The signing was first reported by Jon Heyman of Sports Illustrated.

Image by Aaron Fulkers under the Creative Commons License.

The 61-year-old was an ESPN analyst before agreeing to be the Sox’s next manager.  He last managed the Chibba Lotte Marines from 2004-2009, and he last managed in the Majors when he skippered the New York Mets from 1996-2002.

Image by Jeff Kearn under the Creative Commons License.

The sides have also come to an agreement regarding the process by which appropriate compensation will be determined, but the exact details are unknown at this time.

The official announcement will come on Tuesday, October 25.

Image by zoonabar under the Creative Commons License.

The 30-year-old has been in the doghouse with the Cubs for some time now, but the problems escalated in August when he was placed on the disqualified list after a bad start and ejection.

New manager Ozzie Guillen could be an influence on both the team and Zambrano to get the pitcher to South Beach.

Image by delusionalcubsfan under the Creative Commons License.

The 31-year-old left-handed pitcher has a career 4-10 record with a 5.30 ERA in 35 appearances (21 starts) including going 0-1 with a 2.70 ERA in nine relief appearances this season for the Mets.

Image by iamNigelMorris Under the Creative Commons License

Image by Jeff Wilson under the Creative Commons License.

Overbay will fill the void that Xavier Nady left when he was placed on the DL with a broken hand and will miss six weeks.

Image by Tony the Misfit under the Creative Commons License.

The 32-year-old Cust was hitting .213 with three home runs and 23 RBIs in 67 games for the Mariners this season.

Image by Keith Allison and used under the Creative Commons License.

– C.J. Cron will head to Anaheim on Monday to sign with the Los Angeles Angels (Twitter). Cron’s deal is for for $1.467 million adds Jim Callis of Baseball America.

– Supplemental pick Michael Fulmer has agreed to terms with the New York Mets.  (Twitter)

Image by Sean Winters under the Creative Commons License.

McKeon will replace Edwin Rodriguez as the team’s skipper.  Rodriguez unexpectedly resigned from the position earlier today.

McKeon last managed at the age of 74 for the Florida Marlins in 2005.  In 15 years as a Major League manager, he has compiled a 1011-940 record with a World Series title with the Marlins from 2003.

It is not known if McKeon will manage beyond this season.  Florida has been known to covet current Chicago White Sox manager, Ozzie Guillen.  However, the team will probably have to wait until the end of the season to bring him on board.

Image by Ines Hegedus-Garcia under the Creative Commons License.

The Orioles acquired Reynolds from Arizona in December for David Hernandez, Kam Mickolio and a PTBNL which ended up being Hester.

Hester, 27, played in 53 for Arizona’s big league club in 2009 and 2010, hitting .220 with three home runs. Hester has spent the bulk of the last three seasons in Triple-A being more of a organizational depth guy.

We will contact the winners by Facebook or email if you have won in the next hour.

Without further ado, here are the winners of the 2011 PRO Rumors Opening Day contest:

iPad 2 Wi-Fi 16GB: Javier F.

PS3 MLB 2K 11: Matt D.

$5 Amazon gift cards (10): Chris S., Brian R., Joe M., Aaron C., Friarhood Steve, Blake C., John R., Kenny B., Rob C., Sean B.

PRO Rumors iPhone app (25):  The easiest way is to head to our Facebook Fan page and respond to Allan’s request (it should be the latest post on top of the fan page):  http://www.facebook.com/prorumors1

Just because the contest is over doesn’t mean you have to stop leaving comments and participating in PRO Rumors.  Please keep visiting us everyday, support our sponsors (so we can give out more prizes) and leave more comments.  Thanks!

Bill Ladson of MLB.com reports that with one out and the Nats leading 4-2, Cardinals’ right-handed pitcher Miguel Batista hit shortstop Ian Desmond with a pitch.  As Desmond was walking towards first base, he was arguing with Albert Pujols and both benches cleared.  Fortunately, no punches were thrown as a result of the argument.

The game was delayed for about 15 minutes and even the managers, Jim Riggleman and Tony LaRussa, were jawing it up.

We’ll try to find the video, but since it’s Spring Training, it’ll be difficult to get.

Cincinnati Reds GM Walt Jocketty and Jay Bruce think it is.  Jocketty said, according to John Fay of the Cincinnati Enquirer, “He’s probably going to retire.”

