Gerald Laird Signs With the St. Louis Cardinals

Eric Gay - AP

The St. Louis Cardinals had been looking for a backup catcher to Yadier Molina and, for awhile, it looked like they could land his brother, Bengie.

But, when Bengie turned down the backup roll that was offered to him the Cardinals moved on with their search which came to an end this morning.

They signed veteran catcher Gerald Laird, according to Joe Strauss of the St. Louis Post Dispatch, to a one-year deal on Tuesday. Laird is coming off a less than stellar season hitting .207 with the Detroit Tigers last season but, as Strauss points out, he has thrown out 38-percent of attempted base stealers.

A's Close to An Agreement With Hideki Matsui?

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The Oakland Athletics could be close to an agreement with free agent outfielder Hideki Matsui and an announcement could come sometime this week accoriding to Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle.

Matsui played with the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim last season, hitting .274 with 21 home runs and 84 RBI.

There's no indication what kind of deal they will possibly sign Matsui to, but Slusser uses the two-year $16 million offer the A's gave Lance Berkman before he signed with the Cardinals as a possible example.