The Chicago Cubs finished out 2008 by trading super-sub Mark DeRosa to the Cleveland Indians for three minor league pitchers and signed former St. Louis Cardinal, Aaron Miles, to replace him. Miles’ deal is a 2 year agreement reportedly worth $4.9 million. Along with the three young hurlers, right-handed closer Jeff Stevens, right-hander Chris Archer and south-paw John Gaub, the Cubs gained more payroll flexibility for next year with DeRosa due $5.5 million next year.

That payroll, along with the savings from trading starting pitcher Jason Marquis, was used, as expected to ink the switch-hitting outfielder, Milton Bradley to a 3 year deal worth $30 million.

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The Free Agent pool of players got a bit bigger at midnight on Friday when players who were not tendered contract offers from their teams became free agents. I’ve broken the list down by position and as you can see, there are a few surprises here including former Dodgers closer Takashi Saito (2.49 ERA and 18 saves) and Nationals starter Tim Redding (10 wins).

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The Cleveland Indians have reportedly agreed to terms on a two year deal with former Cubs closer, Kerry Wood. The deal is believed to be worth nearly $20 million and have a vesting option for a third should the oft-injured pitcher reach certain performance incentives.

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The St. Louis Cardinals just might have their ace, Chris Carpenter, back on the hill by the time Spring Training rolls around. The injury riddled ace has been struggling recently with the nerves in his pitching shoulder, however a test performed yesterday showed that the nerve is healing at a “normal” rate and that the [...]

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The San Diego Padres are reportedly close to completing a deal that would send shortstop Khalil Greene to the St. Louis Cardinals in exchange for two young relief pitchers.

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The St. Louis Cardinals today made official a signing that had long been reported as a done deal when they signed left handed reliever Trever Miller, formerly of the AL Champion Tampa Bay Rays. Miller pitched in 68 games for the Rays putting up a 4.15 ERA and is the first move in Cardinals’ GM John Mozeliak’s quest to rebuild the left side of the Redbirds ‘pen.

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Teams have until midnight eastern time tonight to extend offers of arbitration to their free agents and I’ll be updating this page as often as news becomes available about teams’ arbitration actions.

Update

The offers are all in, and according to the AP only 24 players were offered arbitration. The list is as follows:

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According to FoxSports, the two Bay area teams, the San Francisco Giants and the Oakland A’s are the favorites in the Rafael Furcal sweepstakes. Furcal, a familiar fixture in California, having spent the last three years in Los Angeles with the Dodgers, is reportedly seeking a four year deal worth $40 million.
The Braves, Dodgers, Cubs, [...]

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The St. Louis Cardinals are reportedly working on a deal to send All-Star outfielder Ryan Ludwick to the Colorado Rockies in exchange for slugger Matt Holliday.
Ludwick enjoyed a break out year last year batting .299 with 37 home runs and 113 RBI while Holliday hit .321 with 25 long balls, and 88 runs driven in. [...]

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The St. Louis Cardinals have inked starter Kyle Lohse to a 4 year deal worth a reported $41 million. Lohse blossomed under Cardinal pitching coach Dave Duncan winning 15 games and losing only 6. The veteran pitcher struggled to catch on with a team last winter until the Cardinals stepped up and signed the pitcher [...]

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