It's not really new news, however, Gregg Zaun confirmed that the final four teams vying for his services are: the Rays, Mariners, Brewers and Rockies (h/t rglass). A physical and contract could be in place by the days end. This is good news for the Rays in any scenario. If Zaun re-signs, we have our catcher situation solved for next season. If he signs elsewhere, then the Rays would be the beneficiary of a sandwich round pick.
Without any inside knowledge, I'm leaning towards Zaun signing elsewhere for a few reasons. One, the Rays could've easily secured Zaun's services by picking up his $2 million dollar option, but let him hit the open market where he'll likely get a tiny bit more. It would look foolish if they signed him to a deal worth more than the option when they didn't have to. If Zaun didn't have an offer of more than $2 million, he almost undoubtedly would've accepted the Rays offer of arbitration which would net him a salary of over that. There is also the possibility of a multi-year deal, but I think the Rays would be weary of signing another near 40-something for multiple seasons.
Either way, we should have some good news coming out of the situation. As always check drb's twitter @draysbay or one of our personal pages @trancel @ehahmann or @freezorilla.