• Righty Chris Young should be ready for spring training following shoulder capsule surgery, his agent told MLB.com's Corey Brock.
• Aaron Rowand is looking for a big league job, tweets Danny Knobler of CBS Sports.  The Phillies said no.
• Manny Ramirez is calling teams directly in his search for employment, tweets Bob Klapisch.
• Reliever Frank Francisco is likely to sign elsewhere in the wake of the Blue Jays acquiring Sergio Santos, GM Alex Anthopoulos told reporters today.
• Infielder Miguel Tejada hopes for a Major League deal, tweets Dan Connolly of the Baltimore Sun.
• More than a dozen scouts are expected to watch Joel Zumaya throw next week, tweets ESPN's Buster Olney.  The Yankees, Red Sox, Rays, and Padres are among the team's that will be in attendance.
• Sidney Ponson has no intention of pitching again, writes MASNSports.com's Roch Kubatko.  Currently, Ponson is contemplating whether to purchase a boat.  I say go for it, big guy!

• A number of teams remain in play for Grady Sizemore including the Giants, Rockies, Cubs, Red Sox, Rangers, Mariners, and Nationals, according to Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports (via Twitter).
• The Athletics met with Sidney Ponson's agent today, a source tells Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times (via Twitter).
• Braves GM Frank Wren and agent Adam Katz are now meeting in Milwaukee, tweets MLBTR's Ben Nicholson-Smith.  Katz is a part of Wasserman Media Group and represents a number of players, including Cuban outfielder Yoenis Cespedes.  To view WMG's client list, check out MLBTR's Agency Database.

The 33-year-old Ponson appeared in 14 games (9 starts) for the Royals last season, posting a 7.36 ERA and a 1.28 K/BB ratio in 58.2 innings. He became a free agent in August after Kansas City designated him for assignment, and this is the first time we've heard his name since. 

Ponson hasn't been an effective big leaguer since 2003, when he tossed up a 3.75 ERA for the Orioles and Giants. Baltimore signed him to three year, $22.5MM contract after that season, and all they got in return was a 5.64 ERA in 346 innings and numerous off-the-field headaches. 

Lew Ford, Preston Wilson, Carl Everett, Danny Graves, and Bill Pulsipher are among the former big leaguers to have donned a Ducks' uniform.

Check out our complete list of current free agents here.

• RotoAuthority advises how to manage information during your fantasy draft.
• Something's not right with Corey Koskie, and the Chicago Tribune's Paul Sullivan says he'll decide about his future by Saturday.
• Former Blue Jays assistant GM Bart Given has a blog, and it's pretty good from what I've read (hat tip: Drunk Jays Fans).
• Sidearmer Mark Worrell, acquired by the Padres for Khalil Greene, needs Tommy John surgery according to Bill Center of the San Diego Union Tribune.
• Mark Gonzales of the Chicago Tribune says the White Sox "traded infielder Sergio Santos to San Francisco for future considerations."  Santos was picked 27th overall by the D'Backs in the 2002 draft.
• Chico Harlan of the Washington Post wonders whether $5MM first baseman Dmitri Young will be willing to accept an assignment to Triple A.
• MLB.com's Alyson Footer says Astros GM Ed Wade never lied to her and doesn't owe her an apology about Ivan Rodriguez.  Wade just changed his mind after talking to Footer.
• Paul Sullivan of the Chicago Tribune doesn't see the Cubs releasing $4MM reliever Luis Vizcaino.
• Tracy Ringolsby of Inside The Rockies believes Jeff Baker is the team's most likely infielder to be dealt.  ESPN's Jayson Stark mentioned Baker yesterday as a trade candidate, and the Denver Post's Troy E. Renck has wondered if he'd fit for the Yankees or Astros.
• MLB.com's T.R. Sullivan says the Rangers have discussed Frank Catalanotto with other clubs but found no takers.  Catalanotto has $6MM coming to him.
• Rany Jazayerli discusses the Royals' signing of Sidney Ponson and release of Jimmy Gobble.

