The Boston Red Sox are reportedly showing interest in the Milwaukee Brewers' shortstop JJ Hardy.

Tom Haudricourt reported via Twitter that the Brewers would "have to get a very good pitcher in return to think of doing that."

While Brad Penny is said to be available, I highly doubt Milwaukee sees him as the kind of "very goood" pitcher they'd want in return. The BoSox do, however have several young arms who would no doubt qualify so don't be surprised to see this rumor stick around for a while in one form or another.

Update: Haudricourt has added:

"I don't think the Brewers would trade Hardy. He's one of those "glue" players that holds team together. Would have to be a blockbuster."

Given the Red Sox wealth of young pitching and the Brewers' penchant of making deals happen for the stretch run, I still wouldn't be surprised if this deal got done.

ESPN's Buster Olney is reporting that the Oakland A's have signed short stop Orlando Cabrera to a one year deal and are "closing in on a deal" with Nomar Garciaparra.

If Oakland finalizes a deal with Nomar, current shortstop Bobby Crosby would likely be reduced to a utility role but should see significant playing time spelling the two veteran middle infielders.

Cabrera's deal is said to be for roughly $4 million and is contingent on the former Gold Glover passing a physical.

Olney reports that Garciaparra, the former Red Sox and Dodger, has narrowed his choices down to the A's or retirement and a decision between the two could come soon.

The Atlanta Braves have once again reportedly reached an agreement with a free agent. For the Braves' sake, let's hope this one sticks.

ESPN.com is reporting that the Braves have signed Garret Anderson to a one year deal for $2.5 million with the announcement coming tomorrow.

The Braves have experienced a frustrating off season, having been linked to a possible trade for Jake Peavy, and signings of Rafael Furcal and Ken Griffey Jr. all of which fell apart after public reports had them pegged as done deals.

Anderson, a long time Angel, will likely platoon with Matt Diaz and will be asked to provide some power from the left side of the plate. The 36 year old veteran batted .293 and had 15 home runs for the Angels last year, all but one of them coming off right handed pitchers.

One could hardly fault Twins fans for being a bit anxious. The team had entered spring training without having made any significant moves to address their offensive needs.

Well Minnesota, your Twins have finally made a move, inking long time White Sox thirdbaseman, Joe Crede, to a one year incentive-laden contract. The deal is reportedly for $2.5 million and with incentives can earn Crede as much as $7 million.

If Crede can stay healthy, he should provide the right handed bat in the hear of the Twins lefty dominated lineup.Unfortunately, that hasn't been easy for Crede. He's missed significant time due to recurring back problems and has had two major surgeries in the last two years.

In 2006, Crede batted .284 with 30 home runs and drove in 94 runs over 150 games. In the two seasons since, he's only been able to appear in 144 games batting a combined .237 with 21 home runs and 77 RBI.

The AL Champion Tampa Bay Rays have reportedly inked St. Louis Cardinal castoff, Adam Kennedy.

Since the Cardinals released Kennedy last week the Rays would only be responsible for $400,000 of Kennedy's $4 million salary if he makes the opening day roster. However, that's far from a guarantee.

The Rays are pretty much set at 2nd base with Akinori Iwamura, but with only $400k at risk, it's the type of low-risk high-reward move that has been so popular this offseason.

Rays Vice President Andrew Friedman acknowledged as much saying "Right now, he’s on the outside looking in. I think it would take an injury [for him to make it] at this point, but you never know.”

Kennedy, 32, rebounded nicely at the plate last year, batting .280 after a career worst .216 average in 2007.

The New York Yankees have finally resigned free agent pitcher Andy Pettitte to a one year deal with a base of $5.5 million and another $6.5 million possible in performance incentives.

Pettitte had long been expected to return to the Yankees for another year but negotiations had dragged on for several weeks and the 36 year old had reportedly contemplated retirement.

The veteran left hander, who went 14-14 last year with a 4.54 ERA,  will finish off an already impressive rotation that includes newly signed CC Sabathia, AJ Burnett, Chien-Ming Wang, and Jobba Chamberlain. The move also likely eliminates prospects Ian Kennedy and Philip Hughes from contention for the Yanks' rotation, barring some sort of injury.

The Los Angeles Dodgers have reportedly signed reliever Guillermo Mota to a one year deal that will bring the pitcher back to LA where he spent 3 years as a set-up man for closer, Eric Gagne.

The 35 year old right hander had an ERA of 4.11 over 57 innings last year with the Milwaukee Brewers and will take one of the spots in the Dodgers bullpen that was decimated by free agent defections this offseason.

Mota will likely resume his role of 7th or 8th inning set up man, possibly to the up and coming Jonathan Broxton, although the Dodgers have stated they'd like to ease the young reliever into that roll. If LA is insistant on not using Broxton as their closer to start the year I suppose it's conceivable that they could give Mota a shot in the 9th but he's not been impressive in that capacity in the past, with career totals of 8 saves and 15 blown.

The Atlanta Braves have reportedly inked free agent pitcher Derek Lowe to a 4 year deal worth $60 million and also signed Japanese pitcher Kenshin Kawakami to a three year deal.

Lowe, who went 14-11 with a 3.24 ERA last year for the Dodgers joins a Braves staff that will be without ace Tim Hudson for at least the first half of the year and recently lost Mike Hampton and John Smoltz to free agency.

Kawakami is a 33 year old  former MVP who went 9-5 last year and according to Brave manager Bobby Cox, has excellent control.

Atlanta entered the offseason with an expressed desire to revamp their rotation and with these two signings they appear to have succeeded. The rotation will likely feature Lowe as the ace, with Javier Vazquez (acquired from the Chicago White Sox in an trade earlier this offseason), Kawakami, and sophmore pitchers Jair Jurrjens and Jorge Campillo as the 2-5 starters.

The Boston Red Sox have reportedly signed former Dodger closer Takashi Saito to a one year deal with a team option for next season. Saito is a fairly significant injury risk so the deal is heavily incentivized, with the guaranteed portion worth reportedly $1.5-$2.5 million and potentially worth more than $7 million.

Saito had been on several team's radars as a potential closer, however, with Jonathan Papelbon anchoring the bull pen the Sox will use Saito primarily as a set up man.

The signing is the third for the Sox of former standout players trying to return to form after injuries or surgery. Over the last week Boston has also signed John Smoltz who's coming off surgery, and Rocco Baldelli who is returning from a mysterious fatigue illness. The low risk/high reward type signings are a stark contrast to their arch rivals, the New York Yankees's, spending spree this offseason. It appears that the payroll gap between the two teams, which had narrowed in recent years, will once again be a significant factor in the rivalry.

The Milwaukee Brewers have reportedly inked the career saves leader, Trevor Hoffman to a one year deal worth a guaranteed $6 million and includes $1.5 million in incentives as well as a team option for a second year.

Hoffman had been expected to return to the San Diego Padres where he'd pitched for the last 13 years, however, the team retracted their initial one year offer of $4 million, a move which angered the closer.

The Brewers, who lost last years closer Salomon Torres to an unexpected retirement and already signed former closer Jorge Julio, but are expected to use Hoffman as the closer with Julio as a setup man. The 41 year old converted 30 of 34 save opportunities last year and should become a much needed anchor at the back of the Brewers pen.

The Los Angeles Dodgers had extended Hoffman an offer for more than $4 million in hopes of giving Jonathan Broxton a chance to grow into the closers role. They'll now have to either toss the young reliever into the fire, or perhaps turn to former closers Takashi Saito, Guillermo Motta, or even Chad Cordero who is apparently ahead of schedule in his recovery from surgery last summer (pure speculation on my part).