The Los Angeles Lakers decided not to use their amnesty clause before the start of this season, but that doesn’t mean they aren’t planning to exercise it at some point.

While the Lakers enjoy having Ron Artest Metta World Peace on their roster, and he’s very popular with his teammates, general manager Mitch Kupchak is likely to amnesty the man referred to MWP this offseason.

World Peace is due more than 7.25 million for the 2012-13 season in the form of a player option he is almost guaranteed to pick up, and is additionally owed more than $7.7 million for 2013-14. With his diminishing skills, there is no way the Lakers can afford to pay him that much. They would also save roughly $7 million in luxury tax money by setting World Peace free.

Los Angeles needs to add some younger, more athletic wing players. While Kobe Bryant is having a great season, he clearly needs some help on offense.

World Peace has done a great job rehabbing his image with the Lakers. He was invaluable to the team during its championship run in 2010 and his work in the community and with his teammates has really endeared him to NBA fans, and the city of Los Angeles.

There is a chance that after he is cut loose, the Lakers could re-sign World Peace for less money, possibly for the veteran’s minimum since he would already be raking in his full salary for the next two seasons. In that case the Lakers wouldn’t really be forced to use him as anything more than a second-unit guy. He could also teach Devin Ebanks – whose potential and athleticism the Lakers love – how to be a true defensive stopper.

While having World Peace in the purple and gold has been fun, and great for both parties, it may not last much longer.

The Boston Red Sox have been looking for starting rotation help all offseason and now they’ve started to make moves to add some guys there.

The Red Sox have now made offers to both Edwin Jackson and Roy Oswalt, the two best starters left on the free agent market. After moving an anchor of a contract in Marco Scutaro to Colorado, the Red Sox have now moved quickly in an attempt to strengthen their rotation.

The first move Boston made was to make an offer to Oswalt, who has yet to give any indication where he actually wants to play next season. The fact the veteran righty didn’t accept the offer right away, may be why the Red Sox moved immediately to offer a contract to Jackson.

Sources have indicated that Oswalt may actually want to end up with the Rangers, Cardinals or Reds, but no one really knows what he wants to do for sure.

The Red Sox are said to actually prefer Jackson over Oswalt and that makes sense. Jackson is just 28 years old and has outstanding stuff. With the Chicago White Sox and St. Louis Cardinals in 2011, Jackson went 12-9 with a 3.79 ERA and a 1.44 WHIP. He has bounced around, and has been a part of six organizations in just eight professional seasons.

If Oswalt continues to sit by and let things play out, rather than jump on the offer from Boston, Jackson will likely end up with the Red Sox.

The fact that both guys are still available at this point in free agency means the amount of money they snag should be less than they expected at earlier in the offseason. That said, if the Red Sox are involved in the bidding, some serious cash could be dished out.

Don’t expect Jackson to wait long to make his intentions known. He could be willing to take a one-year contract despite the fact that he’d prefer a multiyear deal.

The Texas Rangers made a big move Wednesday afternoon by signing Japanese pitcher Yu Darvish to a six-year, $60 million deal. When considering the posting fee paid just to negotiate with the right-hander, that means the Rangers spent over $110 million to get Darvish on board.

After spending that kind of dough it would be reasonable to assume Texas is done dipping into the free agent pool. Not so fast dear readers.

The Rangers are apparently still very interested in landing first baseman Prince Fielder, and Fielder is still very interested in heading to Texas.

The Rangers and Fielder met last week before Darvish was signed, and according to multiple reports, the franchise has enough money to bring in both players. The question is, will they?

Earlier in the week Jon Morosi reported that the Rangers were downplaying the possibility of landing both Darvish and Fielder. That may actually just be posturing though, since we know they have the money to make both deals. Apparently right as the deal with Darvish was wrapped up today, it was being reported that the Rangers would like to bring Fielder in on a short-term deal. And also that the left-handed slugger has made it clear that he Texas is his preferred destination.

That said, if Fielder could get a blockbuster, long-term deal from a team like the Washington Nationals or Seattle Mariners, he may end up taking it simply because he couldn’t afford to pass up that kind of money.

What we take from all of this is that the Rangers can get Fielder if they want him. Now they just have to decide how much money and how many years they’re willing to commit to him.

Minnesota Timberwolves forward Kevin Love is in in line for a big extension and obviously the team wants to get something done with its franchise cornerstone. According to reports, Minnesota is preparing to offer Love a four-year deal worth $60 million and that will probably happen within the next few days.

The problem with such an offer is that Love’s payday could be much higher if he representatives push the T-wolves. The 23-year-old UCLA product could actually get somewhere in the $80 million range if he gets a max deal and his reps can get him a five-year deal.

