroki Kuroda and Carl Pavano must be happy to see some competition leaving the board before it begins.
• One thing they probably don't like to see is that the Royals will add a potential name to the list by making Zack Greinke available via trade. The 2009 Cy Young winner instantly becomes one of the top two options on the market, alongside 2008 Cy Young winner Cliff Lee.
• We hear the Yankees and Rangers mentioned a lot in connection to Lee, but there will be other teams who want to get their hands on the ace lefty, including the Nationals. Washington has said they'll go as high as five years and $125MM for a legit ace. They've also got a decision to make on Chien-Ming Wang this offseason, who's throwing in the instructional league.
• Like Lilly, Heath Bell would like to remain in the NL West for three years. He voiced his desire for an extension with the Padres this week, and said he doesn't expect more than three years because of his age. The cost-conscious Padres may be better off dealing Bell, however.
• Lots of managerial news this week, so here we go: the Braves named Fredi Gonzalez as Bobby Cox's heir, and the Mariners hired Eric Wedge for three years. We heard Bobby Valentine may have been the frontrunner in Miami, but withdrew from the Marlins' search just days later. In case the Twins' decade of postseason struggles had you curious, Ron Gardenhire isn't going anywhere for a long time.
• On the GM side of things, we heard from Jeff Wilpon that the Mets' search for Omar Minaya's replacement may take weeks, though Sandy Alderson seems to be the current frontrunner.
• In other Mets news, the team is working toward a settlement with troubled closer Francisco Rodriguez.
• The Royals acquired former standout Kevin Pucetas from the Giants this week to complete the Jose Guillen trade. Pucetas, 25, has three minor league All Star selections, an ERA title, and a Futures Game appearance under his belt, but has fallen on hard times at the upper levels. Nice upside considering all they had to give up was Guillen, though.
• Several free agents talked about their preferred destinations this week, as Arthur Rhodes and Jonny Gomes said they'd like to remain in Cincinnati, while Magglio Ordonez is optimistic about working out a deal with Detroit, and Johnny Damon would love to return to the Bronx Bombers. Jeff Francis would like to stay put in Colorado as well.
• Jim Thome was a bit more vague, but said he's leaning toward playing in 2011 and loved his time in Minnesota. We heard later in the week that his teammates Orlando Hudson and Nick Punto are unlikely to return.
• Hiroyuki Nakajima, a 28-year-old Japanese shortstop who could be posted, is drawing a lot of Major League interest already. Probably has something to do with the .314/.385/.511 slash line and 20 homers he produced this year, though that power might not carry over to the Majors.
• Some minor transactions from around the league: the Red Sox re-signed Jarrod Saltalamacchia to a split contract that could earn him up to $750K, Jeremy Hermida and Ross Wolf elected free agency after being outrighted to Triple-A, and the Cardinals claimed Bryan Augenstein off waivers from the Diamondbacks.