The Bombers invested a total of $46MM in the Japanese import, paying a $26MM posting fee to his Japanese club and $20MM to the pitcher.  Igawa, now 32, posted a 6.66 ERA with 6.7 K/9 and 4.6 BB/9 in 71.2 innings for the Yanks.  The left-hander spent the rest of his Yankees contract pitching in the minors, mostly with the club's Triple-A affiliate.

• Yakult center fielder Norichika Aoki has asked to be posted.  Aoki hit .292/.358/.360 in 643 plate appearances in 2011.  Newman wrote last year that Aoki was "the best pure hitter Japan has produced since Ichiro," but that was before his numbers dropped off significantly in 2011.  Despite great range, Newman thought last year that Aoki's weak arm could limit him to left field in MLB.
• Seibu shortstop Hiroyuki Nakajima will again ask to be posted this offseason.  Nakajima was denied that request last winter, though the Orioles and Mariners were reportedly among the interested teams.  The 29-year-old hit .297/.354/.433 with 16 home runs in 633 plate appearances this year.  Newman considered Aoki Japan's second-best hitter in his August 2010 article.
• Chunichi southpaw Wei-Yin Chen was 50/50 on moving to MLB as of October 26th.  Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports dubbed Chen a "likely free agent" in a report this morning.  The 26-year-old posted a 2.68 ERA, 5.1 K/9, 1.7 BB/9, and 0.49 HR/9 in 164 2/3 innings this year.  He's represented by Alan Nero of Octagon.
• The Hiroshima Carp have an offer out to Hiroki Kuroda.  Kuroda said he's happy to have received the offer from his former team.  His plans for 2012 remain unknown though.
• Multiple Japanese teams have interest in Kei Igawa, who reached free agency after his five-year deal with the Yankees expired.  

• There's a "big gap" between what the Padres are asking for Mike Adams and what the Yankees are willing to pay, reports ESPN's Buster Olney (on Twitter). He says a deal is unlikely.
• In today's Insider-only blog post, Olney writes about CC Sabathia's impending opt-out clause, saying that the exclusive negotiating period between the end of the World Series and the start of free agency will be crucial to the team's efforts to bring back their ace.
• Bob Klapisch of The Bergen Record says (on Twitter) that the Yankees are still leaning towards not trading for a starter even though Phil Hughes got hit around by the Athletics last night. Their next option is summoning Ivan Nova back from the minors.
• Yankees GM Brian Cashman told Bill Pennington of The New York Times that he negotiated deals in 2008 and 2009 that would have let Kei Igawa return to Japan, but the lefty refused both times. Cashman also said he was prepared to trade Igawa to the Padres in 2007 after San Diego claimed him off waivers, but "ownership was not willing to let him go yet."

• Mark Saxon of ESPNLosAngeles.com reports that the Angels may take their time in trading for a first baseman, both to save money and to determine if they need to make a big pickup.
• Brewers' first-round pick Dylan Covey is looking for a $2MM signing bonus, which Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel notes is about $300K higher than MLB's slotted bonus price for a 14th overall selection.
• Haudricourt also reports that Milwaukee's first two picks from the 2009 Amateur Draft (26th overall right-hander Eric Arnett and 39th overall outfielder Kentrail Davis) have both been sent down a level.  Arnett posted a 6.87 ERA in 12 starts at the low-A level and is moving down to rookie ball, while Davis goes from high-A to low-A.
• Royals manager Ned Yost tells MLB.com's Dick Kaegel that in spite of Alex Gordon's success at Triple-A, Gordon won't be called back up to the majors until Kansas City can find an everyday space for him.
• Five teams have an interest in outfielder Wilmer Romero in advance of the international signing period opening on July 2, tweets Melissa Segura of Sports Illustrated.
• Chuck Finder of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette thinks the Pirates could spend around $10.5MM to sign their draft class since they "need, and want, to flood…their system with talent."
• The already pitching-rich Braves have "the most talented rotation in the minors" at Advanced-A Myrtle Beach, according to Fangraphs' Marc Hulet.
• MLB.com's Bill Ladson sees Washington pursuing a pitcher and a hitter at the trade deadline, and answers a number of hot stove-related questions in a fan mailbag.
• Dylan Hernandez of The Los Angeles Times says that the Dodgers haven't made any progress towards acquiring Cliff Lee and are balking at the money left on Roy Oswalt's contract.
• Meanwhile, Bill Shaikin of The Los Angeles Times says the Angels could have Paul Konerko today, if they wanted. He adds that if they do make a trade, they might be better off targeting a third baseman.
• A Mets' official indicated that the team won't discuss an extension with Rod Barajas until after the season, tweets Newsday's David Lennon.
• Peter Abraham of The Boston Globe tweets that Ted Lilly was "begging" the Yankees to sign him before the 2007, but they went for Kei Igawa instead.
• Paul Hagen of The Philadelphia Daily News says the Phillies shouldn't expect a trade deadline boost this year because of a depleted farm system beyond Domonic Brown and close to $140MM in salary commitments for 2011.  
• Richard Justice of The Houston Chronicle says it might not be until July that the Astros decide to "blow up the roster and start over."
• Jeff Passan of Yahoo! Sports looks at nine starting pitchers who will be on the market this summer, led by Lee.