Back in October, Edmonds himself said, “I’m done,” so all that’s left is for him to make it official by submitting the paperwork.

The 40-year-old Edmonds unexpectedly came out of retirement this last winter when he signed a Minor League deal with the Milwaukee Brewers. He was traded to the Cincinnati Reds in August to help the team make a post season run.

Owner: Liberty Media Corporation and John Malone

Net Worth (Malone):  $2.2 billion as of 2005

Source of wealth: Various executive positions

2010 Forbes Franchise Valuation: $450 million

Malone graduated with a Masters degree from Johns Hopkins University in 1964. He held various positions with AT&T, McKinsey & Company, General Instrument Corporation, Jerrold Electronics and Tele-Communications Inc as well as several Board of Director positions. He is currently the Chairman of the Liberty Media Corporation.

The Liberty Media Group purchased the Braves in 2007 from Time Warner (who inherited the Braves after purchasing TBS from Ted Turner). The deal included the exchange of the Braves, valued in the deal at $450 million, a hobbyist magazine publishing company, and $980 million cash, for 68.5 million shares of Time Warner stock held by Liberty Media, then worth approximately $1.48 billion

Florida Marlins

Owner: Jeffrey Loria

Net Worth: Less than $400 million (as of 2002)

Source of wealth: Art

2010 Forbes Franchise Valuation: $317 million

After graduating from Yale University, Loria opened a private art dealing business Jeffrey H. Loria & Co. at the age of 24. His collection included works by Pablo Picasso and Henry Moore. He later attended Columbia Business School and published various books.

In 1999, Loria purchased 24% of the Montreal Expos for $12 million USD.  He later acquired 94 percent of the team. Other owners included the city of Montreal and Stephan Bronfman.

In 2002, Loria sold the Expos to Major League Baseball to the 29 other clubs for $120 million. Loria then purchased the Marlins from then owner John W. Henry for $158.5 million. Henry went on to purchase the Boston Red Sox.

New York Mets

Owner: Fred Wilpon

Net Worth: unconfirmed $500 million (he lost a reported $700 million in the Bernie Madoff ponzi scheme fraud)

Source of wealth: Investments (Sterling Equities)

2010 Forbes Franchise Valuation: $858 million

Wilpon founded Sterling Equities in 1972 with Saul Katz with an interest in real estate.  Sterling Equities went on to purchase and develop commercial properties, residential units and retail properties. They also provided venture capital funding to medical, bio-energy and other businesses.

Wilpon bought a 1% stake in the Mets in 1980 with Doubleday & Co. holding the remaining portion of the club. In 1986, Nelson Doubleday Jr. sold off his company and he and Wilpon became 50% partners in the Mets. In 2002, the Wilpon family purchased Doubleday’s 50% share in for $391 million.

Philadelphia Phillies

Owner: David Montgomery

Net Worth: unknown

Source of wealth: Worked his way up through the Phillies organization

2010 Forbes Franchise Valuation: $537 million

Montgomery attended the University of Pennsylvania for a double-major in liberal arts and history.  He later attended the Wharton Business School and graduated in 1970.

He began his career in the Phillies’ sales department in 1971, after reaching out to then Phillies’ ace Robin Roberts. He worked his way up through the company to director of sales and marketing, to the head of the business department.

In 1981, he purchased the team with co-owner Bill Giles for $30 million. Coincidentally, Giles started with the Phillies in 1969 and worked his way through various executive positions within the club.

Washington Nationals

Owner: Ted Lerner

Net Worth: $3 billion

Source of wealth: Real estate

2010 Forbes Franchise Valuation: $387 million

After serving the United States Army and attending The George Washington University and the The George Washington University Law School, he founded Lerner Enterprises in 1952. The company went on to develop ventures such as Chelsea Piers, several commercial developments, shopping centers and thousands of homes and apartment buildings.

In 2006, Lerner was awarded the Washington Nationals franchise (owned by Major League Baseball at the time). He bought the team for $450 million.

The Kansas City Royals are open to moving their right-handed starting pitcher, and many teams in desperate for starting pitching are interested. The Yankees are especially interested in the aftermath of losing Cliff Lee to the Philadelphia Phillies.  However, the Yankees may think twice should they acquire the right-hander.  He’s 0-2 with career 8.82 ERA in 16 1/3 innings in the Bronx.

