The Chicago Cubs have reportedly traded starting pitcher Jason Marquis to the Colorado Rockies for reliever Luis Vizcaino.

The move is largely a salary dump for the Cubs who will rid themselves of about $5 million of Marquis’ $9.5 million salary. The Rockies acquire an enigmatic starter who should eat some innings at the back of their rotation, and dump a reliever who had a 5.43 ERA and a DUI arrest in October.

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The New York Yankees have reportedly reached an agreement with free agent first baseman Mark Teixeira on an eight year deal worth $180 million.

The Yankees’ bitter rivals, the Boston Red Sox had been favored to land the slugger but the Bronx Bombers once again won the war of the pocketbooks. Teixeira’s deal takes the Yankees’ off season tab up to $423.5 million to three players over an 8 year period, and also gives the team famous for it’s spending, the 4 highest paid players in the game (Teixeira, Sabathia, Jeter, and Rodriguez).

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The Atlanata Braves have reportedly reached a deal with free agent shortstop, Rafael Furcal, to return to Atlanta. Financial details of the deal haven’t been released yet but it is rumored to be for three years with a vesting option for a fourth. Ken Rosenthal of FoxSports calls the signing a “major offseason upset” as the Oakland A’s had been considered the major favorites to land Furcal, having extended a guaranteed 4th year in their $40 millon offer.

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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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Here’s a quick rundown of some of the free agent signings that you might have missed in the midst of all the Sabathia, Yankees, Mets madness lately.

The Cincinnati Reds signed reliever Arthur Rhodes to a 2 year deal worth $4 million. The veteran lefty put up impressive numbers last year, pitching in 61 games with the Mariners and Marlins and going 4-1 with a 2.06 ERA.

The Minnesota Twins re-signed infielder Nick Punto to a 2 year deal worth $8.5 million. The infielder batted .284 with 2 long balls and 28 RBI in 99 games for the Twins last year and will likely be the team’s starting shortstop going forward.

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The Milwaukee Brewers talks with the Yankees about outfielder Mike Cameron are reportedly back on and quite close. The New York Post is reporting that the deal would send Kei Igawa and Melky Cabrera to the Brewers in exchange for Cameron. The only issue left, according to the Post, is how much (if any) of the remaining $12 million due Igawa over the next three years the Yankees will pick up. The Brewers are looking to shift Cameron’s salary towards their rotation but $4 million a year for a pitcher with a 13.50 ERA and only one start last year isn’t what they had in mind.

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The New York Yankees continued their offseason spending spree, signing AJ Burnett to a 5 year deal worth $82.5 million. The Yankees appear to be capitalizing on the down turn in the economy, going on a historic spending spree while the rest of the league has been cutting costs and keeping a sharp eye on their bottom line. Earlier this week the Yanks inked CC Sabathia to a 7 year, $161 million deal, the largest ever contract for a pitcher. The latest signing is pending a physical which is usually a formality, however, with the injury prone Burnett there are no guarantees.

If you thought committing a total of $243.5 million over the next 7 years would take the Yankees out of shopping mode, think again. The New York Post reports that they’ve now joined the bidding for first baseman Mark Teixeira, with Manny Ramirez as a backup option should they lose out on the switch hitting first baseman.

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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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I’m a bit behind on the rumor and trade news so I’ll try to catch you up today.

The Mets, Mariners, and Indians got together on a three team deal that sent a total of 12 players to new teams.

The Mets acquired former All-Star closer JJ Putz, outfielder Jeremy Reed, and reliever Sean Green while giving up Aaron Heilman, Endy Chavez, Jason Vargas, Joe Smith, and three minor leaguers. Putz figures to slide into the setup role for newly signed closer Francisco Rodriguez. With two top flight closers finishing out games, the Mets hope to avoid the late inning collapses that plagued them last year.

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Ken Rosenthal is reporting that the Atlanta Braves are prepared to lose long time pitcher John Smoltz if another team is willing to give the veteran hurler a guaranteed deal. Smoltz has had a long list of surgeries on his throwing arm, most recently a shoulder surgery in June, and the Braves are apparently only willing to give him an incentive laden deal.

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