Even if the two sides aren’t fully in agreement over the terms yet, virtually everyone around the league expects the two sides to come to some sort of agreement. The Timberwolves have built up a solid young roster around Love – especially considering how rookie point guard Ricky Rubio has played so far – and he has long had a great relationship with head coach Rick Adelman.

Still Minnesota needs to be careful not to insult Love with a low offer simply because the franchise thinks he’ll be staying around no matter what. The T-wolves have maybe the top power forward in the game on their roster, so they should probably do whatever it takes to keep him happy.

Through 13 games this season, Love is averaging 25.6 points per game and is second in the NBA with 14.3 rebounds per game. He also leads the league with 13 double-doubles, after he finished second in the NBA with 64 of them last year. Oh, and those 64 double-doubles came in just 73 games. So yeah, he’s pretty good at basketball.

Moral of the story? Minnesota needs to do whatever it takes to get an extension done with Love.

The Boston Red Sox suffered an all-time meltdown in 2011, missing the playoffs despite having what looked to be a stellar roster on paper. This offseason has seen a ton of change in Beantown as the Theo Epstein and Terry Francona are gone, and there has been an attempt to change the culture of the team.

On Monday the Red Sox inked a deal with Vicente Padilla, and MLB.com’s Peter Gammons thinks the team may be done making moves this offseason. Why? Because they are out of money.

Boston was interested in bringing in a reliever or two, and Chad Qualls was a target. The Sox were also kicking the tires on Roy Oswalt and were seriously considering bringing him on board. But WEEI.com’s Rob Bradford has reported that the club would have to move payroll in order to bring Oswalt on board.

A guy of Oswalt’s pedigree could likely command around $10 million for this season. To bring him on board the Red Sox, unfortunately, don’t have a contract they could likely move. The only player who Boston would like to move is John Lackey, and zero teams want to take on his contract at this point.

Marco Scutaro is owed $6 million next season and his contract is tradeable if another team is really desperate for a guy like Scutaro, which is debatable. That would leave Nick Punto as the team’s shortstop with prospect Jose Iglesias as the backup.

General manager Ben Cherington has a lot of thinking to do, since committing a big chunk of money to an aging pitcher like Oswalt could end up being another waste of cash.

Cuban outfielder Yoenis Cespedes was set to be one of this offseason’s biggest targets, thanks to his five-tool potential and the success he had last season in the Cuban league.

After defecting, his free agency was put on hold as he attempted to establish residency in the Dominican Republic. Now that he has completed that step, Cespedes is likely to be granted free agency any day, which means the bidding war for him should start shortly.

One team that will apparently be in the mix for the Cuban outfielder is the New York Yankees, who are said to be “big” on him. If New York really wants the 26-year-old, you’d have to think the Yankees will be able to put up the kind of money that can land him. The problem is, New York already has three starting outfielders in Curtis Granderson, Nick Swisher and Brett Gardner. That means if the Yankees sign Cespedes, dominoes could start falling.

Gardner or Swisher could certainly be traded, or used in the designated hitter spot, but I really don’t see the latter happening.

Some sources have claimed the Yankees’ front office is actually divided on Cespedes. This could mean bad things, as the same was said about the Yankees and reliever Rafael Soriano, and we all know how that one turned out.

Cespedes is reportedly looking for a deal similar to the one Aroldis Chapman received, which would be somewhere in the $30 million range.

In 90 games in the Cuba last season, Cespedes hit .333 with 33 home runs and 99 RBI, with 89 runs, a .424 on-base percentage and a .667 slugging percentage.

The San Diego Chargers were considered a Super Bowl contender before this season and finished 8-8. This is the second-straight year the Chargers have underachieved and missed the playoffs. So, logically head coach Norv Turner should be fired, right?

Now, as if to spite me, a source close to the Chargers organization thinks that both Turner and general manager A.J. Smith could be retained for next year. Apparently several players, including quarterback Philip Rivers, have gone to bat for Turner, insisting that he should return. They have voiced their opinions in public as well as privately.

Another factor in the decision could be financial, as Turner has two years left on his contract at $3 million per season. In addition to that, Smith has three years left at $2 million per season.

The report doesn’t say that Turner and Smith have definitely been retained, but considering that Turner’s firing was a near-certainty two weeks ago, the momentum is certainly shifting in his favor. As a Chargers fan this makes me ill. I’ve been on the Fire Norv Turner Bandwagon since his introductory press conference in 2007.