Here's a look at what fans around the web are saying….

• Lookout Landing re-lives five of Felix Hernandez's career-defining starts in honor of his new deal.
• TAUNTR thinks the Phillies did well by locking up Joe Blanton and Shane Victorino, even if they didn't receive tremendous discounts.
• Blue Sox Baseball previews the Reds' starting rotation heading into 2010.
• Goat Riders of the Apocalypse looks at what's left for the Cubs this offseason.
• TYU wonders why the Yankees used the top pick in the Rule 5 Draft on Jamie Hoffmann instead of John Raynor.
• Capitol Avenue Club projects the Braves' depth chart.
• The Ghost of Moonlight Graham examines the rotations in the NL East.
• TurnTwo has some suggestions for how the Mariners could use the last $10MM left in their budget.
• Dodgers Rumors considers the Vicente Padilla signing a big win for Los Angeles.
• AdamAdkins.net reacts harshly to the Bengie Molina deal.
• River Ave. Blues wonders how the Yanks might be able to extract some value from Kei Igawa.

If you have a suggestion for this feature, Mike can be reached here.

• The Mets may have reduced interest in Carlos Delgado, according to Marty Noble of MLB.com. The slugger won't start playing baseball in Puerto Rico until mid-January; no reason was given for the delay.
• The Yankees have about $4MM to spend on a left fielder, according to the New York Daily News.
• Nick Johnson's deal with the Yankees is official, according to MLB.com's Brian Hoch.
• David O'Brien of the Atlanta Journal Constitution points out (via Twitter) that Troy Glaus will be the Braves' 11th opening day first baseman in 12 seasons if he signs in Atlanta, as expected.
• Mark Feinsand of the New York Daily News says (via Twitter) that the Cubs were willing to take on Kei Igawa's salary (two years, $8MM) before the Yanks acquired Javier Vazquez.
• Brandon Morrow tells Geoff Baker of the Seattle Times that he hopes to start in Toronto.
• Dustin Parkes of Drunk Jays Fans says there's no point thinking of Roy Hallladay as a saint, even if he did buy ad space in the Toronto Sun.
• An unnamed source tells Bill Shaikin of the LA Times that the Dodgers broke even last year. Check out Shaikin's interview with team president Dennis Mannion.
• The Phillies have been in touch with former Nats reliever Mike MacDougal, according to Matt Gelb of the Philadelphia Inquirer. MacDougal's agent says "a good number" of teams are interested, which is what we heard earlier in the week.

• Welcome to Twitter: ESPN's Buster Olney.
• ESPN's Keith Law assesses the Mark Teahen, J.J. Hardy, Jeremy Hermida, and Akinori Iwamura trades.
• The Royals are committed to Alex Gordon as their third baseman despite acquiring Josh Fields, according to Ken Rosenthal and Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports.  Fields instead could play left field in the event David DeJesus is traded.  DeJesus' name popped up in our left field trade market post.
• Rosenthal and Morosi also note that the Giants are talking with Juan Uribe about a new contract.  Uribe was one of the year's best minor league deals.  He's represented by Barry Praver. 
• Rosenthal reported yesterday that the Nationals hired Bryan Minnitti from the Pirates to be their new assistant GM.  Jake from New Bucs interviewed the young exec last year.
• Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic names four relievers who might be of interest to the Diamondbacks: Rafael Betancourt, Mike Gonzalez, LaTroy Hawkins, and Bob Howry.
• Joe Pawlikowski of River Ave. Blues has a reality check for fans as we head toward the offseason insanity.
• Victor Martinez's agent Alan Nero told WEEI's Rob Bradford there's been "little or no dialogue" in terms of the Red Sox extending his client.
• Joel Sherman of the New York Post wonders if the Yankees' championship might enable them to take things more slowly this winter.
• Sherman tweets that there is interest in Japan from Kei Igawa, but he doesn't want to go.  Igawa posted a 4.15 ERA in 145.3 Triple A innings this year, and still has $8MM remaining on his contract.
• Baseball America's Matt Eddy has your minor league transactions.  Wilson Valdez and Mike Gosling are among those joining the free agent ranks.
• New Blue Jays GM Alex Anthopoulos seems passionate, talking to Bob Elliott of the Toronto Sun.  Anthopoulos even gives props to the fine Jays blogs out there.
• Padres pitcher Chris Young told Bill Center of the San Diego Union-Tribune that he understands the business aspect of baseball.  With a healthy first half, Young could be a trade candidate.
• Grant at McCovey Chronicles says AT&T Park isn't a pitcher's park anymore, and agents know that.

