Thanks to everyone who has helped make Hot Stove Report the No. 1 baseball blog in page views over the past offseason. It accounted for more than 80 percent of all MLBlogs Network traffic for most of the winter, and the good news is that (a) baseball is back and (b) all 30 of your favorite MLB.com beat writers now have their own MLBlogs. Here is where to find them, or just refer to the side panel of MLBlogosphere or Jen Langosch's blog. They also are all indexed in the PRO BLOGS drop-down menu on the MLBlogs homepage.

First baseman Mike Jacobs agreed to a one-year, $3.275-million  contract with the Royals on Tuesday night.
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Jacobs asked for $3.8 million, the Royals offered $2.75 million and they agreed on the exact midpoint. An arbitration hearing was scheduled for Wednesday.
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The signing continued a streak for general manager Dayton Moore, who has never had an arbitration case advance to a hearing in his Royals tenure. Jacobs was the last remaining case for the Royals.
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This was the first shot at a multi-million dollar salary for Jacobs, who was traded by the Florida Marlins to the Royals this winter with that in mind. The Marlins paid him $395,000 last year.
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The Royals previously signed the three other players who exchanged figures in the arbitration process: Pitcher Zack Greinke to a four-year, $38-million contract; infielder-outfielder Mark Teahen to a one-year, $3.575 million contract, and pitcher Brian Bannister to a one-year, $1.7375-million deal.
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Five others who were eligible for arbitration also signed one-year contracts: Catcher John Buck, $2.9 million; pitcher Jimmy Gobble, $1.35 million; pitcher Kyle Davies, $1.3 million; infielder Esteban German, $1.2 million, and pitcher Joel Peralta, $640,000.

-- Dick Kaegel

The Cardinals avoided what would have been their first arbitration hearing since 1999 when they reached a last-minute settlement on a one-year contract with outfielder Rick Ankiel on Thursday. Cardinals assistant general manager John Abbamondi confirmed that an agreement had been reached.

The deal is worth a reported $2.825 million, which is the exact midpoint of the figures submitted by Ankiel and the club last month. Ankiel requested $3.3 million in the last season before he is eligible for free agency, while the club countered with an offer of $2.35 million.

Ankiel and the Cardinals were literally down to a couple of hours to get a contract done. Their hearing was scheduled for 3 p.m. CT, and the involved parties had all made their way to Arizona to take part.

St. Louis still has one remaining arbitration-eligible player who has not signed. Ryan Ludwick would have a hearing on Tuesday if no deal can be reached before that time. Ludwick has asked for $4.25 million, while the club has offered $2.8 million.

--Matthew Leach

The Brewers continued to stockpile starting pitchers on Thursday, claiming right-hander Nick Green off waivers from the Angels on the same day club officials expected to finalize a deal with free agent pick-up Braden Looper.

Green, 24, who was placed on waivers by the Angels on Tuesday to make room for free agent addition Bobby Abreu, was once considered a top Angels pitching prospect but is coming off a so-so season at Triple-A Salt Lake. He was 8-8 with a 5.32 ERA in 28 starts and surrendered 31 home runs in 158 innings.

He was better in 2007, going 10-8 with a 3.68 ERA in 178 innings for Double-A Arkansas and earning a spot on the Angels' 40-man roster. With Milwaukee, Green, who has Minor League options remaining, will probably join the starting rotation at Triple-A Nashville along with recently-acquired left-hander Chase Wright.

The Brewers needed a 40-man roster spot for Green so they designated right-handed reliever Luis Pena for assignment. Pena, a power pitcher who struggled in 2008 (6.93 ERA in 52 games at Nashville), had been a Brewers farmhand since 1999, when he signed out of Venezuela.

The Brewers will have to make another move to clear a spot for Looper, whose one-year contract should be finalized by the end of the day Thursday.

-- Adam McCalvy

Even before reporting to Spring Training, Dan Uggla has collected a big hit. On Thursday, the Marlins' two-time All-Star second baseman won his arbitration case, meaning he will earn $5.35 million in 2009.

On Wednesday, Uggla and the Marlins enduring a hearing that lasted between four and five hours.

Because neither side could agree on a salary figure by the Jan. 20 exchange of numbers deadline, Uggla's salary went to a hearing before three arbitrators in Arizona. Uggla was seeking $5.35 million, while the Marlins countered at $4.4 million. The three arbitrators had to decide which of those two figures the two-time All-Star would make.

Technically, the Marlins could have kept negotiation with Uggla's agent, Jeff Borris, up until the hearings began. But the team has a policy where they stop contract talks if an agreement isn't be reached by the exchange deadline.

"You never want to go to a hearing, win or lose," Borris said. "You try to settle, but the Marlins have a policy. ... Bottom line is the team is trying to make the best deal for them, and you can't fault them for that. And the player is looking for the best deal for him, and you can't fault him for that."

