Spencer Fordin of MLB.com has reported that the Jays have signed Scott Downs to a minor league deal. Expos fans will remember Downs as the guy they got from the Cubs in the Rondell White trade.

Downs will likely be a candidate for the #5 spot in the rotation.

Espn.com reports that Tom (Nasty) Mastny was sent to Cleveland to complete the trade for John McDonald.

It's a minor trade- a 23 year old pitcher who has just completed a successful year in the Sally League for a good glove, no hit shortstop. Digging a little deeper though, the trade seems to suggest to me that the Moneyball label does not always belong on these Jays, and sometimes could equally well be placed on the Indians.

Good friend of the Box Spencer Fordin has reported that Tom Cheek was one of three broadcasters added to the 10-person Frick Award ballot, along with Dave Niehaus and Ron Santo. Make sure to check out the article!

According to a report on ESPN.com the Jays have sent Kevin Cash to the Devil Rays in exchange for 21 year old pitcher Chad Gaudin.

Jeff Kent signed a 2 year $17 million contract with the Dodgers.

Two questions to ponder:

1. will Kent displace Cora at second, or will he be moved to third base to take over from Beltre?
2. how does this affect his Hall of Fame chances?

For reference, here's my recent Hall watch piece on Kent, Alomar and Biggio.

Aside from the Carlos Delgado situation (which is still being tracked and discussed in this thread), there was a lot of movement just before midnight on December 7, as teams signed some players, offered arbitration to others, and non-tendered a whole lot more. This thread is for reports and discussions of all three types of transactions and their implications for the teams involved.

Here are a few to get us started:

MLB.com's Spencer Fordin has reported that the Jays have made a couple of moves to solidify next year's infield. They are as follows:

1. "[A] trade that brought John McDonald from Cleveland, netting a utilityman for the price of a player to be named later."
   
   
2. "Frank Menechino agreed to a one-year deal worth $650,000, with an option for 2006, which means the Jays bring him back without going to arbitration."
   

With pitching coach Brad Arnsberg moving up to the big club from Triple-A and the departure of Rick Adair from Double-A New Hampshire to a position in the Rangers organization, the Jays had two important minor-league vacancies to fill. Once again, J.P. Ricciardi has attracted some talented individuals to his developmental team.

Chuck Kniffin, who takes over in Syracuse, has been working with the likes of Curt Schilling and Randy Johnson in Arizona the last two years. Here's a great 2002 profile of him by Paul Rubin of the Phoenix New Times.

The new Fisher Cats pitching coach is Dave LaRoche. The lefty, a two-time all-star in his 14-year major league career, is the father of Braves 1B Adam and Dodgers prospect Andy. He coached in the big leagues for five years with the Mets and White Sox, and has been at AAA Omaha in the Royals system the last three years. In 1987, Dave coached in Syracuse, so we welcome him back to the Toronto organization.

In other appointments, former D-backs hitting coach Dwayne Murphy, an OBP freak and graceful outfielder in his 12 big-league seasons, will be the new bench coach with the SkyChiefs, and veteran infielder John Valentin begins his coaching career as the new hitting instructor in Double-A. Best of luck to all of the new hires as they begin working with some outstanding prospects.

The Toronto Star is reporting that Rogers is set to buy SkyDome for $30 million. By their account, the deal could close as early as today.

Update: The deal is official. Purchase price is listed at about $25 million.

The Hall of Fame has announced the ballot for the 2005 BBWAA voting for new Hall of Fame members.