Report: Blue Jays haven’t sent an offer to Pablo Sandoval yet
by Chris Cwik | CBSSports.com

(6:35 pm ET) The Blue Jays do not currently have an offer out to third baseman Pablo Sandoval, according to Sportsnet.

Sandoval met with Blue Jays’ brass last week, and the meeting reportedly went well. Despite that, the club has yet to extend an offer to the 28-year-old third baseman. The team is still expected to be in the mix for Sandoval, but no deal seems imminent. 

Report: Red Sox offer to Jon Lester worth $110-$120 million
by Chris Cwik | CBSSports.com

(6:13 pm ET) The Red Sox offer to pitcher Jon Lester is reportedly between $110-$120 million, according to the Boston Globe. 

The reported offer is for six years. The 30-year-old Lester has already drawn significant interest on the market, and has been projected to earn more than the Red Sox reported offer. Lester is coming off a season in which he posted a 2.46 ERA over 219 2/3 innings. 

Dodgers’ Dan Haren confirms he’ll retire if dealt
by Chris Cwik | CBSSports.com

(6:09 pm ET) Dodgers pitcher Dan Haren said he’ll retire if he can’t pitch in Los Angeles, according to ESPN. 

My signing with the Dodgers last year and my decision to exercise my player option were based on my desire to play in Southern California near my family,” Haren said. “At this point in my career I have no interest in playing in a city away from my family.” CBSSports.com Baseball Insider Jon Heyman wrote about Haren’s name coming up in trade rumors recently, and mentioned that Haren may retire if asked to pitch away from home. Haren posted a 4.02 ERA over 186 innings last year. 

Red Sox claim Juan Francisco off waivers
by Larry Hartstein | CBSSports.com

(3:28 pm ET) The Red Sox claimed third baseman Juan Francisco off waivers from the Blue Jays, reports WEEI.com. In 287 at-bats this past season, Francisco hit .220 with 16 homers and 43 RBI.

Report: Giants still among teams vying to sign Pablo Sandoval
by Michael Hurcomb | CBSSports.com

(3:24 pm ET) The Giants are not out of the race to sign Pablo Sandoval, despite a report from KPIX 5 in San Francisco that the Giants have dropped out of negotiations with the free agent third baseman. The report was emphatically denied Wednesday by a source with direct knowledge of the negotiations, according to CSNNE.com.

The source added the Giants are still very much interested in re-signing Sandoval, but the length of the potential contract offer is unknown. The Giants are wary of offering Sandoval a contract longer than five years.

CBSSports.com Baseball Insider Jon Heyman reported Wednesday the Red Sox are expected to make an offer to Sandoval by Thursday. Heyman added it appears to be a five-team competition — Giants, Red Sox, White Sox, Blue Jays and Padres — to sign Sandoval, with Boston and San Francisco considered the favorites.

Athletics C John Jaso cleared for baseball activities
by Larry Hartstein | CBSSports.com

(1:35 pm ET) Athletics catcher John Jaso, whose season ended in August due to a concussion, has been cleared for all baseball activities, general manager Billy Beane told MLB.com. This means Jaso can catch again, but how often he’ll catch next year is unclear, the report said.

The team is considering using Jaso at first base, too, per MLB.com.

Athletics ‘very happy’ with Jeff Samardzija atop rotation
by Larry Hartstein | CBSSports.com

(1:30 pm ET) Asked about the possibility of trading starter Jeff Samardzija, Athletics general manager Billy Beane told MLB.com, “Right now, we’re very happy to have Jeff at the top of our rotation.” Earlier reports indicated Oakland would listen to offers for Samardzija, who went 7-13 with a 2.99 ERA in 33 starts with the Cubs and Athletics.

Mets hitting coach working on strategy to help Lucas Duda vs. LHPs
by Michael Hurcomb | CBSSports.com

(12:58 pm ET) New Mets hitting coach Kevin Long said Wednesday he feels throwing left-handed will help left-handed hitters like Lucas Duda improve against lefties, according to ESPN. Duda hit .180 against lefties in 2014 and is batting .212 against them in his MLB career.

“I’ll move over a little bit more so that it makes it more difficult to pick up my arm slot,” Long said. “… That should help Lucas, getting to face me a number of times. I know Curtis (Granderson), every time we faced a lefty, and even when we didn’t, would take batting practice off me. All of my flips in the cages are left-handed. Obviously the more that you face a lefty, the more comfortable you should become and be.”

Curtis Granderson to work with new Mets hitting coach in offseason
by Michael Hurcomb | CBSSports.com

(12:50 pm ET) New Mets hitting coach Kevin Long said Wednesday he expects to spend some time in the offseason working with outfielder Curtis Granderson, who struggled offensively in 2014.

“The main thing I’ve seen is his hands are kind of moving more than they did when he was with the Yankees,” Long said about Granderson, per ESPN. “So we’re going to try to just quiet that down a little bit. They’re not really getting into a strong position consistently. So we’ll work at that. There’s a few little, minor other issues that we’ll hit. Curtis, he had some streaks this year where he was really swinging the bat well. We’ll just try to maintain a little bit more consistency. 

“You know, I think it’s tough, too, the first time you come into an organization and you signed a big contract. I think it’s a little more difficult than it might seem. In Curtis’ case, that probably played into it. I know Brian McCann, as this season progressed over with the Yankees, he got better and better and more comfortable.”

Athletics make it official, ink Billy Butler to 3-year deal
by Larry Hartstein | CBSSports.com

(12:12 pm ET) The Athletics announced they’ve signed designated hitter/first baseman Billy Butler to a three-year deal. Reports indicate Butler will receive $30 million despite coming off a down year in which he hit .271 with nine homers and 66 RBI for the Royals.