Like Eric Gagne and Ben Sheets before him, the Phillies will be on hand to watch Noah Lowry's pending throwing session in Phoenix, according to The Philadelphia Inquirer. 

There has been a lot of speculation in recent days that the Twins will soon sign catcher Joe Mauer to a contract extension.

But so far there is no deal in place.

A source familiar with the negotiations denied a report by WCCO-TV that Mauer and the Twins have reached preliminary agreement on a 10-year contract.

While no deal is currently in place, negotiations on a contract extension have been ongoing between Mauer's agent, Ron Shapiro, and the Twins. But the two sides have been reluctant to discuss any details of the situation publicly.

The idea of a 10-year deal for the catcher does not seem out of reason based on his career so far. Mauer, who will turn 27 on April 19, has already won thee batting titles, two Gold Gloves and the 2009 American League MVP Award. He is set to make $12.5 million this season, the final year of a four-year, $33 million deal.

Twins manager Ron Gardenhire said on Friday he hasn't gotten involved in the negotiations concerning Mauer, but he's optimistic that the club will ink the St. Paul native to a contract extension. His belief is that something will get done before the team reports for Spring Training.

"I don't sit and fret about it," Gardenhire said. "I think the right thing is going to happen. I think we all know the ramifications if something weren't to happen and it were to go the other way. That wouldn't be a good thing for anybody, except for maybe some clubs out East.

"I think everybody knows what needs to get done here. From our owners to our general manager to our fan base, we all know what everybody wants. It is right out there for us ... and I think they'll make it happen."

During TwinsFest on Friday, Mauer said he hopes his contract situation doesn't become a distraction for the team. Pitchers and catchers will report to Fort Myers, Fla. on Sunday, Feb. 21 for the start of Spring Training.

-- Kelly Thesier

Jose Julio Ruiz, a well-regarded Cuban first-base prospect, is now free to sign with any team.

Joe Saunders, an All-Star in 2008 who has won a total of 33 games the past two seasons, avoided arbitration with the Angels by agreeing to a contract for 2010.

Saunders, 28, was 16-7 with a 4.60 ERA in 2009, finishing strong after struggling with shoulder issues for much of the season.

Saunders' signing leaves the club with two arbitration-eligible players left: catcher Jeff Mathis and shortstop Erick Aybar.

-- Lyle Spencer 

The biggest move left in the Tigers' offseason won't be who they add in the final weeks to Spring Training, but how much progress they can make towards keeping ace Justin Verlander. They appear to be making progress on that front.

The Tigers have started negotiations with Verlander on a long-term deal, according to a report from Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports. Citing an unnamed source, Passan says the two sides have discussed a five-year contract worth around $75 million, with Verlander seeking a sixth year.

Both the Tigers and Verlander has been closely secretive about negotiations. Verlander said last week on the Tigers' winter caravan that negotiations on a long-term deal hadn't gotten far, and he expected they'd try to do a one-year contract to avoid arbitration before talks on a longer contract picked up.
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The two sides traded arbitration figures a week and a half ago -- Verlander filing for $9.5 million this year, while the club came in at $6.9 million. A hearing would take place next month if the two sides can't reach a deal, but that might not be necessary now.

Team president/general manager Dave Dombrowski did not immediately return a call seeking comment. He told local station WDFN on Thursday that they wanted to keep Verlander in Detroit for a long time, but said he saw no advantage negotiating in public.

If the reported contract parameters sound familiar, they're very close to the five-year, $78 million contract the Mariners reached with their ace, Felix Hernandez, earlier this month. Like Verlander, Hernandez was eligible for free agency after the 2011 season and coming off a year in which he finished in the top three in American League Cy Young award voting.

Verlander's turnaround was at the heart of the Tigers' run to within a game of the AL Central crown. A year after sharing the Major League lead in losses, the 26-year-old right-hander tied for the big league lead in wins with a 19-9 record. His 269 strikeouts, 240 innings and 35 starts all led the Majors in what was the most dominant season from a Tigers starter since Jack Morris two decades earlier.

-- Jason Beck

At the Blue Jays annual State of the Franchise event on Thursday night in Toronto, general manager Alex Anthopoulos admitted in a question-and-answer session with season-ticket holders that the club has discussed free-agent outfielder Johnny Damon.