Under Turner the Chargers have been uninspired, undisciplined and underachieving. I get that some of his players have his back, but he simply doesn’t deserve to be with the organization next year, he hasn’t earned the right to be a head coach in the NFL. Considering the talent he has had to work with Turner hasn’t done enough.

I can understand Smith coming back. He has an outstanding eye for talent and has put together great rosters in the past. His past two drafts haven’t been great but that doesn’t mean he can’t turn things around.

If Turner comes back I don’t know what I’m going to do. I’ve suffered through five years of mediocrity and I don’t know if I can do it anymore.

The Detroit Tigers lost out in the Gio Gonzalez sweepstakes when the Oakland A’s dealt the lefty to the Washington Nationals, but that doesn’t mean the Tigers don’t have other options.

Detroit has apparently expressed serious interest in Chicago Cubs right-hander Matt Garza and they aren’t the only ones. The Miami Marlins – who have essentially been involved in talks for everyone this offseason – are trying to make a move to get Garza as well.

That said, the Tigers can probably offer more in return for the 28-year-old hurler. Detroit may be willing to part with Rick Porcello, Jacob Turner or Nick Castellanos in return for Garza, it just depends on how valuable the Tigers think he is.

Meanwhile, the Marlins would probably have to surrender Class A outfielder Christian Yelich in any deal.

The Boston Red Sox, Toronto Blue Jays and New York Yankees are all also in the Garza market, since the Fresno State product proved he could survive in the American League East during his time with the Tampa Bay Rays.

In his one season with the Cubs Garza finished with a 10-10 record, with a 3.32 ERA and a 1.26 WHIP in 31 starts. He also had a career-high 197 strikeouts, but for some reason he has become expendable in Chicago.

We’ll keep you posted with the latest, but expect Garza to be out in Chicago within the next month or so.

The Boston Red Sox were in the chase for left-handed starter Gio Gonzalez until the last minute, but were beaten out by a better package from the Washington Nationals. The Nats sent an impressive group of prospects to the Oakland A’s in exchange for Gonzalez and now the Red Sox and new general manager Ben Cherington are said to be scrambling to add a starting pitcher.

Now that the market for pitching has been picked a bit bare by other teams, the remaining options for the Red Sox are not exactly appealing.

On the free agent market, the only guys left worth considering are right-handers Edwin Jackson and Roy Oswalt, and lefty Joe Saunders. The Sox made a play for righty Rich Harden at the trade deadline but couldn’t get a deal done in time, so there is a chance they could revisit something with him.

Boston could also try to get another hurler by way of a trade, but again the options are limited. The Chicago White Sox could be willing to move righty Gavin Floyd, and the Chicago Cubs are reportedly looking to move Matt Garza.

Meanwhile the Tampa Bay Rays are apparently willing to deal Jeff Niemann or Wade Davis, and maybe even James Shields for the right price. But for the Rays to move one of those guys within the division it would probably take a package of prospects that Boston wouldn’t be willing to deal away.

Boston simply waited too long to make a deal for a starter and now the music has stopped and the Sox don’t seem to have a chair. Guys like Mat Latos and Gonzalez are gone from the market and there are no real impact options left.

Personally I think the Sox will sign one of the four free agents mentioned but they will wait until January when the price will presumably be lower.

As recently as a few weeks ago many thought Milwaukee Brewers free agent first baseman Prince Fielder would be headed just a bit south to play for the Chicago Cubs. In fact, once Albert Pujols signed his monster deal with the Los Angeles Angels, it looked like the Cubs were set to make a big offer to Fielder.

Now apparently things have shifted and while at least six teams are in on Fielder, the Cubs appear to be on the outside looking in and don’t seem interested in being involved any further. Fielder is apparently looking for a 10-year deal similar to the contract the Angels gave Pujols, and while the Cubs like Fielder, they are not willing to give that much time or money to the 27-year-old All-Star.

The Seattle Mariners have already made an offer to Fielder and they are apparently the leaders for his services at the moment. Meanwhile the Texas Rangers, Toronto Blue Jays, Miami Marlins, Baltimore Orioles and Washington Nationals are also said to be interested in the free agent market’s biggest remaining prize.

The Cubs have apparently done some serious background work on Fielder and the team’s new regime has no interest in investing a big-time deal into him the way the old regime did with Alfonso Soriano, Carlos Zambrano and Ryan Dempster. Those contracts have seriously hampered the franchise and Theo Epstein and Jed Hoyer are fully aware of the damage a big deal for Fielder could do if he didn’t live up to it.

So for all those Cubs fans who expected Epstein and Hoyer to immediately make some big, bold moves when they took over the franchise, it might be time to lower those expectations a bit. They are clearly playing for the long-haul, not looking to make an immediate, flashy impact.