While the Johan Santana trade was in the works, there was some suggestion that his value could have been lower than expected due to concerns about an injury that he was playing through towards the end of last year. What does pitch f/x have to say about the reasons behind his poor September performance?   more »

According to USA Today, the New York Mets have agreed to a trade for  Johan Santana, giving up four prospects to acquire the left-hander of the Minnesota Twins, according to two high-ranking Twins officials with knowledge of the talks and a person close to Santana.

The deal is pending the Mets and Santana reaching agreement on a six- or seven-year contract extension and that Santana passes a physical. New York has been granted a 48 to-72-hour window to apparently come to terms with Johan. The Mets are said to have sent outfielder Carlos Gomez and pitchers Phil Humber, Deolis Guerra and Kevin Mulvey for the Twins ace.

More details as they become available!

The Seattle Times is reporting that a trade of Baltimore's Erik Bedard to the Seattle Mariners is all but done. The Mariners are said to be including Adam Jones in the deal but no other names have been mentioned yet. We'll keep you posted on developments. Hat tip to MLB Trade Rumors.

The Twins and Cuddyer have come to an agreement on a 3 year contract worth $24 million. Minnesota has also agreed to terms with first baseman Justin Morneau on a six-year contract (worth a reported $80 million).   more »

The Tampa Bay Rays and pitcher James Shields have agreed on a seven-year contract. The first four years of the agreement are guaranteed with the team holding options for the 2012, 2013 and 2014 seasons, covering Shields' final arbitration year and first two years of free agency. It is potentially the longest contract in club history with a maximum value of approximately $44 million.   more »

The Tampa Bay Rays have called a press conference for 2:00 PM tomorrow to announce a major signing. Speculation is that they will be announcing a long term deal with starting pitcher James Shields. Shields was 12-8 with a 3.85 ERA in 2007. He started 31 games for Tampa Bay, throwing 215 innings. He allowed 202 hits, walked 36, and struck out 184.

The Chicago White Sox have agreed to terms on a four-year, $4.75-million contract with free agent infielder/outfielder Alexei Ramirez. Under terms of the deal, Ramirez will receive a $500,000 signing bonus and be paid $950,000 in 2008 and $1.10 million each season from 2009-11.   more »

According to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, the St. Louis Cardinals have signed catcher Yadier Molina to a 4 year contract with a club option for a 5th year. Dollars have not yet been disclosed.