• Chat today, 2pm CST.
• Jose de Jesus Ortiz of the Houston Chronicle talked to various Astros players about the Ivan Rodriguez signing.
• John Brattain of The Hardball Times asks what might have happened with Alex Rodriguez if he hadn't had Scott Boras whispering in his ear.
• Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette assures us that the Pirates shopped shortstop Jack Wilson aggressively this winter.
• Eric Seidman of FanGraphs questions the Nationals' decision to release Shawn Hill.  If Hill is useful in future years, this one's on Mike Rizzo.
• Sam Mellinger of the Kansas City Star discusses the Royals' signing of Sidney Ponson.
• Richard Griffin of the Toronto Star has a funny story involving Roy Halladay and Travis Snider.
• RotoAuthority looks at the fantasy prospects of Nationals top prospect Jordan Zimmermann.

• A confident Sidney Ponson expects his agent to receive a few calls after he pitches in the WBC Saturday, according to Phil Miller of the St. Paul Pioneer Press.
• ESPN’s Rob Neyer looks at the most interesting remaining free agents.
• Jorge Says No! names their 8 Worst Free Agent Contracts of the offseason.
• Former Dodgers GM Fred Claire weighs in on the Manny Ramirez contract, noting the player’s control over the team’s finances.  Check out Manny’s comments made to the AP.  Juan Pierre doesn’t have much to say about the signing.
• Baseball America’s Ben Badler talks about the reactions of Latin American scouts to the Esmailyn Gonzalez scandal.
• ESPN’s Jayson Stark looks at the top players who are on Spring Training invites.
• Rockies reliever Taylor Buchholz will miss the rest of Spring Training with a sprained elbow.
• Carroll Rogers of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution says the Braves made room for Tom Glavine on the 40-man roster by outrighting pitcher Anthony Lerew, who cleared waivers.

• A recent Ned Colletti-Scott Boras conversation about Manny Ramirez didn’t result in progress.  Boras still has his sights on at least $100MM over four years.  Rosenthal adds that Manny is "cool to the idea of playing in San Francisco."
• Nick Swisher and Xavier Nady are drawing "significant interest."  Rosenthal speculates that the Giants, Braves, or Pirates would make sense.
• The door is not closed with the Yankees and Andy Pettitte.  Pettitte recently rejected the Yanks’ one-year, $10MM offer.
• Some Mets people prefer Oliver Perez to Derek Lowe.  The Braves have yet to speak to Boras about Lowe, while the Brewers and Phillies have financial concerns about fitting him in.
• Trevor Hoffman has a West Coast preference (the Dodgers or maybe a Padres reconciliation) but interest with the Brewers is mutual.  Other relievers on the Dodgers’ radar: Juan Cruz, Guillermo Mota, and Dennys Reyes.
• Brian Fuentes’ agent had serious talks with the Yankees, but no offer was made.  Fuentes would’ve been Mariano Rivera’s set-up man and perhaps taken over upon his retirement.
• Rosenthal notes that MLB kicked in a small part of the $10MM owed to Sidney Ponson from their luxury tax pool, which is not uncommon.
• If they can afford it, the Rays would like to sign Gabe Kapler.
• The Orioles, Red Sox, and A’s are interested in Gregg Zaun.
• Perhaps because of the cool market for his services, Orlando Cabrera is willing to play second base.  The Yankees did not have interest.
• That Gavin Floyd for Brian Roberts rumor "seemingly arose from internal discussions among Orioles officials."

• The AP explains how C.C. Sabathia will be paid $9.5MM before throwing a pitch for the Yankees.
• The D’Backs signed lefty Travis Blackley.
• Dan Johnson is headed to Japan.
• The Cardinals signed Japanese pitcher Katsuhiko Maekawa to a minor league deal.  Patrick Newman has details.
• Interesting discussion involving Raul Ibanez’s defense.
• I did a Q&A with SportingGurus.com.
• Ken Rosenthal guesses destinations for 11 remaining free agents in this slideshow.
• MLB is undergoing a hiring/salary freeze and taking away 20% of vacation time for ’09.
• Dejan Kovacevic had a lengthy chat with Pirates shortstop Jack Wilson, who wishes the team would get more players to become competitive.  In his article Kovacevic also notes that the Pirates have had talks about bringing back pitcher Denny Bautista, who was non-tendered a week ago.
• Are the Mariners trying to open up a spot for Jerry Hairston Jr.?  They’re looking to add a plus-plus defensive second baseman; not sure if he qualifies.
• Aubrey Huff tops the list of fantasy baseball’s biggest draft position gainers.
• Royals pitcher Kyle Davies is working a construction job this offseason.
• The Orioles settled with Sidney Ponson regarding their grievance.

