Pat Burrell is moving from one World Series team, to the other. The Tampa Bay Rays have reportedly signed former Philadelphia Phillies power-hitting outfielder Pat Burrell to a two year deal worth $16 million.

Burrell, never known for his skills with a glove, will serve as an upgrade to the Rays output from their DH slot.

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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 World Series Champion Philadelphia Phillies have replaced departing free agent outfielder Pat Burrell, by signing Raul Ibanez to a three year deal reportedly worth $30 million. Ibanez, a type-A free agent from Seattle, will also cost the Phils their first round pick next year.

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Now that the Phillies have declined to offer free agent Pat Burrell arbitration, several teams have picked up their pursuit of the slugger, including the Seattle Mariners, Los Angeles Angels, and San Francisco Giants according to MLB.com’s Ken Mandel. Mandel also mentions that Burrell grew up in the Bay Area and implies that the Giants may be the favorites to land the outfielder.

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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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The Philadelphia Phillies have acquired starting pitcher Joe Blanton from the Oakland A’s for three minor leaguers. The Phils have been trying to shore up their rotation for weeks, inquiring on CC Sabathia and AJ Burnett before landing the 5-12 starter who sports a 4.96 ERA.
For Oakland, this marks the second trade of a starter [...]

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The Philadelphia Phillies have signed closer Brad Lidge to a 3 year $37.5 million contract extension. Lidge, acquired last offseason from the Houston Astros would have been a free agent at the end of the year but instead will anchor the Phillies bullpen for the next few years.
Lidge has been perfect in save opportunities so [...]

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The Philadelphia Inquirer reports that the Phils will be wearing a retro look for home day games in 2008. The uniform is similar to those the team sported from ‘46 through ‘49 but features the current Phillies logo. Of course this proliferation of uniforms is all about providing a better experience for the fans and [...]

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The Seattle PI reports that GM Bill Bavasi and manager John McLaren are hoping to bring back more than just electronics when they return from their current Japanese shopping trip. They also hoping to wrap up pitcher Hiroki Kuroda. The club already has a strong Japanese contingent including catcher Kenji Johjima, outfielder Ichiro Suzuki and [...]

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The Red Sox have said all along that their top priority was keeping free agent third basemen Mike Lowell, and now, according to ESPN.com they are very close to doing so. The deal is reportedly for three years and worth $37.5 million. Apparently other clubs (namely the Dodgers and the Phillies) were offering a 4th [...]

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