MLB

The Boston Red Sox acquired right-handed reliever Burke Badenhop from the Milwaukee Brewers on Friday. The deal was announced by the Red Sox on their Twitter feed. 

New York Yankees catchers made for a living, breathing definition of the term "pushover" in 2013. Combined, they managed just a .289 on-base percentage and 26 extra-base hits.

Thanks to the club's latest signing, however, the position can now be considered upgraded.

For nearly a decade, Brian McCann has been one of the top catchers in all of baseball. He finally cashed in on his elite status at the position, signing a five-year, $85 million deal with the New York Yankees, according to Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports. 

CBS' Jon Heyman also added this:

McCann certainly earned his big payday.

With the shocking Ian Kinsler for Prince Fielder trade on Wednesday night, the Texas Rangers took the baseball world by storm.  

Finally—and let me emphasize that—Texas has a premier power bat at first base.  Since GM Jon Daniels traded Mark Teixeira to the Atlanta Braves in 2007, the club has tried desperately to fill the position on a trial-and-error basis.  

The latest news on baseball's international free-agent front is that a pair of high-profile Cuban players have defected and already established residency in another country.

While a pair of trades dominated this week's news in Major League Baseball's offseason, there have been some intriguing, under-the-radar signings to this point too. Clearly, though, the open market has yet to really get rolling. Before that happens, it's worth checking in to see what kind of bang teams are getting for their buck. 

It shouldn't be surprising that the Boston Red Sox are expressing interest in the Los Angeles Dodgers' Matt Kemp as has been reported by the Boston Globe's Nick Cafardo.

There's a player on the free-agent market who has a history at a premium position, is coming off a season in which he hit over .300 and is still in multiyear contract territory at 31 years of age.

You'd think that this guy would be one of the biggest no-brainers for a big contract. Instead, he's probably the hardest guy to figure of anybody out there in the free-agent waters.

Of the free-agent signings thus far, there are certainly a couple that could turn out to be bargains. If Josh Johnson (San Diego Padres) and Chris Young (New York Mets) return to form, they'll be well worth the one-year deals at the cost of $8 million and $7.25 million, respectively.

Same for David Murphy, who signed a two-year, $12 million deal with the Cleveland Indians, and LaTroy Hawkins, who will cost the Colorado Rockies no more than $2.5 million to at least start the season as their closer.

In the mid-to-late stages of their rebuilding process, the Cubs are in for an interesting offseason. They're in no position to make a major splash as the front office has noted, but some subtle moves could keep the wheels of progress moving in the right direction.