• Luke Hudson agreed to stay with the Royals on a minor league deal.  And because Braves fans keep emailing it…the Braves signed Lance Niekro as a pitcher, as noted in the minor league transactions we linked yesterday.  Talking Chop and Henry Schulman have more.
• Along similar lines, here’s a link to Joel Sherman’s December 12th story about the Orlando Hudson and Adam Dunn being the Nationals’ backup plan for Mark Teixeira.  That came four days before the Jon Heyman report people keep emailing.
• C.C. Sabathia’s preferred teams heading into free agency: the Yankees, Brewers, and Angels.
• Dave O’Brien tries to figure out what the Braves should do with all their money.
• John Fay explains why the Reds may attempt to acquire a young shortstop.
• The Orioles may move on to Gregg Zaun now that Matt Treanor is off the board.
• Geoff Baker speculates on a possible Mariners-Brewers trade match, though nothing seems to be cooking currently.
• RotoAuthority looks at the biggest losers, comparing ’09 fantasy baseball mock draft positions to ’08.
• I did a Q&A with Called Safe At Second.
• ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick writes about how teams view free agent outfielder Bobby Abreu.
• Kevin Millwood has twelve million reasons to pitch 180 innings in 2009.  I never understood that phrase.  Why is each dollar a reason?
• Dejan Kovacevic says Ty Wigginton has no wish to return to Pittsburgh.
• Roch Kubatko is hearing the Orioles may have reached a settlement with Sidney Ponson regarding the grievance.
• Pitcher Jon Leicester is the latest to head to Japan.
• Might not read about this on MLBTR, eh?  Chico Harlan says the Nationals signed 16 year-old Dominican prospects Bill Pena and Gregory Baez.

• Check out the recent minor league transactions, always some familiar names.
• Scott Erickson’s wife talks about his comeback bid.
• The Red Sox have had "early-stage conversations" about an extension for Kevin Youkilis.
• The Phillies invited ten players to Spring Training and signed a bunch of minor league free agents.  The Royals invited four, including Lenny DiNardo and Oscar Villarreal.
• Roch Kubatko suggests the Orioles should try to acquire Ryan Garko.
• Curt Schilling weighs in on Mark Teixeira’s options.
• Dayton Moore still doesn’t sound willing to trade Zack Greinke.
• Peter Schmuck and Craig Calcaterra discuss the Sidney Ponson case, which could have a significant impact on the game.
• RotoAuthority looks at the current top fantasy draft picks at each position.
• Gordon Wittenmyer expects Felix Pie to be traded.
• Cesar Izturis’ contract is actually for two years and $5MM guaranteed, plus incentives.
• John Fay looks at options for a right-handed bat for the Reds.
• Reliever Scott Dohmann is headed to Japan on a $650K deal plus incentives.
• Chris Capuano can earn over $3MM this year based on incentives.
• Willie Bloomquist hasn’t received an offer yet, and he doesn’t expect to return to Seattle.

• Mets Geek takes a look at three recent rumored deals that may be sitting on Omar Minaya’s desk and ponders whether or not the Mets should make each trade.
• The Detroit Tigers Weblog breaks down what a Jack Wilson trade would mean for the Tigers.
• Fire Brand of the American League feels that with the recent additions to the bullpen, the Red Sox may be better suited to insert Justin Masterson into the rotation, rather than sign a high-priced free agent.
• Ump Bump suggests that the Angels could get more bang for the buck if they sign Adam Dunn over Mark Teixeira.
• The ’Burgh Blues picks through the scraps and identifies eight players they would like to see the Pirates invite to Spring Training, including Richie Sexson, Sidney Ponson, Mark Prior and Matt Clement.
• MLB Notebook takes a look at the big guns in the free agent market and feels that the Yankees are no longer in a position to set the pace. Rather, they argue that the Angels now control the market.
• East Windup Chronicle feels that some are underestimating the amount of potential Major League talent playing in Japan, noting the number is "at least 30" and considerably more if they had the opportunity to start in the minors out of high school.
• Bernies Crew likes the Jorge Julio signing by the Brewers, noting the move gives the team much needed flexibility and depth in the bullpen.

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