Kevin Youkilis, a 10-year Major League veteran, signed a one-year deal with the Rakuten Golden Eagles of Nippon Professional Baseball on Friday, according to MLBTradeRumors.com.

Carlos Beltran’s longtime dream of one day donning Yankees pinstripes officially became a reality on Friday morning, when the Yanks introduced their latest offseason addition in a news conference at Yankee Stadium.

Ilene Renteria and daughter Alexandria will make cookies and there will be the traditional holiday tamales at dinner, but one thing will be missing this Christmas in Cubs manager Rick Renteria’s home in Temecula, Calif.

The Twins have found their veteran catcher to replace Joe Mauer, who will be moving to first base next year. A baseball source has confirmed to MLB.com that the club has agreed to a sign Kurt Suzuki to a one-year deal worth $2.75 million on Friday.

The Mariners are on the verge of bringing back a familiar face, as FOX Sports reported Tuesday night that free-agent outfielder Franklin Gutierrez is close to rejoining the team on a one-year Major League deal.

Addison Reed is excited to meet his new D-backs teammates and battle for the closer’s role in Arizona. The former White Sox right-hander could be in just the right situation to take his game to the next level.

It’s National Free Shipping Day here in online shopping wonderland, which brings up the obvious question: If you could ship anything for a holiday gift in this final week, what would it be?

The pool of potential closers available on the free-agent market shrank on Tuesday, when the Hot Stove was focused on relief pitching.

Reliever Joaquin Benoit is still very much in play for the Padres, who are looking to add one or two more relievers to their bullpen before the start of Spring Training.

A rush of nostalgia has accompanied the approach of the San Francisco 49ers’ final regular season game at Candlestick Park, which could be the last sporting event ever played at the 53-year-old edifice.

The Dodgers were assessed a luxury tax of more than $11.4 million for a $243 million payroll, according to MLB calculations sent to teams on Tuesday and obtained by the AP. It is the first time the Dodgers have been hit by the tax.

The Syracuse Chiefs will be the Nationals’ Triple-A affiliate for four more years, according to the Washington Post. The Nats have not yet confirmed the report.

The pairing of Michael Morse and the Giants became official Tuesday when he signed a one-year, $6 million contract. Though free-agent deals are typically hailed by both sides, Morse and Bochy sounded especially pleased to have found each other.

The Red Sox signed veteran Japanese pitcher Shunsuke Watanabe to a Minor League contract on Tuesday, while releasing the contract of pitcher Chris Carpenter to the Yakult Swallows of Nippon Professional Baseball.

As relief pitchers fly off the free-agent market at a frenzied pace, Astros general manager Jeff Luhnow didn’t rule out Tuesday the possibility of adding another arm to the bullpen following the recent signing of former Astros right-handers Chad Qualls and Matt Albers.

The Dodgers continued the expansion of their scouting department Tuesday with eight changes to the professional and international staffs.

Left-handed reliever Charlie Furbush has signed a one-year contract with the Mariners, the club announced Tuesday, as the two parties reached an agreement to avoid any potential dispute over whether he was going to be arbitration-eligible.