• There was a rumor of a three-way trade this week involving the Chicago Cubs, Pittsburgh and Colorado with Jacques Jones landing with the Pirates, but Jones' limited no-trade clause lists Pittsburgh as a place to which he won't go.
• Jason Schmidt is alone in the second tier of free-agent pitchers, somewhere between Zito and the group that included Ted Lilly, Gil Meche, Jeff Suppan and Jeff Weaver. Right now, the Dodgers and St. Louis are among the clubs talking seriously with Schmidt. And the Cardinals are a serious player for him.
• The imminent deal between catcher Bengie Molina and San Francisco will be a three-year package worth around $15 million, CBS SportsLine.com has learned.
• Randy Hendricks, agent for lefty Andy Pettitte, says that Pettitte will decide whether he will play in 2007 or retire within the next two weeks or so, and that Pettitte will pick a team by then as well. Houston wants him back, and the Yankees are keeping tab as well. Pettitte's decision could contain a major hint as to what Roger Clemens will do in 2007 as well: Remember, Clemens came out of retirement a couple of years ago so he could pitch with Pettitte in Houston. So if Clemens is returning, Pettitte can hardly ditch him and return to the Yankees. The guess here is that if Pettitte decides within the next two weeks to play and sign with the Yankees, that's an indication that Clemens privately has told him that Clemens plans to retire. If Pettitte re-signs with Houston, don't be surprised if Clemens pitches for the Astros in '07, too.
• Three teams, including Philadelphia, are talking with catcher Rod Barajas. You might recall that Toronto thought it had Barajas signed late last month until the catcher changed agents at the last minute, reneged on a verbal agreement with the Blue Jays and opened the door for Gregg Zaun to return there.
• Surprise, surprise. Baltimore owner Peter Angelos vetoed a deal that would have sent second baseman Brian Roberts and pitcher Hayden Penn to Atlanta for first baseman Adam LaRoche and second baseman Marcus Giles, according to the Baltimore Sun, after the Orioles had spent the better part of three weeks putting the trade together. GM Mike Flanagan should have anticipated that one.
• According to Boras, Atlanta shouldn't spend much time fielding inquiries about center fielder Andruw Jones. The center fielder is entering the final season of his contract and has full no-trade powers as a 10-and-5 man. "He's made the decision to play there in '07 and see what direction the team goes," Boras said. "Any (contract) talks probably will be after the season. Andruw's told me he's staying in Atlanta in '07." Which, translated, means that Jones is not prepared to approve any sort of trade, now, the rest of the winter, or as the July 31 trade deadline approaches.
• Cy Young winner Johan Santana has two years remaining on his Minnesota contract, but the way the price of pitching has skyrocketed this season, one person close to Santana advised that the Twins might want to think about extending Santana's contract now, because if they wait until next winter, Santana will opt to play out his final season and test free agency two winters from now.
• St. Louis, having extended Chris Carpenter and in the process of attempting to woo Jason Schmidt, also is planning to meet with Boras sometime soon to discuss bringing back free-agent pitcher Jeff Weaver.
• Boras also expects to meet with Yankees GM Brian Cashman before the parties depart Florida to discuss outfielder Bernie Williams' future. Williams would like to return to New York for another season, but depending upon what the Yanks do this winter, he could get squeezed out.
• One front-office change that had slipped past under the radar: Minnesota lured Ken Compton away from Seattle to be one of GM Terry Ryan's right-hand men. Compton, a true pro who had scouted for the Mariners for 18 years, will serve as a national cross-checker as the Twins prepare for the June draft each year as well as scout American League clubs.
• More on David Wells' hunting in Africa: "He had a busy trip, I'll say that," new San Francisco manager Bruce Bochy said of talking to Wells recently. "If it walked in front of him, it was shot. When you shoot a zebra, you'll shoot anything."
• Shea Hillenbrand continues talking with the Yankees and two other clubs as he searches for a multi-year contract.
