Sheff, Gomes, Rene Rivera, Aroldis... and catching

Marc Topkin of the St. Petersburg Times reports that Gary Sheffield wants to play two more seasons and finish his career with the Rays.
It would be a natural fit for the Tampa-native, but there's nothing to suggest the Rays are interested. Sitting on 2,689 career hits, the 41-year-old Sheffield is holding out hope that he can still reach the 3,000 hit plateau. It's a long-shot. Sheffield batted .276/.372/.451 with 10 home runs and 43 RBI in 268 at-bats with the Mets last season. He hasn't had more than 131 hits in a season since 2005 - rotoworld
 

Jonny Gomes:
 
Reds non-tendered OF Jonny Gomes.

Because they just had to have Ramon Hernandez? It certainly wasn't any fault of Gomes, who hit 267/.338/.541 with 20 home runs, 51 RBI and an .879 OPS in '09, but the Reds were simply too cheap to bring him back. Gomes may not get a chance to start elsewhere, but he is a real weapon (.885 career OPS) against left-handed pitching - rotoworld
 
 
Rene Rivera:
 
Arecibo 7, Carolina 3 -
Rene Rivera hit a go-ahead two-run homer and fellow Mets farmhand Michel Abreu added a three-run shot, his team-leading ninth, for the Lobos. Former Major Leaguer Armando Rios delivered an RBI double for the Gigantes - mlb
 

Aroldis Chapman:
 
According to the Miami Herald, the Marlins have made a fiver-year, $13 million offer to free agent left-hander Aroldis Chapman. The Marlins are probably hoping the Cuban left-hander will take a discount to pitch in South Florida, but their offer will not impress Chapman's representatives. The Red Sox have reportedly offered him a $15.5 million deal and close to a dozen teams are staying tuned in on the negotiations  -  rotoworld.
 
 

It's that time of year again. I've finally gotten around to running the 2009 Catcher Block Percentage rankings. As annual traditions go, it isn't up there with Thanksgiving, Christmas, or the Running of the Bulls, but hopefully you still enjoy it.

For those who aren't familiar with the stat, I look at how well a catcher stops runners from moving up on balls in the dirt. Each wild pitch or passed ball saved is worth .27 runs (based on run expectancy and the timing of the events). Full methodology is described here.-
beyondtheboxscore.