While 29 teams are still doing a little window shopping for the free agent season, the Chicago White Sox made a beeline for the bargain bin.

For just $500,000 plus incentives, they picked up a five-time All-Star with 10 Gold Gloves who is just 32 years old. Diamond ring or cubic zirconia?

It's Andruw Jones, so we'll lean toward the latter. After a couple of dismal seasons with the Dodgers, Jones didn't improve too much last season in Texas (.214) after a decent start, but he did hit 17 homers in 281 at-bats.

"This is an opportunity to add a power bat to the roster while improving our outfield depth," White Sox general manager Ken Williams told the Chicago Tribune. "With the addition of Andruw, Mark Kotsay and Omar Vizquel, we feel our bench is taking shape to be a strong asset."

The other two are decent bargains, too. Vizquel was the best fielding shortstop of his generation and is a great teammate. He's 43 years old, but hit .266 and made no errors in 62 games as a utility infielder for Texas in 2009.

"He's going to be a Hall of Famer. But we did not hire him to be a coach. We will try to find a lot of playing time for him," White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen told MLB.com.

Kotsay, 32, signed for $1.5 million to stay with the White Sox as a reserve outfielder and first baseman.

So the total payout: $3.375 million for three veterans. And no coupon-cutting required. Not a bad effort before Black Friday has even hit the calendar.

When the Boston Red Sox won the World Series in 2004 and 2007, it didn't go over well in New York. They spent money on free agents with abandon in the offseasons. And when the Yankees win the World Series, as they did earlier this month, it obviously doesn't go over well in Boston.

And, as you'd expect, this is a big offseason for Boston.

The Red Sox might not necessarily spend more money in free agency, but they know they need to patch up some weak spots.

Jason Bay is a free agent, and there's a good chance he'll be back in Boston. But there's also a chance that the Red Sox will also make a big play for Matt Holliday, and will pit them against each other for the right to play in front of the Green Monster in 2010 and beyond. That's what Buster Olney reports in his must-read ESPN.com blog.

Olney has some other rumors in his blog as well. The Red Sox really want better starting pitching, and while the free agent ranks don't have the big-splash starters this offseason, there's a potential trade bait in Toronto. The Blue Jays are slashing salary and can't afford Roy Halladay. Would they trade him within their division? Maybe, and especially if the price is right. It will cost Clay Buchholz (who always seems to be on the trading block) and other prospects, reports the New York Daily News.

The Detroit Tigers are in a dealing mode and must cut payroll. Would they part with Miguel Cabrera? That's an awfully crowded infield already in Boston, but the Boston Herald is stirring up those talks.

And you can bet that Yankees GM Brian Cashman has his speed dial working as well, trying to throw a wrench in the works. The Yankees and Red Sox don't face off until the opener next April 5, but the games never really end.

Joe Mauer is a trailblazer as a catcher, achieving things a player at the toughest position on the field hasn't done in generations.

He became only the second AL catcher in 33 years to win the AL Most Valuable Player. The others were Ivan Rodriguez (1996) and Elston Howard (1965). The last NL catcher to win an MVP was Johnny Bench in 1972.

The other MVP catchers: Mickey Cochrane (1934), Gabby Hartnett (1935), Ernie Lombardi (1938), Roy Campanella (1951, 1953, 1955) and Yogi Berra (1951, 1954, 1955). Bench also won in 1970.

All but Howard and Rodriguez are in the Hall of Fame, and Rodriguez is a shoo-in after his retirement.

Mauer, 26, set a major-league record for highest batting average by a catcher (.365) and won his third batting title. He was the first repeat batting champion since Nomar Garciaparra in 1999-2000. And doing it as a catcher, wearing the "tools of ignorance," Mauer certainly earned the award for the AL Central champion Twins.

"I always said I wanted to be the best at what I could do. I feel like I can improve. When things are said and done, I always want to be remembered as a great teammate and a great player," Mauer said, according to MLB.com. "Hopefully I can play for a lot longer. With the batting titles, that is something that never really crossed my mind until it happened. It's hard for me to think about that."

Part of an agent's job is to trumpet the abilities of their client to the fullest. And the guy who was on a media blitz with Cuban defector Aroldis Chapman was unexpectedly dismissed, ESPN.com reported Saturday.

It's an interesting development. Edwin Mejia has never had a big-league client, and was recommended to Chapman by a friend. Chapman is 21, left-handed and throws upwards of 100 mph, a rare combination in a prospect. Mejia did a lot of legwork, but won't share in the riches that Chapman almost certainly will get in the next couple of months.

"Athletes Premier International is greatly surprised and deeply disappointed that Aroldis Chapman has decided to change agents," API said in a statement, according to ESPN.com. "The agency has put forth a lot of time and effort towards helping him achieve his goal of becoming a Major League pitcher and he gave us no indication that he was unhappy with our advice or the way he was treated. We will have more to say about this matter at a later date, but in the meantime we wish Aroldis luck in his future endeavors."

Was the media blitz too much for Chapman? Was Mejia trying to make himself a star agent at the same time, perhaps a little too hard? One of the questions of Chapman is his maturity - did Mejia's strategy paint Chapman as arrogant? Were the initial negotiations going poorly with prospective teams?

Whatever it was, Chapman is now represented by the Hendricks brothers, an agency with a sterling reputation among players. Roger Clemens and Andy Pettitte were/are two of their clients. They've worked with the Yankees before, of course. Perhaps Chapman has an affinity for pinstripes?