The Brewers dealt shortstop J.J. Hardy to the Twins for speedy center fielder Carlos Gomez.

It eases the shortstop logjam between Hardy, a former All-Star, and Alcides Escobar, the organization's top prospect, essentially handing the baton to Escobar for 2010.

It gives the Brewers their center fielder and perhaps their leadoff hitter, making Milwaukee even more unlikely to pursue two of its outgoing free agents, Mike Cameron and Felipe Lopez. [READ]

Johnny Damon knows he'll have options this winter, but returning to the Yankees is his first choice.

"I'm going to have a lot of options, so I think what it comes down to is what kind of option the Yankees want to give me or not give me," Damon told the New York Daily News on Friday.

"Why wouldn't I want to come back? We have the best owners in baseball, we have the best team and we have the most revenue and the biggest payroll. Who wouldn't want to be a part of the Yankee tradition? I would like to continue mine. I feel like I can come back and do a great job again."

The Yankees have to make decisions on Damon, Hideki Matsui and Andy Pettitte. [READ]

Hideki Matsui says he will work on his knees this offseason in hopes that he'll be healthy enough to play in the field next year.

Matsui, who will become a free agent this winter, knows that his chances of being re-signed by the Yankees will increase greatly if he is able to play left field again.

He hasn't played in the outfield since June 2008.

"That's going to be a challenge that I'm going to have to work on during the offseason," Matsui told the New York Daily News.

"That's something that I'm going to be working on, trying to get back to the outfield and seeing how capable I'll be." [READ]

The Reds want to bring catcher Ramon Hernandez back, but not for $8.5 million option that his contract held.

"We're not going to pick up the option," Reds general manager Walt Jocketty told MLB.com. "We have been talking with his agent and trying to negotiate a new deal. We're hoping he comes back."

The buyout for the Hernandez option is $1 million. [READ]

The Mets have picked up the $500,000 option on the contract of pitcher Mike Pelfrey for the 2010 season.

His contract expired after this season, but the team was able to bring him back because he isn't arbitration-eligible until 2011. [READ]

The Angels have given general manager Tony Reagins a long-term extension to remain with the club.

A club official told the Los Angeles Times that the new deal is at least as long as the three-year contract he signed in 2007 when he took over for Bill Stoneman.

"We have some unfinished business around here," Reagins said. [READ]

The Royals have bought out their option on the contract of outfielder Coco Crisp.

However, Kansas City is still interested in re-signing Crisp, who would have made $8 million had the club exercised his option.

Crisp has until Nov. 19 to file for free agency.

"Coco is a very dynamic player," Royals general manager Dayton Moore told the Kansas City Star. "He is an above-average to good center fielder that was performing well in the leadoff role. We'll see how that skill set blends in with what we're able to do as get into the offseason.

"In this ballpark, its important — if we're going to win — to have somebody in center field who can go get the ball." [READ]

The Nationals have declined the $10 million option on the contract of outfielder Austin Kearns.

They will instead pay him a $1 million buyout, allowing him to hit the free agent market.

Kearns hit only .195 with three homers and 17 RBIs in 174 at-bats this season as he was bothered by a thumb injury. [READ]

Giants pitcher Tim Lincecum reportedly has an agreement with a prosecutor that could settle his misdemeanor marijuana charge.

Clark County (Wsh.) prosecutors have reached a deal that would result in a $250 fine for possessing a marijuana pipe.

"We negotiated the case in the manner we do with just about every first-time marijuana-drug paraphernalia case where the individual is cooperative with the officer," Grant Hansen, a Clark County deputy prosecutor, told The Columbian.

"We dismissed possession of marijuana and amended the other charge to buying or selling drug paraphernalia, a Class A civil infraction." [READ]

Manny Ramirez has exercised the $20 million option on his contract to remain with the Dodgers.

Ramirez could have exercised an out clause in the two-year, $45 million deal that he signed in March with Los Angeles.

"There was no doubt he had his struggles this past season," general manager Ned Colletti told the Los Angeles Times. "We still feel that he's a very good hitter and maybe with a winter off and a chance to regroup, he can come back with a better frame of mind and his confidence rebuilt."

Ramirez hit .290 with 19 home runs and 63 RBIs in 104 regular season games. [READ]

Braves pitcher Tim Hudson wants to see the club re-sign Adam LaRoche.

While discussing the three-year extension he agreed to recently, Hudson publicly lobbied for the Braves to retain LaRoche in a conversation with the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. [READ]

Jose Canseco would like to fight Alex Rodriguez.

In fact, Canseco told MassLive.com that he'd "beat (Rodriguez) to a pulp."

He was asked the following question by reporters: "Of all the players in baseball, who would you most like to box?"

However, Canseco took the question and ran with it.

"That lying little idiot," he added. "I'd like to get him in the ring." [READ]

The Brewers have not picked up the 2010 option on the contract of relief pitcher David Weathers.

Weathers, 40, went 4-6 with one save and a 3.92 ERA in 2009. [READ]

Nationals pitcher Stephen Strasburg is being scratched from his next scheduled start with a strained neck.

