According to Buster Olney of ESPN.com, CC Sabathia will earn $122 million over the next five seasons.
 
The Yankees will keep their ace in the fold. In what amounts to a one-year contract extension, Sabathia will receive $25 million in 2016 while the contract includes a $25 million option for 2017 or a $5 million buyout. The 31-year-old left-hander will make an average of $24.4 million over the next five seasons, which tops Cliff Lee ($24 million) as the highest average annual value for a pitcher. According to Joel Sherman of the New York Post, the option for 2017 will vest automatically unless Sabathia ends the 2016 season on the disabled list with a shoulder injury, spends more than 45 days on the disabled list in 2016 due to a shoulder injury or makes at least six relief appearances in 2016 due to shoulder issues.
 

According to Rafael Rojas of Viva Colorado, Wilson Ramos has been kidnapped in Venezuela.
 
Viva Colorado is a bilingual news source connected to the Denver Post. There isn't much more information available at the moment, only that Ramos was taken from his home in the town of Valencia by four armed men. The kidnappers have not yet contacted the Ramos family to ask for a ransom. More to come.

Bob Nightengale of USA Today reports that the Marlins will meet with free agent Albert Pujols on Friday.
 
Joe Capozzi of the Palm Beach Post reported previously that the meeting wouldn't take place until Saturday, but evidently Pujols, who is already in Miami, will go ahead and meet with the Marlins brass and take a tour of their new ballpark. Reports have indicated that while the Marlins want to sign Pujols, they are viewing Jose Reyes and Yoenis Cespedes as more realistic options.

Jayson Stark of ESPN.com reports that the Phillies are showing "serious" interest in Jonathan Papelbon as the Ryan Madson deal "disintegrates."
Madson was reportedly close on Tuesday to re-upping with the Phillies on a four-year, $44 million deal, but general manager Ruben Amaro denied that an agreement was in place and it appears now that momentum is swinging in favor of the contract not getting done. Papelbon would make for a fine second choice, but, as a Type A free agent, he would cost the Phillies a first-round draft pick.

Jonathan Papelbon can do his Irish Jig on Broad Street.
 
A person familiar with the negotiations told The Associated Press that the Philadelphia Phillies and Papelbon have agreed to a $50 million, four-year contract that's the largest ever for a reliever. The person spoke on condition of anonymity Friday because the deal had not yet been announced and is subject to Papelbon passing a physical.
 
Papelbon, who turns 30 on Nov. 23, had 219 saves over seven seasons with the Boston Red Sox, including 31 this year, when he made $12 million. He will replace Ryan Madson, who also is a free agent.
 
B.J. Ryan's $47 million, five-year contract with Toronto signed before the 2006 season had been the largest for a reliever.
 
 

According to Rafael Rojas of Viva Colorado, Wilson Ramos has been found safely by authorities in Venezuela.
 
What a relief. The nature of his rescue isn't yet clear, but Venezuelan minister of information Andres Izarrat announced on Twitter that he was found safely in the mountains. Gustavo Mercado, Ramos' agent, has informed his family of the wonderful news. He is expected to be brought home soon.

Voici l’histoire vraie de Billy Beane, un ancien joueur de baseball prometteur qui, à défaut d’avoir réussi sur le terrain, décida de tenter sa chance en dirigeant une équipe comme personne ne l’avait fait auparavant…
 
Alors que la saison 2002 se profile, Billy Beane, le manager général des Oakland Athletics, est confronté à une situation difficile : sa petite équipe a encore perdu ses meilleurs joueurs, attirés par les grands clubs et leurs gros salaires. Bien décidé à gagner malgré tout, il cherche des solutions qui ne coûtent rien et auxquelles personne n’aurait pensé avant… Il va s’appuyer sur des théories statistiques et engager Peter Brand, un économiste amateur de chiffres issu de Yale. Ensemble, contre tous les principes, ils reconsidèrent la valeur de chaque joueur sur la base des statistiques et réunissent une brochette de laissés-pour-compte oubliés par l’establishment du baseball. Trop bizarres, trop vieux, blessés ou posant trop de problèmes, tous ces joueurs ont en commun des capacités sous-évaluées. Avec leurs méthodes et leur équipe de bras cassés, Beane et Brand s’attirent les moqueries et l’hostilité de la vieille garde, des médias et des fans, jusqu’à ce que les premiers résultats tombent… Sans le savoir, Beane est en train de révolutionner toute la pratique d’un des sports les plus populaires du monde.

Terry Francona told Sean McAdam of CSNNE.com that he will not manage next season.
There are only two managerial vacancies left in MLB now that the Cardinals have settled on Mike Matheny and Francona doesn't see himself as a fit with the Cubs. "I've talked to Theo numerous times,'' said Francona. "We both know each other well enough where we can can be honest with each other. I don't think it's the right opportunity. I need to take a step back and re-energize. That's probably in my best interest right now. In fairness to myself, it's the best thing to do.'' We'll probably see Francona in the broadcast booth this season, but you can bet that he'll be mentioned with any prominent managerial vacancy next offseason

Dale Sveum has accepted an offer to be the next manager of the Chicago Cubs.
 
 
Sveum
Sveum will be officially introduced on Friday morning at Wrigley Field, the team said. He succeeds Mike Quade, who was fired after the Cubs finished 71-91 in 2011, his only full season at the helm.
 
Sveum, who was previously the Milwaukee Brewers' hitting coach, is receiving a three-year contract, a baseball source said.
 
Cubs president of baseball operations Theo Epstein and general manager Jed Hoyer were seen walking into Sveum's hotel on Thursday afternoon. They emerged an hour later, walking with Sveum out of the hotel and into a waiting car.
 
Sveum was considered the leading candidate for the Boston Red Sox' managerial vacancy, with the team flying him to Milwaukee for a second interview.
 
Meanwhile, Red Sox general manager Ben Cherington was headed out of the country, telling reporters before he left the general managers' meetings Thursday that the team's manager search would "take a little breather this weekend."
 
Asked Thursday morning whether the Red Sox were out of the hunt for Sveum, Cherington replied via text: "If he accepts the job with the Cubs we would be."
 
As of Wednesday night, the Red Sox had yet to make Sveum an offer, with Cherington talking about the possibility of expanding the search. Besides Sveum, the Red Sox have interviewed Pete Mackanin, Torey Lovullo, Gene Lamont and Sandy Alomar Jr. But the team confirmed Wednesday that Mackanin was no longer under consideration.
 
"We're not dissatisfied with the candidates we have,'' Cherington said Wednesday. "We feel like these are unique circumstances here. ... We're very happy with the candidates. Our next manager could very well come from among those candidates, but we're not ruling out adding candidates."
 

IMPORTANT SCHEDULING, REALIGNMENT, AND ROSTER CONCERNS

The Houston Astros will move to the AL West prior to the 2013 season, necessitating season-round interleague play.

For some doubleheaders, the active roster size will be bumped from 25 to 26.

A second wild card will be instituted in each league, beginning either in 2012 or 2013. A decision on the timetable will be made by March 1, 2012. In this system, the two wild cards in each league will play a one-game playoff, with the winner advancing to the Division Series, in which the winner will play the team with the best record in the league, even if that team is in the same division.

IMPORTANT DRUG-TESTING CONCERNS

Beginning next spring, every Major League Baseball player will be tested for Human Growth Hormone during spring training.

All players will be subject to hGH testing at any point in the season if there is "reasonable cause".

Beginning in the 2012-2013 off-season, all players will be subject to random testing during the off-season.