The previously highest paid player in franchise history was Carmelo Martinez, who made $490,000 back in 1989.

Chase Headley said he “didn‘t know how to respond” Wednesday afternoon after learning that the Padres are planning to offer their star third baseman a multi-year contract that would make him the highest-paid player in franchise history.

“To be honest, this is not something we’ve discussed,” Headley said at Wrigley Field.

Earlier Wednesday, Ron Fowler, the executive ...

More than two decades later I do not feel the need to keep up with every signing. I don’t need the information as immediately as I did previously, my wife periodically reminds me that I am supposed to be retired and there are others who mine the free-agent fields for contract data, though there is actually only one reporter whose information I trust.

That is Ron Blum of the Associated Press, who has been the AP’s reporter on baseball’s business and labor matters for years. I once ...

Buster Posey and Justin Verlander could team up to buy the Royals!

At 26 years old, Buster Posey already is a two-time World Series champion and the National League’s Most Valuable Player. Now he could be a Giant for life.

Posey and the Giants agreed to a nine-year contract on Friday, one that covers his three remaining arbitration years and buys out his first five years of free agency. The deal includes an option for 2022.
Posey had previously signed a one-year, $8 million deal to avoid ...

TAMPA, Fla.—The Yankees have made a “significant offer” to Robinson Cano, according to general manager Brian Cashman, who is hoping to lock the All-Star second baseman into a contract extension before he reaches free agency.

Cashman confirmed on Thursday that an offer has been presented to Cano and agent Scott Boras. There have been negotiations between the two sides in recent weeks, but Cashman declined to comment further on the state of the talks.

Seattle Mariners ace Felix Hernandez has agreed to a seven-year, $175 million contract that should be finalized before spring training, making him the highest-paid pitcher in baseball history, a person familiar with the contract details told USA TODAY Sports.

An update on why the negotiations between the Red Sox and their new Tower of Power took so long.

When Napoli arrived in Boston for a physical on Dec. 10, he expected the procedure to be routine. Certainly, he had no way of knowing that an MRI on his hips — regions that had never hindered him, and that had come up clean as recently as his physical with the Rangers last March — would lead to a renegotiation, a host of medical consultations and the ultimate revelation that he has avascular ...

The Blue Jays picked up Oliver’s $3 million option for 2013 after he went 3-4 with a 2.06 ERA in 62 games this past season. The 2.06 ERA was the lowest in Oliver’s career, but his $3 million salary is far less than the three-year, $18 million contract that the Giants gave left-handed reliever Jeremy Affeldt this offseason.

Oliver, 42, pitched for the Rangers in 2010-11 and his family still lives in Tarrant County. He would prefer to pitch for the Rangers or retire if the Blue Jays aren’t ...