• According to The Associated Press (via ESPN), Royals manager Trey Hillman will return to the team next season. Kansas City GM Dayton Moore, who originally hired Hillman, had his contract extended through 2014 earlier this week.
• White Sox GM Kenny Williams was asked if the Jim Thome and Jose Contreras trades indicate that he was throwing in the towel according to Scot Gregor of The Daily Herald, and Williams replied "Hell no. We're still in it to win it.”
• Patrick at NPB Tracker passes along a report saying that the Yokohama BayStars are looking to import Japanese pitchers currently playing in the States. The article mentions that players like Tomo Ohka, Yasuhiko Yabuta, and Masahide Kobayashi could interest the BayStars, while Patrick throws the names of Kei Igawa and Takashi Saito into the ring.
• ESPN's Jorge Arangure Jr. writes that Miguel Angel Sano is not the only big name Latin American free agent stuck in age investigation limbo. Venezuelan pitcher Daniel Sanchez, considered one of the best pitchers available this year, is stuck in the same boat after the Brewers put in a formal request to MLB to investigate his age. An age investigation is a prerequisite to signing any player from Latin America.

• Around the Majors takes a look at how the deadline deals have worked so far.
• The Blue Jay Hunter looks at what the Alex Rios move could mean for the Jays moving forward.
• The Sports Bank gives 11 reasons why Alex Rios was a good pick up for the White Sox.
• A Game Of Inches argues that the White Sox would have been better off acquiring a minor league center fielder.
• UmpBump makes the case that the Alex Rios move was good for both sides.
• Josh's Thoughts takes a look at what the acquisition of Alex Rios by the White Sox means for the Twins and the rest of the AL Central.
• The Pinstriper imagines what the Yankees roster would look like today had they signed Mike Lowell in '07.
• Jorge Says No! says the Jays still need to move Vernon Wells if they ever want to move forward.

Cork Gaines writes for RaysIndex.com. If you have a suggestion for this feature, Cork can be reached here, and followed on Twitter here.

• Cole Hamels is flying to Philadelphia to have his sore left elbow examined.  Hamels threw 3,914 pitches in total last year, the most in baseball (two more than C.C. Sabathia).  Hamels thinks he’s fine and it’s not a big deal.
• Julian Tavarez on why he chose the Nationals.
• MLB.com’s Joe Frisaro says the Marlins returned Rule 5 lefty Zach Kroenke to the Yankees.
• Maury Brown of The Biz of Baseball looks at postseason ticket revenue over the last decade.
• Dan Brown of the San Jose Mercury News talked to John Dewan about the Giants’ defense.
• Joel Sherman of the New York Post writes about the fraternity in the Yankees’ revamped rotation.
• Athletics Nation talked to Jason Giambi, who was very close to re-signing with the A’s before he signed with the Yankees.
• Patrick Newman of NPB Tracker asks if Yankees starter Kei Igawa, owed $12MM over the next three years, is movable.

He said: "Nothing new. At this point, I don’t anticipate it’s something that we would (do). … I haven’t talked to Brian (Cashman) since last week." Melvin said they had originally looked at moving Cameron to gain some flexibility on the pitching front but that is no longer such a need.

Melvin added that trading Cameron was "not something that we’re pushing at this time." Sounds like it’s dead. (For now, anyway.)

TUESDAY 3:09pm: Ed Price says the Yankees are discussing this deal internally and don’t feel like they have to rush.  Price’s source says a tentative deal has been reached and it’s up to the Yankees now.  Tom Haudricourt says the Brewers haven’t heard from the Yanks this week and assistant GM Gord Ash is starting to wonder whether they’re still interested.  Yahoo’s Tim Brown says the Brewers will get in on Brian Fuentes if they’re able to move Cameron.

12:10pm: SI.com’s Jon Heyman says the Mike Cameron for Melky Cabrera deal is on the backburner for now.  Still, he says the Brewers agreed to take Kei Igawa and pay a small amount of the $12MM he’s owed.  That amount is not enough for the Yankees, currently.

Sarah Green also contributed to this post.

6:18pm: MLB.com’s Adam McCalvy heard from a source that talks between the Brewers and Yankees are at a "stalemate," and did not resume today.

Peter Abraham writes that Igawa may no longer be a part of the deal.

Mark Feinsand of the New York Daily News wrote earlier today that the two teams have agreed on which players to trade. He heard from a source that the Yankees would likely send Igawa, Melky Cabrera and cash to the Brewers for Cameron.

A second source told Feinsand that the Brewers could send Bill Hall along too, an idea Tom Haudricourt suggested last week.

