Piazza to go part-time as catcher

The A's want Mike Piazza to rotate between catcher and DH after he returns from his sprained right shoulder.

Oakland plans to keep Jack Cust, who has gone 4-for-35 with no homers since the 19th of May and to rotate Piazza in the DH.

Jason Kendall, the A's regular catcher, has a .446 on-base which is the lowest in the majors.

Yankees interested in Rockies' Helton

In the rumor mill today the New York Yankees are interested in Todd Helton.

Helton has played in the Majors for a little under ten years. He was drafted on August 2, 1997 for the Colorado Rockies as a first baseman. Todd won the Gold Golve awards in 2001, 2002 and 2004. The five time All-Star and Silver Slugger started the 2007 season hot by having the highest batting average with .333.

Retired Troy Percival may play for the Phillies

The Philadelphia Phillies' assistant general manager Ruben Amaro Jr. confirmed that they have contacted Troy's agent.

Percival was drafted to the MLB in 1995 by the California Angels as a reliever. He has an ERA of 3.10, had 324 saves, and a life time record of 30-41. He retired on July 9th, 2005 from the Detroit tigers.

Jon Lester to stay in minors

The red sox have decided to keep Lester in the minors for the time being to regain stamina and arm strength necessary to compete at the major league level. Jon's battle with lymphoma over the off-season raised concern with Boston that he may not be able to compete at the major league caliber. Boston opted to keep Lester in the minors seems a good decision for the pitcher's long-term success.

Roger Clemens still thinking if he will return

Roger Clemens still has not made up his mind if he will continue his career. Rumor has it that, he will make his decision in about a month. If he does continue, Clemens said that he would still limit his choice to the Red Sox, Astros, and Yankees.

Sosa hit first home run of spring training

The Texas Rangers beat the KC Royals 5-0 Sunday. Sosa’s home run in the second inning was his first homer since August 4, 2005 when he was with the Baltimore Orioles. Sosa did not play last season but played in the minors during the offseason. Looks like Sosa is picking up things where he left off. His presence will help the Rangers this year to have a good season.

Mauer and the Twins agree to $33 million contract

The American League star and batting champion Joe Mauer and the Twins agreed to a $33 million four year contract Sunday. The twenty-three year old catcher hit a .347 with 84 RBIs last year to help the Twins win the AL Central and played his first All-Star game last summer.

He was selected first in the 2001 amateur draft out of Cretin-Derham Hall high school in St. Paul. Mauer was eligible for arbitration this winter for the first time. The pro-catcher is the first in his position to lead the majors in batting average of all AL catchers.

Mauer will be getting 3.75 million this year, 6.25 million in 2008, 10.5 million in 2009 and 12.5 million in 2010. He will also be eligible for performence base bonuses and has the right to designate three teams each year that he can't be traded to without his consent.

Sosa is back!

The Texas Rangers agreed on a minor league contract with Sosa on Tuesday. Sosa is posed to enter the Majors by the end of spring training. He is quoted that there is only a one in a million chance that he will not make the big leagues. If he does make it to the Majors, he will get a fraction of what he was paid before he retired. For the season, he would get a $500,000 one-year deal, and can earn up to $2.1 million during the season.

Daisuke Matsuzaka agreed to a six-year contrat with the Red Sox

Matsuzaka signed a six year contract with the Boston Red Sox worth $52 million Wednesday afternoon. The pitcher has high expectations from the Red Sox; scouts from the organization seen Daisuke play dozens of times; they say, "He has plus stuff across the board" and a 96 mph fastball that tops off his arsenal. While Boston is optimistic for this import, Matsuzaka is not the most major-league ready player to come out of Japan. On the other hand, Daisuke arrived in Japanese professional baseball like LeBron James did in the NBA. It will be interesting on how Daisuke Matsuzaka will impact the Boston Red Sox next season.

Matsuzaka possible to play for Red Sox

Matsuzaka may be able to play for the Red Sox as early as next season. The star pitcher for Seibu Lions reportedly is flying to Boston, a good sign that both Daisuke Matsuzaka and the Red Sox have reached an agreement. An official with knowledge of the negotiations said, "You should assume a deal is close or done."

A few days prior, Scott Boras would not allow Matsuzaka to take a physical unless both the pitcher and Boston had reached a preliminary agreement. The MLB team has a deadline of midnight Thursday to reach an agreement.

The Red Sox bid $51.1 million last month for the rights to negotiate with Matsuzaka. If Matsuzaka and Boston reaches a deal, the bid will be paid to the Seibu Lions of Japan. If they do not reach a deal, Matsuzaka will not be eligible until he becomes a free agent next November.

Gagne reaches an early agreement with the Rangers

Eric Gagne the reliever for the LA Dodgers has reached an agreement Tuesday with the Texas Rangers on a one-year contract worth about six million dollars. While there is no official announcement, a person familiar with the negotiations has confirmed the agreement. The deal will give Gagne the opportunity to earn around five million more in performance bonuses.

Eric Gagne became the closer for the LA Dodgers in 2002. He had 52 saves and an ERA of 1.97 in 77 games that he closed for the Dodgers that year. The 2003 season, Eric won the Cy Young Award presented to the best pitcher of the season. In 2004, he saved 45 games.

Gagne became a free agent last month when the LA Dodgers declined his twelve million dollar option for 2007.