The Los Angeles Angels seem to be close to landing free agent slugger Bobby Abreu to a one year deal.

Abreu initially sought a three year deal in the neighborhood of $48 million, however as the economic reality of this offseason set in, it became clear that the outfielder would have to settle for something drastically less.

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4 sources have reportedly informed Sports Illustrated that Alex Rodriguez tested positive for two different steroids in his MVP season of 2003.

The positive tests were allegedly part of MLB’s survey testing which was used to determine if regular random testing would be instituted. However, the federal authorities seized the records as a part of their investigation into BALCO and while the records are still under seal, 4 different sources leaked the information to SI with the condition of anonymity.

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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.

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The New York Mets and Yankees are reportedly the favorites to land free agent pitcher Freddy Garcia who is seeking a guaranteed deal despite having only pitched 73 innings combined in the past two seasons.

Garcia, who topped 200 innings pitched in the 04-06 seasons, had shoulder surgery in 2007 and returned to action in September of last year, making three starts for the Detroit Tigers going 1-1 with a 4.20 ERA over 15 innings.

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Despite a recent report, the Yankees and Brewers were apparently not in discussions to swap Nick Swisher for Mike Cameron. Buster Olney goes so far as to say that the two teams haven’t talked since the Winter Meetings.

And, while the Swisher for Cameron rumor proved to be less than accurate, the Yankees are looking to deal from their depth in the outfield, and according to Ken Rosenthal (4nd paragraph) have had talks with the Altanta Braves about either Swisher or Xavier Nady.

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The New York Yankees have reportedly reached an agreement with free agent first baseman Mark Teixeira on an eight year deal worth $180 million.

The Yankees’ bitter rivals, the Boston Red Sox had been favored to land the slugger but the Bronx Bombers once again won the war of the pocketbooks. Teixeira’s deal takes the Yankees’ off season tab up to $423.5 million to three players over an 8 year period, and also gives the team famous for it’s spending, the 4 highest paid players in the game (Teixeira, Sabathia, Jeter, and Rodriguez).

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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 Milwaukee Brewers talks with the Yankees about outfielder Mike Cameron are reportedly back on and quite close. The New York Post is reporting that the deal would send Kei Igawa and Melky Cabrera to the Brewers in exchange for Cameron. The only issue left, according to the Post, is how much (if any) of the remaining $12 million due Igawa over the next three years the Yankees will pick up. The Brewers are looking to shift Cameron’s salary towards their rotation but $4 million a year for a pitcher with a 13.50 ERA and only one start last year isn’t what they had in mind.

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The New York Yankees continued their offseason spending spree, signing AJ Burnett to a 5 year deal worth $82.5 million. The Yankees appear to be capitalizing on the down turn in the economy, going on a historic spending spree while the rest of the league has been cutting costs and keeping a sharp eye on their bottom line. Earlier this week the Yanks inked CC Sabathia to a 7 year, $161 million deal, the largest ever contract for a pitcher. The latest signing is pending a physical which is usually a formality, however, with the injury prone Burnett there are no guarantees.

If you thought committing a total of $243.5 million over the next 7 years would take the Yankees out of shopping mode, think again. The New York Post reports that they’ve now joined the bidding for first baseman Mark Teixeira, with Manny Ramirez as a backup option should they lose out on the switch hitting first baseman.

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The New York Yankees have reached a preliminary agreement with free agent pitcer C.C. Sabathia. The deal is reportedly for 7 years and $161 million with an opt-out clause (similar to the one A.J. Burnett exercised this year to become a free agent) after the third year. The deal is the biggest ever given to a pitcher, with an average annual value of $23 million, and is the 4th biggest contract overall, coming in behind the two deals given Alex Rodriguez and Manny Ramirez’s previous contract.

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