Doug Brocail News

The Mets signed pitcher Nelson Figueroa and three other minor league free agents Wednesday.

The Giants could have a new starting shortstop by the end of the week. San Francisco is keeping up its pursuit of free agent Edgar Renteria as the leading contender to replace 11-time Gold Glover Omar Vizquel, ...

Mike Hampton, 36, missed all of the 2006 and 2007 seasons with injuries and went 3-4 with a 4.85 ERA last year in 13 games, pitching 78 innings.

The Astros have made it clear who they want to bring back into the fold in 2009, and of their four free agents, their interest likely lies with just two -- Randy Wolf and Doug Brocail.

There's another cost-efficient starting pitcher set to hit the free-agent market -- Randy Wolf , who recently was told by the Astros that the club is about to "slow the pace of negotiations" with the veteran ...

If the Astros can re-sign pitchers Randy Wolf and Doug Brocail, they may be satisfied with making nothing more than a small splash in the offseason market.

The Astros acquired once-promising Minor League left-hander Tyler Lumsden from the Kansas City Royals on Monday in exchange for a player to be named or cash considerations.

AGENT MARKET 1. Juan Cruz. He could even be a low-cost closer for someone. 2. Doug Brocail.

The window for exclusive negotiating rights between free agents and their 2008 clubs has closed.

Pitchers Doug Brocail and Randy Wolf and infielder Mark Loretta were the only Astros free agents to receive a classification in this off-season's free agent rankings.

One day before the start of the free-agent signing period, the Phillies took another big step toward completing their coaching staff, signing former Orioles manager Sam Perlozzo to a 2-year contract.

The Astros have offered contracts to two of their three remaining free agents, pitchers Randy Wolf and Doug Brocail, Astros general manager Ed Wade confirmed to MLB.com on Wednesday.

Randy Wolf and Doug Brocail are the Astros’ top two priorities heading into next month’s winter meetings.

The Los Angeles Dodgers' Ned Colletti created the biggest buzz Wednesday at the general managers' meetings by acknowledging that he made a franchise-record offer to retain free agent slugger Manny Ramrez.

The Houston Astros signed right-handed reliever LaTroy Hawkins to a one-year, $3.5 million deal Friday and plan to use him in a setup role.

The Astros doubt they'll make any major announcements before they depart from the General Managers Meetings in Dana Point, Calif., but they've stayed busy since their arrival earlier this week.

The temptation is there. Spend and trade your team into position to contend in 2009.

Three more components of the Astros' 2008 roster filed for free agency on Friday: catcher Brad Ausmus, right-handed reliever LaTroy Hawkins and left-handed starter Randy Wolf.

I was on vacation in San Antonio when I heard that the Astros had just completed what Astrosdaily refers to as one of the all-time worst trades in organizational history.

In his nearly 13 months on the job, Astros general manager Ed Wade has certainly shown he's not afraid to shake things up or tweak the roster when it's warranted.