Steinbrenner's sons, Hank and Hal, had been named co-chairpersons of the team last April after taking over the day-to-day operations of the Yankees following the 2007 campaign.

"At the MLB meetings today, the clubs approved Hal Steinbrenner as the control person for the New York Yankees," family spokesman Howard Rubenstein said in a statement.

Utley will have surgery on his right hip next week.

The 29-year-old was rumored to have problems with the hip most of the season, as his offensive numbers dipped considerably after the All-Star break. Utley still finished with a .292 batting average, a career-high 33 home runs, and 104 RBI.

Reports circulated on Wednesday that Mussina had decided to call it quits after the first 20-win campaign of his illustrious career. He finished the 2008 season with a record of 20-9 and a 3.37 earned run average in 34 starts for the Yankees, and was awarded his seventh Gold Glove.

At age 39, Mussina became the oldest pitcher in baseball history to record 20 wins in a season for the first time in his career.

The news certainly comes as no shock, as the Yankees have been operating under the assumption that Mussina would not be returning since the season ended. It was never about coming back this season for him, it would have been about coming back for at least three more seasons to make a run at 300 wins.

If he had returned next year and had another good year, he would have owed it to himself to go after 300. In the end, he wasn't ready for that kind of commitment.

During his career, a span of 62 games, the 30-year-old has compiled a 2-5 record with a 4.46 ERA. He had just four relief appearances last season at the major league level, but also went 5-4 with a 3.97 ERA in 43 appearances with Columbus, Washington's Triple-A affiliate.

The A's also selected the contract of right-handed pitcher Ryan Webb to their 40-man roster. He's a starter in the A's minor league system and went 9-8 with a 5.19 ERA in 25 games, 22 starts, for Double-A Midland in 2008.

According to a report on foxsports.com, Mussina has decided to call it a career and will officially announce his retirement later this week.

Mussina, coming off the first 20-win campaign of his illustrious career, was awarded his seventh Gold Glove this past season.

The hiring was the first major decision for new Mariners general manager Jack Zduriencik, the former Brewers executive who was hired in October. He tabbed Wakamatsu out of a pool of seven candidates, none of whom had major league managerial experience.

"When I started this process, there were some key attributes we were looking for," Zduriencik said. "We wanted energy, a passion and the skills to translate that passion to the players. We wanted leadership, a presence that could help us as we define the 'Mariners Way' to win. We wanted someone that both the community and the players could embrace. We wanted someone who sees the big picture and cares about the players and wants to win. Don embodies all of those traits." Wakamatsu, 45, becomes the first Asian-American manager in MLB history. He just

The 29-year-old Crisp hit .283 last season with seven home runs, 41 RBI and 55 runs scored. His value, though, is more in the field than at the plate, but he became expendable with the emergence of Jacoby Ellsbury.

In three seasons with the Red Sox, Crisp hit .271 with 21 homers and 137 RBI.

The Seattle Times reported Tuesday night that Zduriencik has picked Don Wakamatsu to be Seattle's next manager, and the announcement will be made on Wednesday.

Wakamatsu, 45, just completed his first season as bench coach for the Oakland Athletics after spending five seasons on the coaching staff of the Texas Rangers.

Pedroia, last year's AL Rookie of the Year, garnered 317 points to outdistance Minnesota's Justin Morneau by 60 points. Pedroia placed first on 16 of the 28 ballots cast by two writers from each AL city, second on six others, third on four, and fifth on another, as he became just the second player to win an AL MVP Award the year after being elected Rookie of the Year.

Baltimore's Cal Ripken Jr. was the AL Rookie of the Year in 1982 and AL MVP in 1983. Philadelphia's Ryan Howard also accomplished the feat in the NL, as he won the Rookie of the Year in 2005 and the MVP in 2006.

The Newark-Star Ledger and the Chicago Sun-Times are reporting that the deal is for four years and is worth $52 million.

Dempster returned to the rotation on a regular basis for the first time since 2003 this past season for the Cubs and enjoyed a career year, going 17-6 with a 2.96 earned run average in 33 starts, while helping Chicago to its second straight NL Central title.

But unlike most of the awards that have already been handed out, there is no clear-cut favorite here. Boston second baseman Dustin Pedroia seems to have a slight edge, but it is wide open.

The 25-year-old Pedroia batted .326 with 17 home runs, 83 RBI and 118 runs scored.

Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Affeldt went 1-1 with a 3.33 earned run average in a club-high 74 appearances for Cincinnati last season. He struck out 80 batters in 78 1/3 innings and posted a 2.23 ERA over his final 34 outings.

