Jeff Passan

10 Degrees: Shin-Soo Choo remains the free-agency riddle

The outfielder's patient approach to finding a new deal has set the tone for every move, and anticipated move, this fall.

  • Negro Leagues: Three things you might not have known

    Outside Pitch did a terrific Q&A with Negro League Baseball Museum president Bob Kendrick. (Kendrick is pictured above with Thomas Tull (a producer of "42'), along with actors Harrison Ford and Chadwick Boseman, who played Jackie Robinson.) If you're not … Continue reading →

    Big League Stew

  • UPDATE: The Padres have a deal with Joaquin Benoit

    UPDATE: Jeff Passan says a deal is done, pending a physical. No word on the cash, but figure between $7-9 million a year for two years. 8:48 AM: The Padres have a closer in Huston Street who saved 33 games last year and who will make $7 million this year. But who says you only…

    NBC Sports

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  • Dodgers re-sign left-handed reliever J.P. Howell to a two-year, $11.5 million contract

    From ESPN’s Buster Olney comes word that the Dodgers finalized a two-year contract with left-hander J.P. Howell on Tuesday afternoon. The two-year pact, which carries $11.5 million in guaranteed money along with a $6.25 million vesting option for 2016, will be officially announced Thursday after…

    NBC Sports

  • Report: MLB recorded record revenues in 2013

    Maury Brown of Forbes reports that Major League Baseball’s 2013 revenues will exceed $8 billion. Which will be an all-time record. And that next year, thanks to new TV revenues coming online, the figure could approach $9 billion. By way of comparison, revenues were at $1.4 billion in 1995, the year…

    NBC Sports

  • Tuesday's Sports In Brief

    President Barack Obama sent Russia a clear message about its treatment of gays and lesbians with who he is - and isn't - sending to represent the United States at the Sochi Olympics.

    The Associated Press

  • UPDATE: Pirates president is overstating the team’s TV deal

    UPDATE: I spoke to a source with knowledge of the Pirates’ TV deal, and the source tells me that the deal is not in the top half of MLB TV deals in terms of average annual value. Far from it. If, as Coonelly says, the Pirates are in the top half of all deals it’s…

    NBC Sports

  • A's Wolff throws a wrench into Howard Terminal plan

    You have to hand it to Lew Wolff; The minority owner/front man of the Oakland As delightfully quixotic search for a new stadium backtracked on several years of We cant see any future in Oakland to We can see a future in Oakland, but its not the future anyone else sees. Oaklands movers and…

    Comcast SportsNet Bay Area

  • The Yankees agree to a one-year, $2 million deal with Brian Roberts

    “Ground ball to Jeter, he tosses it to Roberts, Roberts relays it to Teixeira and . . . oh, man. All three of them broke their hips.” Brian Roberts and Yankees have agreement for 1-year deal worth around $2 million plus incentives, sources tell @Ken_Rosenthal and me. — Jon Morosi (@jonmorosi)…

    NBC Sports

  • J.P. Howell, Dodgers close to deal, per report

    The Dodgers are getting ready to bring back another one of the top relievers from their 2013 bullpen. The 30-year-old posted a career-best 2.03 ERA over 62 innings with the Dodgers in 2013. If the Dodgers are able to get this deal done, they will have locked up two key free agents from their 2013…

    SB Nation

  • Rakuten Golden Eagles will allow Masahiro Tanaka to be posted after all

    This morning there was a report that the Rakuten Golden Eagles would try to persuade Masahiro Tanaka to stay in Japan. Now, late this afternoon, comes word that they will grant his wish to be posed after all. The report comes from Sanspo.com, via Dylan Hernandez of the Los Angeles Times. As…

    NBC Sports

  • Orioles have their closer: Grant Balfour

    The Orioles finally have a replacement for Jim Johnson. On Tuesday afternoon, they reached agreement with Grant Balfour pending a physical examination by club doctors, according to an industry source.

    Comcast SportsNet Mid Atlantic

  • Ex-Nats C Brian Schneider takes Single-A manager job

    Former Nationals catcher Brian Schneider has joined the minor league coaching ranks, accepting the manager job for the Class-A Jupiter Hammerheads. Schneider, who played with the Nats, Mets and Phillies - all NL East teams - will now coach a Miami Marlins farm system affiliate.

    Comcast SportsNet Mid Atlantic

  • Cincinnati Reds: Aroldis Chapman Will Win the NL Cy Young Award

    COMMENTARY | One of the more polarizing players for the Cincinnati Reds within their fanbase is closer Aroldis Chapman, who has validated the faith the Reds' front office and general manager Walt Jocketty placed in him when they inked Chapman to a six-year, $30.25 million international free-agent…

    Yahoo Contributor Network

  • What would Andrew McCutchen get if he were a free agent next year?

    So were Albert Pujols and Josh Hamilton. Andrew McCutchen is baseball. McCutchen looks like the baseball players I was too young to watch. McCutchen is 5'10", 190.

    SB Nation

  • Millions Doubt They Qualify to Refinance

    Don't be left out. If you have thought about refinancing you may qualify at lower rates. Find the lowest rates and start saving.

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  • Addison Reed also played for Diamondbacks 15 years ago — in Little League

    Little did Addison Reed realize that, when he woke up Monday morning in sunny San Diego, he would be spending his last few moments with the Chicago White Sox. Reed was traded to the Arizona Diamondbacks for third base prospect … Continue reading →

    Big League Stew

  • Phillies still need a bench lefty and a reliever

    The Phillies' plan, though it doesn't seem sound, is very clear at this point: They're supplementing an aging core with short-term void-fillers and hoping everyone stays healthy and produces. The odds are against it, but that's the plan.

    Comcast SportsNet Philadelphia

  • APNewsBreak: Yankees hit with $28M luxury tax

    The New York Yankees were hit with a $28 million luxury tax bill, pushing their total past the $250 million mark since the penalty began in 2003. According to Major League Baseball calculations sent to teams Tuesday, the Los Angeles Dodgers were the only other team that exceeded the tax threshold…

    The Associated Press

  • Curse of the Mets' Santa Suit

    The Mets' Curse of the Santa Suit has claimed numerous victims through injury, trades or a drop in production to whomever dons the suit at the annual party.

    The Wall Street Journal

  • Brian Cashman is sick of stupid questions

    Carlos Beltran‘s three-year, $45 million deal with the Yankees still hasn’t been officially announced nearly two weeks later, so Wallace Matthews of ESPN New York asked general manager Brian Cashman what’s up. Cashman’s response: There are terms to do, physicals to take, items to be worked out when…

    NBC Sports

  • Report: Shin-Soo Choo rejected a $140 million deal from the Yankees

    This is interesting: Jeff Passan of Yahoo! reports that the Yankees offered Shin-Soo Choo a seven-year, $140 million contract. It reportedly came after the Yankees signed Jacoby Ellsbury for $153 million. Passan says Choo’s agent, Scott Boras, countered for more money, after which the sides parted…

    NBC Sports