Some notes from around the league:

• The Phillies have signed Brett Myers to a three-year extension that will keep him in burgundy through the end of the decade. Good for the Phillies, not as good for the women of Philadelphia.

  (Source = Phillies.com)

• Tony Armas Jr. is off the market, having signed a one-year deal with the Pirates worth $3 million. Seems like a decent risk for the Bucs, considering what mediocre pitching is going for these days.

  (Source = Bucs Dugout)

• The Diamondbacks have made some crummy deals over the years. It's hard to argue with #1.

  (Source = AZ Snakepit)

• Jose Lima is the worst Royal ever?

  (Source = Royals Review)

• The Almighty Blez talks to Billy Beane. Again. (Part One, Part Two and Part Three)

  (Source = Athletics Nation).

According to multiple sources, Barry Zito has agreed to terms with the San Francisco Giants on a seven-year, $126 million deal, which breaks down to an average annual value of $18 million per season.

The Mets looked like the frontrunners for a while, what with their deep pockets, pitcher's ballpark, National League, pitching coach, etc. It turns out that the Giants were able to offer all of those things except the pitching coach, but made up for that fact by offering a couple of years and a couple of million dollars more than the Mets were rumored to be offering.

The Mets' inability to sign Zito is bittersweet. Bitter because they could really use a young, dependable, very good pitcher. Sweet because I would have been borderline-apoplectic if they had spent that much money on Barry Zito. The hope all along was that the Mets would nab the lefty with an offer that probably wouldn't be the highest on the table, but with Zito being represented by Scott Boras, that was probably too much to wish for.

With Zito now unavailable, the Mets will turn either to the depleted free agent crop (Tomo Ohka anyone?), the trade market (offering the Pelfreys, Humbers and Heilmans of the world) or just going with what they've got in hopes of keeping it together until Pedro gets healthy.

A question for you guys: Did the Mets screw the pooch here in possibly playing these negotiations too casually? Should they have just thrown whatever it took to get Zito to Shea? Did they play it correctly, and were smart to let Zito sign elsewhere when the terms got as high as they did?

• Astros acquire Jason Jennings from Rockies for three players.

  The three players are Willy Tavares, Taylor Buchholz and Jason Hirsh. Hirsh was the top pitching prospect in the Astros' system, and Buchholz has good potential as well. Jennings has a 622-to-425 strikeout-to-walk ratio in his career. He *has* been a decent groundball pitcher, though. Still, it looks like the Astros probably gave up a lot here.

  (read more at Purple Row and Crawfish Boxes).

• Rangers sign Eric Gagne, Kenny Lofton to one-year deals

  Gagne will earn $5 million base plus innings pitched or games finished bonuses, while Lofton will make $6 million. Gagne won the Cy Young just three seasons ago, but he has been a physical wreck the past two years, pitching a combined 15.1 innings. It'll be worth the risk if they get 50-60 appearances out of him. Lofton has been more than decent the past two seasons, at least against right-handed pitching.

  (read more at Lone Star Ball).

• Mariners ink Miguel Batista for three years, $24 million

  Well, Batista is a good bet to throw 180 innings, and he probably won't embarrass anyone out there. He's probably not appreciably worse than Gil Meche (he might even be better), whom the Royals will pay $55 million over the next five seasons.

  (read more at Lookout Landing).

• Andy Pettitte returns to Yankees for one year, $16 million

  Three years ago, Pettitte left New York for his home state to play for the Astros, largely because the Yankees didn't show much interest in resigning him. They gave him a lowball offer, Pettitte balked, and signed with Houston for three years. He's back in pinstripes now, ironically because the Yankees were much more diligent in their pursuit of him than were the Astros. Pettitte was a better pitcher three years ago than he is now, but he should certainly bolster the Yanks' staff. His presence may also give the Yankees an advantage if Roger Clemens decides to come back for another season, and his return to the Bronx would only make Pettitte's deal even more valuable.

  (read more at Pinstripe Alley).

• Jason Marquis nears three-year, $21 million deal with Cubs.

  The good news is that Marquis is only 28, is a good athlete and a good hitter. The bad news is that he was so bad in 2006 the Cardinals left him off of the postseason roster. The worst news is that he's moving to Wrigley Field. In 2004, his best season as a big leaguer, Marquis posted a 3.71 ERA and a 2.17 groundball-to-flyball ratio. In the last two seasons his ERA has ballooned and his groundball rate has fallen. If Marquis can return to his 2004 form, the Cubs might have a bargain here. If he doesn't, it's more Tribune Company money down the toilet.