"Not to build any expectations or hope, but we definitely we've got a lot of irons in the fire," said Anthopoulos, noting that he contacted agent Scott Boras about Damon earlier this week.

Anthopoulos later told reporters that it was "tough to say" if there would be a follow-up call. The Blue Jays have holes to fill in left field and in the leadoff spot and the club has the funds to spend in free agency under the right circumstances.

Anthopoulos and Blue Jays manager Cito Gaston were also asked about former Jays slugger, and current free agent, Carlos Delgado. Gaston was quick to say that he would love to see Delgado back with his former club, especially with the slugger being 27 homers shy of 500 for his career.

"We haven't forgotten him," Gaston said. "I'm a big Carlos fan. So it would be nice to have him back here and to see him also perhaps go into that Hall of Fame with a Blue Jays uniform on. That would be great."

Given his recent health history, Delgado would likely have to serve as the designated hitter and part-time first baseman if he joined the Blue Jays. That would push DH Adam Lind to left field. Anthopoulos said he would prefer to keep Lind in the DH role.

"When you have a player of that magnitude and the success that [Delago] has had," Anthopoulos said, "you're always going to talk about it and see, 'Is there a scenario? Is there a potential fit?' ... As we sit here today, we've got Lyle Overbay at first base and our priority would be to have Adam Lind as more of a DH.

"That's why a guy like Damon has come up, because he could fill the left field spot. Again, you could go in a different direction." 

--Jordan Bastian

The Angels have reached a three-year agrement with Maicer Izturis, avoiding an arbitration hearing with the versatile infielder.

By extending Izturis, 29, through 2012, the Angels are buying out two years of free agency. The Venezuela native would have been eligible for free agency after the '10 season.

Having signed Jered Weaver, Mike Napoli, Howard Kendrick and Reggie Willits, the Angels have three remaining arbitration-eligible players: starter Joe Saunders, shortstop Erick Aybar and catcher Jeff Mathis.

Izturis is coming off his best season offensively, hitting .300 in 114 games with 22 doubles, eight homers and 65 RBIs in 387 at-bats. He excelled defensively while spending most of his time at second base, platooning for much of the season with Kendrick.

In 64 starts at second, Izturis made only two errors for a .993 fielding percentage. He had a .977 fielding percentage at shortstop in 28 games and did not make an error in five games at third. He offers protection at all three spots and could emerge as the third baseman if young Brandon Wood struggles.

-- Lyle Spencer

Rockies possible target Derrick Turnbow is expected to announce a decision within 48 hours. Turnbow, who has battled injuries and a lack of command and hasn't appeared in the Majors since 2008, had a recent workout that 20 of the 28 teams that were invited attended. He showed good enough velocity to have several teams want to negotiate further. The Rockies also have expressed interest in star closer Eric Gagne, who also is making a comeback.

 

-- Thomas Harding

The Phillies agreed Sunday on a three-year, $8.85 million extension with catcher Carlos Ruiz, a source with knowledge of the negotiations told MLB.com.

The deal - still pending a physical - includes a fourth-year club option of $5 million, with a $500,000 buyout, and performance incentives based on games started.

By agreeing with Ruiz, the Phillies have taken care of all of their arbitration-eligible players without the need for a hearing. Right-handed reliever Chad Durbin signed a one-year deal recently, while center fielder Shane Victorino and righty starter Joe Blanton each inked three-year pacts.

For Ruiz, it takes care of all of his arbitration years and possibly his first year of free agency.

-- Alden Gonzalez

Just in case others thought the Tigers' search for a left-handed bat had changed their outlook on adding a designated hitter, team president/general manager Dave Dombrowski reiterated that stance Saturday at TigerFest.

He isn't ruling out adding a bat. But they'd better bring a glove with them.

"If we sign somebody, and we've said this all wintertime, we don't want them to just DH," Dombrowski said Saturday. "If we would ever do anything, that person needs to be primarily somebody that can play another position. Because we want to keep our DH spot open. Magglio and Carlos are in [the stage of] their careers, and even Miguel -- but not to that extent -- we'd like to give them a day off now and then. So for us, it's important to be able to have that guy play another position. There are a lot of what I consider DH-type bats out there, but we're really trying to put an emphasis on going and getting the ball and playing good defense. And so that flexibility for us is important."

-- Jason Beck