Midnight last night was the moment that the 171 free agents currently on the market can start negotiating with any team they want and it appears that former Boston Red Sox slugger Jason Bay(notes) might be the most popular guy out there right now, according to the Boston Herald.

Bay apparently has an "unbelievable" number of teams making calls for him, says his (totally unbiased) agent. Bay, Matt Holliday(notes), and John Lackey(notes) will be the three biggest free agents on the market this off-season but Bay seems to be the most accessible of the three to more clubs.

Bay reportedly wants a five-year deal worth $17 million annually and supposedly declined a four-year, $60 million proposal on the table from the Red Sox. Now he's waiting to see what kind of dollars and years will be offered by such clubs as the New York Mets, St. Louis Cardinals, Toronto Blue Jays, Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, and Seattle Mariners.

And, of course, the Red Sox will keep a watchful eye over the proceedings and try to get back in at an opportune moment.

Source: Boston Herald

New York Yankees right fielder Nick Swisher(notes) had a tough postseason at the plate but still got to celebrate at the end of the whole shebang when his team became the World Series champions. Word came out yesterday that the team was supposedly making the switch hitter available on the trading block, leading some to believe that he could have been part of a package for the Toronto Blue Jays ace Roy Halladay(notes), who the Yanks are rumored to be interested in bringing to the Bronx.

However, an exec on the team has apparently told the New York Post that Swisher isn't going anywhere and the Yankees are very happy with having him out in right field.

So now Swisher can just go ahead and relax and get that tattoo he was planning to get this winter to honor his departed grandfather that will match the one that he has on his chest in honor of his grandmother. The pair basically raised him after his folks got divorced.

Source: New York Post

The San Francisco Giants sure would like to have free agents Jason Bay(notes) and Matt Holliday(notes) sign with the team this winter, but Giants GM Brian Sabean apparently doesn't think either player really has any desire to come to the Bay Area, according to the San Francisco Chronicle.

For that reason, Sabean isn't even going to extend any kind of offer to either one of the top offensive free agents on the market this year now that any team can make offers to any free agents. Sabean is saying that he doesn't want to be a "stalking horse" this off-season and get used as a negotiating tool for these players with other clubs.

So Sabean says the Giants will be focusing on so-called second-tier players to fill out the batting order and bullpen. That terminology sure is going to make those players feel good about themselves, too.

Source: San Francisco Chronicle

Catcher Paul Lo Duca(notes) spent 10 years in the big leagues with four different teams and wasn't signed last year. Now he's apparently telling Sirius XM Radio that he wants back in, according to the New York Daily News.

Lo Duca told the satellite radio station that he's completely healthy and everything he's had surgery on (hamstring, knee) feels perfect. "I want to go back in it full bore and [do] whatever needs to be done," he said. "I want to play on a team that wants to win and wants a player that wants to win. I'll do whatever I need to do. If it's come off the bench, if it's spot starts, I'll do whatever they need me to do."

The 5'9" 36-year-old who has a .286 career average and popped only 80 homers in his ten years in the league isn't expecting to be the starting catcher for anybody. "I really feel like I can offer a good bat off the bench to somebody and do whatever needs to be done," he said.

Guess he was getting bored as a horse-racing analyst for the TVG Network.

Source: New York Daily News

Lefthander Jarrod Washburn(notes) grew up in Wisconsin and he apparently wouldn't be too upset to head back there and play for the Milwaukee Brewers. The team supposedly tried hard to get him from the Seattle Mariners back in July before the trading deadline but the M's ended up shipping him to the Detroit Tigers.

Washburn apparently is interested in signing with the Brewers or the Minnesota Twins so he can finish out his career not far from home, according to the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel.

The Brewers are also apparently looking at pitchers Doug Davis(notes), Randy Wolf(notes) and Mark Mulder(notes). Mulder apparently wants to get back together again with pitching coach Rick Peterson.

Source: Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

It looks like Dallas Cowboys Hall of Famer Roger Staubach would like to get into the baseball business, according to the Dallas Morning News. Texas Rangers owner Tom Hicks has been put into the position of needing to sell shares of his club due to the enormous amount of debt he's carrying and it seemed that he would need to sell a majority of the shares, leaving him on the outs.

But Hicks, who has owned the team for more than a decade, has apparently collected a large number of local investors that will help him maintain his majority ownership. Staubach is reportedly one of those folks.

Current club president Nolan Ryan also said he would be part of that group. Ryan is hedging his bets since he has also been working with prospective owner Chuck Greenberg.

Bids for the club are still due on Friday so get your pals together tonight and give Hicks a call before the weekend.

Source: Dallas Morning News

If you're the World Series champ, might as well try to get better, right? The New York Yankees have apparently told the Toronto Blue Jays that it is interested in trading for ace Roy Halladay(notes), according to Sports Illustrated.

Halladay only has one year left on his contract but the Blue Jays let it be known the other day that whatever team is interested in Halladay and makes the best offer will get a time window to try and get Halladay signed to an extension. And the Yankees are, of course, one of a small bunch of teams that can offer Halladay massive bucks over a long term.

It is believed that the Blue Jays would like a package of players from the Yankees that would include Phil Hughes(notes) or Joba Chamberlain(notes). Toronto's last GM, J.P. Ricciardi tried to get the Yanks to trade him both of these guys for Halladay and that went nowhere.

Source: Sports Illustrated

Pitcher Jason Schmidt(notes) has filed for free agency but it appears that the 13-year vet is likely to retire, according to MLB.com.

"Leaving my options open," the 36-year-old righty said. "At this moment, no, I'm not thinking about pitching anymore. Down the road, I'm not sure. Initially, I'd say no way. I'm not planning on playing at this moment. In my mind, I retired when I left in August."

He only had 10 starts for the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2009, going 3-6 with a 6.02 ERA. It's an unfortunate way to finish off a career in which he has a 130-96 record, 3.96 ERA and 1,758 strikeouts.

Source: MLB.com

The Minnesota Twins did themselves two favors the other day when the team traded outfielder Carlos Gomez(notes) for Milwaukee Brewers shortstop J.J. Hardy(notes). Not only did the team shore up its infield and fill the hole left by Orlando Cabrera(notes), but it helped itself toward re-signing the team's most important player, Joe Mauer(notes), according to the St. Paul Pioneer Press.

Mauer has another year on his contract but the team would love to get an extension signed as soon as possible. The addition of Hardy may help their cause since he is one of Mauer's biggest buddies in baseball. The pair apparently became pals when they were teammates on the U.S. Junior National team.

The 26-year-old Mauer could supposedly get around $25 million annually on the open market.

Source: St. Paul Pioneer Press

The free-agent window is about to be thrown open for former Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim pitcher John Lackey(notes) and it appears that one of the first ones to place an order could be the lowly Washington Nationals, according to MLB.com.

The Nats want to change their perception and going after Lackey will certainly help just as the team's pursuit of Mark Teixeira(notes) last off-season started to turn that dial.

Going after Lackey is one thing but getting him would help a whole lot more on the perception front. If the Nats can get him, they'd expect him to also help mentor the rest of the young staff, such as Stephen Strasburg(notes), Ross Detwiler(notes), and John Lannan(notes). Lackey would surely help bring the team's National League-worst ERA of 5.00 down.

But of course everybody else wants Lackey, too, so it remains doubtful that he'll end up in D.C. Another person who also isn't likely to end up in the District is shortstop Adam Everett(notes), who has been linked to the Nats numerous times this off-season already. The team supposedly has no interest in the defensive specialist.

Source: MLB.com