11:54am: SI.com’s Jon Heyman says the Yankees’ talks for Brewers center fielder Mike Cameron are expected to resume soon.  He says the Yankees still want the Brewers to either pick up a few million of Cameron’s $10MM salary or take on some of Kei Igawa’s contract.  The Brewers don’t want to do that.

I’m not sure how the Yankees have managed to steer the conversation toward Cameron being overpaid.  He’s not, and a fair baseball trade would involve the Yankees paying all of Cameron’s salary while giving up something useful.

New York has told Milwaukee that no pitcher on their 40-man roster is available.  Both sides still expect a deal to get done eventually; Doug Melvin told Tom Haudricourt talks will resume tomorrow.  River Ave. Blues thinks the Yankees should hold off, for now.

FRIDAY, 3:50pm: Haudricourt heard this might get tabled until Monday, though now with Burnett signed maybe the Yankees will switch their focus.  Or maybe they’ll spend the weekend working on Andy Pettitte/celebrating the Burnett signing.

THURSDAY, 5:40pm: Haudricourt now writes that the Cameron negotiations are back underway after a "hiccup". Haudricourt heard from Doug Melvin that there’s a "strong possibility it could still happen." The clubs are negotiating over finances and whether a second player would go to the Brewers with Cabrera.

1:01pm: Cameron’s agent told Tyler Kepner nothing has been completed.  Kepner says the Brewers have actually been asking about Igawa.

11:49am: Joel Sherman talked to a top exec involved in the talks who called the chances of a deal "remote." Kevin Baxter of the L.A. Times was told the deal is done, however.

11:17am: Ken Rosenthal says the potential deal hit a roadblock over the Yankees’ desire to have Milwaukee pick up part of the tab on Cameron.  Also, the Brewers want a second player after Cabrera.  Tom Haudricourt says the Yankees tried to unload Kei Igawa on them.

9:28am: The Cabrera for Cameron deal is close but not done, according to Joel Sherman’s source.  He says the Brewers could receive a pitcher as well, with the quality depending on whether they’ll assume salary.

8:41am: Tom Haudricourt is not sure this is done. He says the Yankees like Bill Hall as well.  The Brewers could gain quite a bit of payroll flexibility here.  It’d be interesting to see all three Brewers friends (including Sabathia) move to the Yanks.

7:15am: Mark Feinsand of the New York Daily News says the Yankees are set to acquire Cameron for Cabrera.

12:55am: According to Dan Graziano of the Newark Star-Ledger, the Yankees met with the Brewers Wednesday to resume trade talks for Mike Cameron that began at the GM Meetings.  Whatever mild concern the Brewers reportedly had about trading away a friend of C.C. Sabathia’s is gone.

On November 7th, Peter Abraham wrote that Ian Kennedy and Melky Cabrera were on the Brewers’ radar.  Clearly the Brewers want to add a starting pitcher.

• Joel Sherman of the New York Post notes buzz about Robinson Cano going to the Dodgers amid Yankee interest in Russell Martin and Matt Kemp.  He admits it’s unlikely.
• Mark Feinsand of the New York Daily News talked to one big league exec about whether Mark Teixeira could handle the pressures of New York.
• Brian Cashman says nobody has asked him about Kei Igawa, who has three years and $12MM left on his contract.
• Cashman would not rule out the possibility of bringing back both Mike Mussina and Andy Pettitte.
• Mark Hale of the New York Post talked to Mariano Rivera, who would definitely like the Yankees to sign C.C. Sabathia.  Why wouldn’t he?

• SI.com’s Jon Heyman says the Mariners are asking the Mets for Jon Niese for Raul Ibanez.  Not likely.
• ESPN’s Buster Olney says the Braves would require Conor Jackson from the D’Backs in a Mark Teixeira deal, but Arizona is not biting.
• Another quick hit from Olney: the White Sox are surveying the relief market in the wake of Scott Linebrink’s shoulder injury.
• Several readers have written in about Phillies’ lefty J.A. Happ being pulled early from a Triple A start (2.2 scoreless innings) with no sign of injury.  Something to keep an eye on, as the Phillies hunt for a lefty reliever on the trade market.  UPDATE: Happ may be getting the call to replace Adam Eaton.
• Even on the DL, Phil Hughes has been in high demand.
• The White Sox let Esteban Loaiza go.
• No team claimed Kei Igawa off waivers.  Also, the Yankees designated LaTroy Hawkins for assignment.
• Ned Colletti on the possibility of trading Derek Lowe: "No."
• Jim Bowden and Chad Cordero patched things up, making a re-signing possible this winter.
• The emergence of Jeff Samardzija this weekend may make Scott Eyre or Jon Lieber expendable.
• At least 20 teams have called about one of the Rangers’ catchers.
• Jamey Newberg wrote a few days ago that most likely the only way Kevin Millwood can lock in his $12MM for 2010 will be to pitch 180 innings next year.