Washington said he is being held out of the appearance as a precaution and that his status is day-to-day.
[READ]

The Diamondbacks have picked up the $8.5 million option on the contract of pitcher Brandon Webb.

Arizona is hoping that Webb will return successfully from shoulder surgery.

The team would have had to pay him $2 million in a buyout if they had declined the option.

"He's worked very hard since the surgery," general manager Josh Byrnes told the Associated Press, "and we're confident that he'll return to be a very healthy, effective pitcher." [READ]

The White Sox announced Friday that they have bought out the 2010 mutual option on outfielder Jermaine Dye's contract for $950,000 rather than pay the outfielder a $12 million salary for next season. He is now eligible to become a free agent.

Dye, 35, batted .250 with 27 home runs and 81 RBIs in 141 games with the White Sox in 2009. That included a difficult second half, in which he hit .179 with just seven homers. [READ]

The Phillies announced their first big move of the offseason on Friday when they picked up left-hander Cliff Lee's $9 million club option.

Lee went 7-4 with a 3.39 ERA in 12 regular-season starts for the Phillies, who acquired him and outfielder Ben Francisco on July 29 from the Cleveland Indians for prospects Jason Knapp, Carlos Carrasco, Jason Donald and Lou Marson. Lee also went 4-0 with a 1.56 ERA in five postseason starts as he led the Phillies to the World Series.

Phillies general manager Ruben Amaro Jr. said the team had spoken with Lee's agent a couple times during the postseason, and said it would consider thinking about a contract extension for Lee.

"That said, we have some time on that," Amaro said. [READ]

The Kansas City Royals have announced that they have acquired infielders Chris Getz and Josh Fields from the Chicago White Sox in exchange for infielder/outfielder Mark Teahen and cash considerations.

Teahen, 28, was a .269 career hitter for the Royals in five seasons. He hit .271 with 12 home runs and 50 RBI in 144 games in 2009.

The deal was largely rumored to be close to completion on Thursday. [READ]

Of the 183 players that were eligible for free agency, 79 of the veterans elected to hit the market.

Jason Bay, Matt Holliday, John Lackey and Randy Wolf were among the veterans that became free agents.

Under rules of the Collective Bargaining Agreement, players may file for free agency the day after the conclusion of the World Series. They have 15 days to do so. [READ]

Yankees manager Joe Girardi could change his number to 28 in the wake of the team's World Series victory.

Girardi picked No. 27 when he was hired prior to the 2008 season, which represented the number of championships that New York coveted.

"I think I'll make a number change," Girardi told WFAN after the team won their 27th World Series title earlier this week.

"That's something I talked to [general manager] Brian Cashman briefly about today," he continued. "I think I will. I've got to talk to Shelley Duncan to see if he allows me to wear it." [READ]

The Yankees aren't expected to be big players in the free agent market this winter.

Joel Sherman of the New York Post writes that, "based on conversations with multiple Yankees officials, I sense that financially and philosophically the Yankees will not big-game hunt in free agency."

The three biggest free agents are expected to be Matt Holliday, John Lackey and Jason Bay. [READ]

The Dodgers have decided to decline the mutual $10 million option on the contract of pitcher Jon Garland.

Garland is now eligible for free agency.

In turn, the pitcher gets a $2.5 million buyout.

Garland was 3-2 with a 2.72 ERA in six games for the Dodgers, but he didn't make their playoff roster. [READ]

The Rockies haven't wasted any time fortifying their bullpen.

Colorado announced one-year major-league contracts with right-hander Matt Belisle and left-hander reliever Randy Flores on Thursday.

They also are exploring a long-term deal with closer Huston Street. [READ]

Yankees closer Mariano Rivera was serious when he said he wants to pitch until he's 45.

As the team celebrated their World Series title on Wednesday night, Rivera said on FOX that despite considering retirement, he wants to pitch for five more years.

"I'm serious," Rivera told the New York Times. "I hope the organization does whatever it takes to bring me back. I know I have another year under my contract, and then whatever happens happens."

Rivera converted 44 saves in 46 chances in 2009.

"There's nothing Mariano can't do," Alex Rodriguez said. "He's basically a superman." [READ]

Joe Strauss of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports that the chances of Matt Holliday re-signing with the Cardinals may be decreasing.

"Holliday has yet to file for free agency and pessimism grows surrounding his return to St. Louis," Strauss wrote.

"Chairman Bill DeWitt recently denied that the club has made Holliday an offer; however, there are suggestions that the Cardinals discussed a 6-year, $96 million framework with Holliday's agent, Scott Boras. That, obviously, is nowhere near the "Teixeira money" (8 years, $180 million) that Boras was talking about during the NLCS." [READ]

The White Sox have re-signed Mark Kotsay to a one-year deal.

The contract is worth $1.5 million, according to ESPN.

He was traded from Boston to Chicago on July 28 for outfielder Brian Anderson. [READ]

The wife of Dodgers owner Frank McCourt has lost her bid to be reinstated as the team's chief executive.

Jamie McCourt was fired last month by her husband, who claims she was having an affair. She was reportedly having an affair with a team employee.

The McCourts are in the midst of a divorce. [READ]