A no-trade clause in a player’s contract does not necessarily mean you won’t see Greinke in pinstripes or in a Red Sox uniform. It gives Greinke negotiation leverage to be financially compensated through cash or a contract extension.

Greinke is signed through the 2012 season, and he leaves little doubt that he’ll sign a new deal if the Royals are not competitive. The 2009 American League Cy Young Award winner will make $13.5 million each season for 2011 and 2012.

The Yankees first expressed interest in the pitcher in mid-November.

Jon Heyman of Sports Illustrated adds that the Yankees were reluctant to go two-years on a contract with Kerry Wood, so they’re looking at Feliciano and free agent Brian Fuentes.  It’s believed that Fuentes wants to close, and he won’t have that opportunity with the Yankees.

In 2010, Feliciano was 3-6 in 92 relief appearances over 62 2/3 innings pitched. He made $2.9 million with the New York Mets last season.

“I don’t think I’ll be doing a lot of discussing on those fronts right now,” Boras said.

Choo, 28, is under team control through the 2013 season. He made $461,100 in 2010, but his contract could balloon to around $3 million next season in arbitration. There have been talks about signing Choo to a long-term contract this winter, but being a Boras client it may not happen. Boras rarely gives up arbitration years in exchange for a long-term deal.  He would rather maximize the contract by waiting until the player is a free agent.

It was speculated that Boras and Indians were going back and forth over several multi-year contracts before the season started, but the deal never completed.

“It’s something we remain interested in (a contract extension),” GM Chris Antonetti said.

“I’ve taken a year off from playing, but can see the difference I would make on some teams. It opened my eyes, and I look at things differently. I want to play close to home.”

Sheffield lives in Tampa and would have a short drive to Tropicana Field if he played for the Rays, which is what his preference is.

Sheffield did say he received at least one job offer last season but turned it down.  “I got a call last year to be an every day right fielder for a club,” Sheffield said. “But it was a team that I didn’t know if it would win or not.”

Due to his injury past, Sheffield would be better suited for the American League where he would be able to DH.

“I didn’t get any indication that [signing Soriano] is about to happen right now,” one source said. “That’s not the priority.”

Stark reminds us that Angel’s owner Arte Moreno is a strike fast mentality – identify the players they want, try to get a deal done and move on. Soriano is a Scott Boras client, so a strike fast mentiality may not work.

The Angels have also showed very little interest in other big name free agent Jayson Werth.

Now the question is – where will Jeter start to shop himself around?

According to a source, Jeter won’t be able to take his skills across the way to Queens. The source says there’s no way he will become a member of the New York Mets, as reported by the New York Daily News’ Andy Martino. The Mets already have $11 million committed to their 27-year-old shortstop Jose Reyes.

Kevin Kaduk (aka Big League Stew at Yahoo Sports) has posted a few pictures of Jeter in a Red Sox and Reds jersey. While these situations are highly unlikely, it’s amusing to see Jeter out of his pinstripes. There was speculation that the San Francisco Giantscould monitor Jeter’s free agency since GM Brian Sabean was the head of Yankees’ scouting when they drafted Jeter in 1992. The Giants also need a shortstop.

Segovia, 27, last pitched in the Major Leagues for the Washington Nationals. He went 1-0 with a 7.84 ERA in 8 appearances.

Trey Hillman – bench coach

Rick Honeycutt – pitching coach

Ken Howell – bullpen coach

Manny Mota – coach

Davey Lopes – 1st base coach

Tim Wallach – 3rd base coach

Jeff Pentland – hitting instructor

Dave Hansen – hitting instructor

Rob Flippo – bullpen cathcer

Mike Borzello – bullpen catcher

“There’s a reason the Yankees themselves have stated Derek Jeter is their modern-day Babe Ruth,” said Close, according to Mike Lupica of the New York Daily News.

“Derek’s significance to the team is much more than just stats. And yet, the Yankees’ negotiating strategy remains baffling.”

“They continue to argue their points in the press and refuse to acknowledge Derek’s total contribution to their franchise.”

New York has supposedly offered Jeter a three-year, $45 million offer. This could provide negotiation room to climb toward $57-60 million on a three or four-year deal.

As many as 15 teams have expressed interest in Upton and sources close to the Diamondbacks are confident a deal is possible. The Boston Red Sox and Toronto Blue Jays were believed to be strong contenders for Upton’s services.