Putz signs with Chicago White Sox

The right-hander JJ Putz agreed to terms with the White Sox on a one-year, $3-million contract, with up to $3 million in incentives for games finished. Putz, who turns 33 in February, is 23-19 with a 3.24 ERA, 103 saves and 356 strikeouts covering 337 career relief appearances and 352 1/3 innings pitched over seven Major League seasons.

Ken Griffey Jr. Selects Legacy over Convenience

In one of the uplifting news items coming from the Hot Stove League this year, Ken Griffey Jr. is going back to the Seattle Mariners. Griffey is signing a one year, $2 million plus incentives deal with the Mariners to be an OF/DH for the team. Griffey had debated about going to the Atlanta Braves, since the Braves' home is so convenient for Griffey to fly back to his family in Orlando, but ultimately (apparently after a call from Willie Mays), Griffey chose to create a legacy bookend to his career instead. When Griffey goes to the Hall, with one of the best swings in baseball, he will easily wear a Mariners cap.

Ken Griffey, Jr. | A Mariner or a Brave?

Ken Griffey Jr., formerly with the Chicago White Sox after a trading deadline deal with the Cincinnati Reds, is reportedly deciding between the Atlanta Braves as his new team, or a return to the glory days in Seattle with the Mariners. There were rumors that Griffey had decided on Atlanta due to its proximity to his family in Orlando, but Griffey specifically went out on the airwaves to dispel that rumor. It seems as though Atlanta would be a great fit for Junior, as they need the OF help, but with Seattle Jr. could play a little DH and get the hero's return. Griffey, in either case, is not the sought after player he once was due to age and injury, but he still could be a productive bat in the lineup in a supporting role. Griffey is a lifetime .288 batter with 611 HR, and last season hit a combined .249 and 18 HR in almost 500 AB.

White Sox Trade RHP Javier Vazquez to Braves

The White Sox have agreed upon a trade that will send right-hander Javier Vazquez to the Braves, a Major League source confirmed to MLB.com on Tuesday evening, with the deal apparently contingent upon the players passing their physicals (Vazquez is scheduled to undergo his physical in Atlanta on Wednesday). In return for Vazquez and another yet undisclosed White Sox player, Chicago will receive as many as three players from the Braves. Reports are that one of the players is shortstop Brent Lillibridge.