Justin Masterson has agreed to a one-year, $9.5 million deal to rejoin the Red Sox, it was announced Thursday night.

On Tuesday evening at San Diego State’s Tony Gwynn Stadium, Major League Baseball hosted a youth clinic for almost 300 area youth involved in Padres-backed Little League and MLB’s Reviving Baseball in the Inner Cities (RBI) program.

Dressed as “Santa Hank,” the ballpark pup made an early-morning appearance Thursday delivering toys and supplies at the Wisconsin Humane Society, a beneficiary from the sale of Hank-themed merchandise.

After a week of meeting with agents of available players who could fill the Cardinals’ need to add a right-handed-hitting first baseman, the club has found a fit in Mark Reynolds.

When the BYU and Memphis football programs fly into South Florida next week, most players will see get their first glimpses of world-famous beaches. The cold weather in Utah and Tennessee will be left behind for mild temperatures, light breezes and palm trees. The Cougars (8-4) and Tigers (9-3) will compete on the gridiron for the first time in the inaugural Miami Beach Bowl, which will take place at Marlins Park at 2 p.m. ET on Dec. 22.

The mission for general manager Jerry Dipoto is to stay atop the AL West while building a firm foundation for the future. That’s precisely why the Angels were willing to part ways with valued infielder Howie Kendrick for promising left-hander Andrew Heaney.

The Padres, generally quiet for most of the offseason, made a big splash late Wednesday, sending three players to the Dodgers for Kemp, a two-time All-Star, who offers the middle-of-the-order bat the team has been seeking.

Getaway day at the Winter Meetings is often a quiet exercise of farewell handshakes and roller bags rattling through the lobby of the headquarters of baseball’s annual gathering of general managers, agents and media. The final day of the 2014 session, however, was anything but a mere formality, as a torrent of transactions sent what already was a raucous convention off with a bang.

The Reds traded All-Star starter Alfredo Simon to the Tigers for right-handed pitcher Jonathon Crawford and infielder Eugenio Suarez. A short time later, the Reds announced they had also dealt power arm Mat Latos to the Marlins for 24-year-old right-hander Anthony DeSclafani and catcher Chad Wallach.

The Tigers were dormant for all but a handful of the 80 or so hours of baseball’s Winter Meetings. That handful of hours of activity, however, could be what determines whether the Tigers have another World Series run in them.

Even after the wild flurry of moves that restated the two teams’ intention to roll on to the 2015 World Series without the aces who led them into their most recent postseason appearances, history says they might just have something really crazy left in their bag of tricks.

There was a lot of talk about what the Nationals were going to do at the Winter Meetings, but other than a reported deal sending left-hander Ross Detwiler to the Rangers for two Minor Leaguers, it was a quiet four days for general manager Mike Rizzo and his staff.

The Rangers are acquiring left-handed pitcher Ross Detwiler from the Nationals, a source told MLB.com on Thursday. The Rangers are giving up two Minor Leaguers in the trade, which hasn’t been confirmed by the club. The trade is pending review of medical records.

Though the Braves did not make much noise before this year’s Winter Meetings concluded on Thursday, they headed home feeling confident that the patience they showed this week might lead them toward the value they are truly seeking with deals that could be completed over the next couple of weeks.

After four eventful days at the Winter Meetings, the pieces are starting to fall into place for the Marlins. Now that the dust has settled, the organization is optimistic that it’s moving closer to contending in the National League East. Granted, games aren’t won in December, but the Marlins clearly are exiting MLB’s biggest offseason showcase riding the momentum of three trades that covered all but one significant need.

A regular feature of any Winter Meetings is the rotation of meet-and-greets with the media by every big league manager. Each half-hour session is a wide-ranging discourse of retrospection and anticipation, and yields one definitive observation.

Jim Callis gives scouting reports from the selections in the 2014 Rule 5 Draft, including top pick Oscar Hernandez.