AGRI Biz

Talk about coming full circle: 17 years after Darren Oliver began his career with the Texas Rangers, it looks as though Oliver will be returning to the Rangers. The Texas Rangers are nearing completion of a one-year deal to add LHP Darren Oliver to the bullpen, two sources said Sunday night. Oliver, 39, has been used as a reliever for the last four years and has found significant success in that ...

Late Saturday night, the Athletics and Coco Crisp came to terms on a one year pact worth $4.5-$5 million dollars . The deal set off some heated discussion in the blogosphere, namely, what in the world is Billy Beane doing? For one, ESPN's Rob Neyer is not a fan of the signing: With that out of the way ... I don't get it. Unless someone is traded, this makes no sense ...

While Scott Boras patiently waits for some team to offer Adrian Beltre a four-year deal worth around $10 million annually, the market for Beltre is simply not developing at this point. And to make matters worse, the Red Sox, who were one of the few teams interested in Beltre that could come close to giving him the contract he wanted, might not be in the market for a third baseman anymore. ...

You see plenty of moves like this in football, but contract restructuring is not nearly as common in baseball. But yesterday, the Reds and Scott Rolen agreed to a restructured deal that will keep him in Cincinnati for the next three seasons: The Cincinnati Reds and Scott Rolen have agreed to restructure the third baseman's contract to give the club more payroll flexibility for next season, ESPN.com has learned. ...

A few days ago, I talked about the limited interest Orlando Hudson was receiving thus far on the free agent market (which included some great comments about possible landing spots for Hudson!). That same day, the Cubs traded away Milton Bradley for Carlos Silva , in a swap of horrible contracts that frees up some money for the Cubs to spend. The Mariners threw in $9 million dollars in ...

And with that, the Chicago Cubs just got less crazy and the Seattle Mariners have found a middle of the order hitter Cubs acquire: Carlos Silva, $9 million Mariners acquire: Milton Bradley ************* ************** Cubs Perspective Finally get rid of Milton Bradley! Very little upside on return Carlos Silva stinks Save $9 million! Where does he fit on the Cubs roster? Conclusion: It has come to ...

Coming into the offseason, the two top free agent first basemen on the market were Adam LaRoche and Nick Johnson. Besides the fact that they are both left-handed first basemen, LaRoche and Johnson have little in common as far as their careers and playing styles are concerned. LaRoche is a steady power hitter, who has hit at least 20 home runs in each of the past five seasons ...

Last night, the Yankees and Nick Johnson came to terms on a one year/$5.5 million contract that all but ends Johnny Damon's tenure with the Yankees: In a move that almost certainly would end Johnny DamonÆs four-year run in the Bronx, the Yankees were close to completing negotiations on a one-year contract with Nick Johnson late Thursday. A stalemate over salary between Johnny Damon and the Yankees could be broken ...

The great Ken Rosenthal asked today "Do the Mets Have Alternatives for Benjie Molina?" The Mets will not give free-agent catcher Bengie Molina a three-year contract. The question is whether reasonable alternatives even exist for both parties. Few teams need catchers, and probably none is willing to give Molina, 35, a three-year deal. The Mets, meanwhile, probably cannot find a better catcher than Molina in either free agency ...

Could Nick Johnson be returning to the Bronx? Maybe: The Yankees and Nick Johnson are talking about the sweet-swinging lefty and on-base machine replacing Hideki Matsui as the world championsÆ designated hitter on a one-year deal. If an agreement is reached, it would be an indication the Yankees will part ways with Johnny Damon, who they view at least as a part-time DH and donÆt want him for more than ...