Pujols, who won this award in 2005 and is a four-time runner-up, garnered 369 points to outdistance Philadelphia first baseman Ryan Howard by 61 points. Pujols placed first on 18 of the 32 ballots cast by two writers from each NL city, second on 10 others, third on two, fourth on one and seventh on another.

The 28-year-old Pujols, who was named the Sporting News Player of the Year and the NL's Most Outstanding Player earlier this offseason, finished second to Atlanta's Chipper Jones in the NL batting race, hitting .357 with 37 home runs and 116 runs batted in during the 2008 season, and did so while playing with a torn ligament in his right elbow.

The report states that the contract was sold to the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles for $1 million, and Rasner is expected to sign a two-year contract with the team.

Rasner's agent said that he requested the deal after the pitcher went 5-10 with a 5.40 earned run average in 113 1/3 innings for the Yankees last season. A former second-round pick of the Montreal Expos in 2002, the 27-year-old Rasner is 9-15 with a 5.00 ERA in four seasons with the Yankees and Washington Nationals.

The offer, a two-year deal for $45 million with a club option for a third year worth another $15 million, would have been the second-highest annual salary in the majors behind New York Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez.

Dodgers general manager Ned Colletti extended the previous offer at the general managers meetings to the 12-time All-Star and MVP of the 2004 World Series.

Yankees co-chairman Hal Steinbrenner confirmed the offer in a story on the team's Web site. The deal would be a record-breaker for a pitcher, surpassing the six-year, $137.5 million contract Johan Santana signed with the Mets last offseason.

The left-handed Sabathia headlines this offseason's pitching class. He won the 2007 American League Cy Young Award after going 19-7 in 34 starts for Cleveland, with a 3.21 earned run average and 209 strikeouts in 241 innings.

The Royals activated five players off the 60-day disabled list, including pitchers Luke Hochevar, Carlos Rosa, Ryan Braun and Luke Hudson along with outfielder Shane Costa.

Hochevar, Rosa and Costa remained on the 40-man winter roster while Braun was placed on unconditional release waivers and Hudson was designated for assignment. Pitcher Josh Newman was also designated for assignment.

MacDougal appeared in 16 games for the White Sox last season and did not register a decision while pitching to an earned run average of 2.12. He was also 0-4 with a 3.83 ERA in 38 games with Charlotte.

The 31-year-old right-hander has a career record of 13-20 with 50 saves and a 4.04 ERA in 257 games, all but three in relief, over eight seasons with the White Sox and Kansas City Royals.

With that, the craziness that is the MLB Hot Stove officially began.

And this offseason figures to be particularly nuts, given the presence of big name free agents like Manny Ramirez, Mark Teixeira and CC Sabathia. Not to mention that Jake Peavy is more than likely going to be traded.

Johnson finished his 21st season with an 11-10 record, a 3.91 earned-run average and 173 strikeouts in 184 innings over 30 starts for Arizona. His final victory of the season also left the fearsome southpaw five shy of 300 career wins.

The 45-year-old is 295-160 with a 3.26 ERA and 4,789 strikeouts in 596 games (586 starts) with Montreal, Seattle, Houston, Arizona and the New York Yankees.

Rodriguez tied Mike Piazza for second-most Silver Sluggers all-time.

Only Barry Bonds, with 12, has more.

"We're excited with the addition of Nick Swisher," said Yankees manager Joe Girardi.

"We feel he has a ton of upside. He's a patient switch-hitter, adds versatility at a number of defensive positions, and will be a positive presence inside the clubhouse." Swisher hit just .219 for Chicago last season as an outfielder and first baseman, but slugged 24 home runs, 21 doubles and knocked in 69 runs in 153 games.

Perlozzo has not yet been assigned a specific coaching position, though the club said he will handle infield instruction. Philadelphia is already without two coaches from the 2008 season -- third base coach Steve Smith, who was fired last week, and bench coach Jimy Williams, who told the club he will not return for 2009.

Perlozzo spent last season as Seattle's third base coach, and previously was withBaltimore for 12 seasons.

The right-handed Gregg made 72 appearances for the Marlins last season, posting a 7-8 record with 29 saves in 38 chances and a 3.41 earned run average. The 30-year-old held opposing batters to a .203 average.

In six MLB seasons with the Angels and Marlins, Gregg owns an 18-21 record in 271 games (eight starts) with 62 saves and a 4.00 ERA.