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Braves manager Bobby Cox said Saturday night he hopes the club will sign Japanese star Kenshin Kawakami to shore up its depleted rotation.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution and other media outlets reported Saturday the Braves had reached a preliminary agreement with the 33-year-old right-hander. Cox said he couldn’t confirm the deal, but said the team is interested.
“We’ve [...]

Takashi Saito agreed to a one-year deal with Boston on Saturday, giving the Red Sox another veteran arm in their bullpen.
Saito, who had 18 saves and a 2.49 ERA last season despite being limited by an elbow injury, became a free agent when the Los Angeles Dodgers failed to offer him a contract by the [...]

From the get-go, Rickey Henderson was in a hurry.
Born in the back seat of a ‘57 Chevy while his mom and dad rushed to the hospital, he came out blazing.
Fingers twitching inside those neon-green batting gloves, he’d lock his eyes like lasers on the next base and whoosh! He’d blown past the record for steals, [...]

Minor leaguers Ambiorix Suero of the Baltimore Orioles and Damian Taveras of the New York Yankees were each suspended 50 games Monday after testing positive for a performance-enhancing substance.
Suero, a pitcher, tested positive for Boldenone and Taveras, a catcher, tested positive for Stanozolol in violation of the minor-league drug prevention and treatment program.
Most recently, the [...]

Catcher Ryan Doumit and the Pittsburgh Pirates agreed Monday to an $11,5 million, three-year contract that includes a club option that could make the deal worth $26,5 million over five seasons.
Doumit reached the deal less than a year after becoming the Pirates’ starting catcher. He hit .318 with 15 home runs and 69 RBIs in [...]

Starting pitcher Daniel Cabrera and the Washington Nationals have reached a preliminary agreement on a one-year contract, pending a physical that his agent said is slated for next week.
Cabrera went 8-10 with a 5.25 ERA in 30 starts last season for the Baltimore Orioles, who declined to offer the right-hander a contract for 2009, making [...]

Nick Punto is staying in Minnesota.
The versatile infielder agreed with the Twins on a two-year contract Thursday worth $8.5 million.
After an awful 2007 season at the plate, Punto bounced back to hit .284 and was the team’s starting shortstop as they chased the Chicago White Sox in the AL Central over the final two months [...]

Phillies ace Cole Hamels called the New York Mets “choke artists” in an interview on the Mets’ flagship radio station Thursday, becoming the latest star to stoke the rivalry between the NL East powers.
Philadelphia has rallied past the Mets to win the division title in each of the last two seasons, and Hamels won the [...]

Free-agent infielder Felipe Lopez and the Arizona Diamondbacks reached a preliminary agreement on a $3.5 million, one-year contract.
The deal was pending a physical, a person with knowledge of the negotiations told The Associated Press on Thursday. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the agreement had not been finalized.
By signing Lopez, the Diamondbacks could [...]

Astros get minor league lefty Lumsden from Royals. The Houston Astros acquired minor league pitcher Tyler Lumsden from the Kansas City Royals on Monday for a player to be named or cash.
The 25-year-old lefty went 3-13 with a 7.21 ERA in 28 games this season, including 18 starts, for Triple-A Omaha. He is playing in [...]