The Hot Stove

The Tigers have signaled that the future is now; with the window closing on last year's AL champions, Detroit has traded two stellar prospects for the veteran bat and glove of Edgar Renteria. Atlanta will receive righty fireballer Jair Jurrjens, 21, and outfielder Gorkys Hernandez, 20, who hit .293 and stole 54 bases with Class A last year. More »

The Yankees have picked a successor to Joe Torre's managerial throne: Joe Girardi, the former Marlins manager and Yankee coach who was a catcher on three New York title teams in the '90s and worked for them this year as a TV analyst. The New York Times reports that though fired in Florida, he was a popular candidate for other jobs, having been courted by the Nationals, Orioles, and Dodgers. More »

Superstar third baseman Alex Rodriguez is no longer a New York Yankee, Sports Illustrated reports. His agent tells the magazine that he notified the club that A-Rod is opting out of his $252 million deal to seek an even bigger one on the open market. The Yankees, who were reportedly planning to offer the two-time MVP an extension, have said repeatedly that they will not pursue him as a free agent. More »

Yankee officials have now interviewed all three of Joe Torre's potential successors, and so far team owner George Steinbrenner and sons Hank and Hal are "impressed" with all of them—and concede they've got a "tough decision" to make. Whoever the "slight favorite" is, he'll take the helm of a team "in transition" that won't be expected to dominate right off the bat, according to the bosses. More »

When Don Mattingly came out of retirement to join up as the Yankees' hitting coach, he already had his sights set on following in Joe Torre's managerial footsteps, reports the New York Times. "I’ve known from the beginning what I wanted," said Mattingly, who is said to have impressed Yankee management and owner George Steinbrenner in interviews yesterday. More »

Former Yankee catcher Joe Girardi spent yesterday meeting with team officials, interviewing for Joe Torre's old job as New York's manager, reports the Times. He'll be followed today by the team's current bench coach Don Mattingly, and tomorrow Yankees first-base coach Tony Pena will jump into the interview pool. More »

Tony La Russa, Cardinals manager for the past twelve years, will stick around for two more, reports the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. A disappointing 78-84 season to cap his previous three-year deal, plus instability at general manager, had the four-time Manager of the Year initially uncertain as to whether he'd return. More »

An emotional Joe Torre called the Yankees' one-year, $5 million offer "an insult" today. Three million dollars in incentives didn't help, he said: “I’d been there 12 years and did not feel motivation was needed." The offer was still sizable, despite a $2.5 million pay cut—"nothing to sneeze at," he admitted—"but the fact that somebody is reducing your salary just tells me they are not satisfied." More »

In a stunning move, Joe Torre ended his 12-year tenure today as New York Yankees manager—which included four World Series titles—by turning down a new contract that would have cut his salary to $5 million from the $7 million he made in 2007. The one-year offer for 2008 would have included as much as $3 million in playoff incentives. More »

The Yankees dealt reliever Scott Proctor to the Dodgers yesterday, in exchange for infielder Wilson Betemit. Proctor, who will likely be replaced by minor-league righty Edwar Ramirez, had struggled in the Bronx, giving up four home runs in his last six outings. The Yanks are hoping to add depth to their backup roster with the versatile Betemit. More »

Detroit re-signed Cory Redding yesterday, making him the NFL's highest-paid defensive tackle even though he's only played the position for 10 games. The Lions aggressively courted their franchise player before making a 7-year deal worth roughly $49 million. "I'm glad we got these numbers and all this stuff out of the way so I can focus on football," he said. More »