Uggla was still in Arizona on Thursday. Marlins position players are slated to report to Jupiter, Fla., for Spring Training on Feb. 17.

-- Joe Frisaro

 

There is still no official confirmation, but it appears that the Angels and Bobby Abreu are hammering out a one-year deal worth $5 million plus incentives, according to multiple reports. Abreu would provide left-handed balance in a heavily right-handed offense and would join a four-man rotation for the three outfield spots and designated hitter role with Vladimir Guerrero, Torii Hunter and Juan Rivera.

This will give the Angels another crowded outfield,with Gary Matthews Jr. (recovering from knee surgery) and Reggie Willits pushed down the depth chart. Both are versatile outfielders with talents that could play in other cities if the Angels decide to shop them. Matthews will have to prove he's fully recovered from the knee operation, and Willits also needs a good spring to reestablish himself as a quality Major Leaguer after an injury-riddled 2008.

The upshot of the Abreu move is that it pretty much slams the door on any chance of Garret Anderson returning after 14 years as the club's most productive career hitter. With Adam Dunn going to Washington, Anderson is the most attractive hitter left in free agency not named Manny Ramirez.        

Free agent right-hander Braden Looper was scheduled to undergo his physical exam late Wednesday, but his one-year pact with the Brewers probably will not be made official until Thursday, the day before pitchers and catchers report to Maryvale Baseball Park for the start of Spring Training.

Looper, 34, came to terms with the Brewers on Monday and the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported those terms on its website Tuesday night. It's a one-year contract that guarantees $4.75 million in 2009, according to the newspaper, and includes a mutual option for 2010.

If Looper declines that option, the terms of which are not yet known, he goes back to the free agent market. If the Brewers decline the option and Looper exercises it, the team must buy him out. It was not clear whether incentives could push up Looper's '09 salary; he earned $5.5 million from the Cardinals last season.

Looper's agent, Alan Hendricks, has not responded to phone calls or e-mails this week for clarification of the pending deal. Brewers general manager Doug Melvin has followed instructions from Major League Baseball to avoid discussing specifics of free agent signings until they become official.

-- Adam McCalvy

The Dodgers continued collecting pitchers Tuesday by signing veteran left-hander Eric Milton to a Minor League contract. Milton missed the last 1 1/2 seasons recovering from Tommy John elbow reconstruction.

A former All-Star, Milton's contract calls for a $650,000 salary if he makes the club and has incentives for both starting and relieving. He becomes another candidate for the fifth starter job, along with Jason Schmidt, Eric Stults, Claudio Vargas, Shawn Estes and Ramon Troncoso.

The signing comes a day after the Dodgers signed Jeff Weaver, who will contend for a bullpen job. -- Ken Gurnick

The Dodgers signed Jeff Weaver to a Minor League contract with an invitation to Major League training camp. Weaver, 32, will receive a $500,000 salary if he makes the club.

Weaver, a starter throughout his Major League career, will vie for a bullpen role. He contacted the Dodgers and said he was pleased with his transition to relief in the Minor Leagues in 2008 and wanted to continue.

Weaver pitched for the Dodgers in 2004-05, winning 27 games and making 68 starts. Since leaving the Dodgers, his composite ERA is 6.00 and he pitched in the Minor Leagues for Cleveland and Milwaukee last year, without reaching the Major Leagues. -- Ken Gurnick

Five days before the start of Spring Training, the Cardinals made perhaps their most eye-catching move of the offseason, granting second baseman Adam Kennedy his unconditional release on Monday.

As a provision of releasing Kennedy, the Cardinals are required to pay the remainder of his contract. He is free to sign with any team. Typically, when a released player signs with another club, the new team pays him the Major League minimum, and the original team picks up the rest of the contract. Kennedy is owed $4 million in 2009, the final season of a three-year contract with St. Louis.

Kennedy, 33, batted .280 with a .321 on-base percentage and .372 slugging percentage in 2008. He saw his playing time dwindle as the 2008 season went on, and requested a trade late in the year. Unable to work out a deal, the Cards held onto Kennedy until Monday.

"We have exhausted all trade possibilities for Adam, and have decided that it was within both the club and the player's best interests to give Adam his unconditional release," general manager John Mozeliak said in a release issued by the team. "As stated last year, it has been our intention -- at Adam's request -- to try and seek a trade. As we move forward, we feel that it is best to try and fill the second base position with other players from within our organization."

With Kennedy gone, the Cardinals have no clear-cut favorite to man second base in 2009. Among the candidates for playing time are Brendan Ryan, Brian Barden, Joe Thurston and possibly outfielder Skip Schumaker, who will be working out at second base this spring.

--Matthew Leach