  (read more at Bleed Cubbie Blue).

• Jose Mesa agrees to one-year, $2.5 million deal with Tigers.

  Mesa had a solid 3.86 ERA pitching in Colorado last season, but that ERA belies awful peripherals (39-to-36 strikeout-to-walk ratio), and that Mesa turns 41 in May isn't a good indication that he'll return to his early-aughts form of pitching prosperity. Still, a one-year deal isn't going to kill the Tigers here.

• Tigers lock up Brandon Inge for four years, $24 million

  Nice move by Detroit to keep the 29-year-old Inge on payroll through his prime years. Inge isn't a terrific offensive player, but he has plenty of pop and he was probably the best defensive third-baseman in baseball last year (he led all third-basemen in plus/minus at +35 for 2006).

  (read more at TigerBlog).

• Barry Bonds returns to Giants for one year, $16 million

  Still one of the most feared hitters in the game, nobody else wanted Bonds and his voluminous baggage, so he scuttled back to the bay. This deal works out well for everyone: Barry gets to play, the Giants get a slugger on a relatively low-risk deal, and no new team will have to adapt to Bondsmania.

  (read more at McCovey Chronicles).

• Gil Meche signs with Royals (?!?) for five years, $55 million

  The biggest surprise of the offseason has the Royals plunking down $11 million a year for Meche. It's a lot of years and a lot of money for not a lot of player, but when your the Kansas City Royals you have to overpay -- in both years and money -- to get any kind of reasonable free agent to come to your club.

  (read more at Royals Review).

• Royals sign Octavio Dotel for one year, $5 million

  The Red Sox apparently made an offer on Friday for Dotel to come on as their closer, but the Royals and their big city money swooped in and nabbed him at the last minute. Dotel has great stuff but he struggled with the Yankees last year and he has a history of being a lousy closer with Houston and Oakland.

  (read more at Royals Review).

• Mariners trade Rafael Soriano to Braves for Horacio Ramirez

  On the surface this looks like a good old-fashioned fleecing at the hands of John Schuerholz. Both of these pitchers are talented but injury-prone. Soriano will likely setup Braves' closer Bob Wickman, solidifying the back end of a bullpen that was mostly awful in 2006. Ramirez is a left-handed starter with lousy peripherals. Both pitchers will be 27 on opening day.

  (read more at Talking Chop and Lookout Landing)

• Ted Lilly signs with Cubs for four years, $40 million.

  Pretty good money for a guy with a 4.60 career ERA who hasn't posted a strikeout-to-walk ratio better than two since 2003. Lilly is a decent pitcher but he's far from spectacular. $10 million seems to be the going rate for a man of his talents, and he should see some benefit by facing pitchers instead of designated hitters and the NL Central instead of the AL East.

  (read more at Bleed Cubbie Blue)

• Mike Piazza signs with A's for one year, $8.5 million.

  Good for Mikey to get paid. It'll be Piazza's first foray into American League ball and likely signals the end of his catching career. He'll be Oakland's designated hitter.

  (read more at Athletics Nation)

• Phillies acquire Freddy Garcia from White Sox for Gavin Floyd and Giovany Gonzalez

  Floyd has been a mess as a big league pitcher, and despite being a highly touted prospect a few years ago, his minor league numbers are solid but not spectacular. Still, he'll only turn 24 in January so there's still plenty of time for him to make something of himself. Gonzalez turned 21 in September and has plenty of upside. He gave up too many homeruns and walks for AA Reading last season, but his strikeout rate was terrific (9.66 K/9) and he gave up less than a hit per inning. I looked briefly at the White Sox starters the other day, and Garcia may be the most consistent pitcher of the bunch. He is prone to the longball, a weakness that is likely to be exacerbated by tiny Citizen's Bank Park.

  (read more at The Good Phight)

According to Ken Rosenthal at FOXSports.com the Dodgers have signed free agent RHP Jason Schmidt to a three-year, $47 million deal. Schmidt reportedly never wanted to leave the west coast, and it's not yet clear how this deal will affect Barry Zito's eventual deal and destination.

The following players are officially off the table:

• Greg Maddux to the Padres for one year, $10 million
• J.D. Drew to the Red Sox for five years, $70 million

• Indians close in on deal with Joe Borowski
• Julio Lugo and Red Sox close on four-year, $36 million deal