The Phillies added catching depth to their major league team by acquiring catcher Ronny Paulino for catcher Jason Jaramillo.

General Manager Brian Cashman visited the stalwart Yankees? left-hander who was left to consider a $10 million proposal to return to the Bronx.

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As director of the Major League Scouting Bureau, Frank Marcos is quietly one of the most influential people in baseball. While the 30 major league franchises all have their own scouting staffs, the scouting bureau serves as an independent, nationwide scouting network that evaluates prospects and reports its assessments to all the teams. Freelance writer Lorraine Cwelich, on assignment for Baseball America, sat down with Marcos for a look at exactly what scouts consider when rating prospects—and how a young player can access the scouting system. The conversation with Marcos revealed (among many other things) what scouts observe that is unrelated to results, as well as how the mission of the scouting bureau differs from that of individual teams.

At the minor league job fair and trade show, the topic on many minds was the floundering economy, which is expected to have a pronounced effect on baseball?s lower levels.

SALT LAKE CITY, Dec. 12 (UPI) -- Mehmet Okur scored 21 of his 27 points in the first half Thursday and the Utah Jazz held on during the final two quarters to defeat Portland 97-88. The Jazz pulled even with the Trail Blazers for a share of second place

Twenty-one players go in the major league phase of the 2008 Rule 5 draft, with the Nationals selecting righthander Terrell Young out of the Reds organization No. 1 overall.

The Phillies? ace Cole Hamels called the Mets ?choke artists? in an interview on the Mets? flagship radio station Thursday.

? For that I'm covered. Settle in, folks. . BK

Tampa Bay traded hard-throwing rigthander Edwin Jackson to the Tigers to acquire outfielder Matt Joyce.