MLB

The New York Yankees have reportedly come to terms on a two-year deal with relief pitcher Matt Thornton.

According to Jack Curry of the YES Network, Thornton will make $7 million over the life of the contract.

CBS Sports' Jon Heyman adds that Thornton will have to pass a physical:

If it were profitable, Alex Rodriguez would get on the biggest hill he could find, spin around and sing his story for all to hear like a baseball Julie Andrews. Instead, he is opting to just write a tell-all book about his plight and possibly secure a documentary feature. 

Even though the results aren't showing up at Wrigley Field, the Chicago Cubs are heading in the right direction. It's hard to see when a team is coming off a last-place finish in the National League Central and 96 losses in 2013, but there is a plan in place that will start to bear fruit soon. 

Late last night, news broke from Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports that longtime Baltimore Orioles second baseman and fan-favorite Brian Roberts was "likely" to sign a deal with the New York Yankees.

The old adage of "you win some, you lose some" sure rings true when it comes to the moves the Oakland Athletics have made so far this offseason. Assembling a bullpen of this caliber could be an A+ by itself. But the A's failed to fill crucial holes with big trade chips.

The starting rotation is young and talented.

Bartolo Colon was the lone veteran of the staff, but he became a free agent. Rather than look internally, the A's filled Colon's spot in the rotation with another free agent.

With the large amount of turnover the New York Yankees are experiencing this offseason, general manager Brian Cashman is continuing to piece together the 2014 version of the club.  As he does so, the batting order that skipper Joe Girardi writes down on his lineup card for Opening Day gradually becomes clearer.

At first glance the numbers seem preposterous; $400 million for a single player? 

Not even Alex Rodriguez's gaudy $275 million figure comes close. Not a single player in Major League Baseball history has ever even cracked the $300 million mark.

In fact, Rodriguez ranks both first and second when it comes to all-time record salaries. His previous 10-year, $250 million contract comes in second.

The Cleveland Indians came into the 2014 offseason with some glaring needs in the bullpen, starting rotation, on the bench and also at third base.

The team was able to remedy some of those needs by signing the likes of John Axford, Shaun Marcum, David Murphy and Jason Giambi among others.

The MLB rumor mill is still kicking as we head toward 2014.

Both the free-agent and trade markets still figure to be busy until the holidays and will pick back up again in January as teams try to round out their rosters for spring training.

Losing Robinson Cano was a big blow to the New York Yankees, not only because he is a great player, but because finding a quality second baseman on the open market is not easy.