If baseball wants its pitchers focused on durability, the rules of the game might have to change
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — Bold decisions to change Major League Baseball’s longstanding rules quickened the pace of games and revived the popularity of stealing bases over the last few years. A similarly creative move may be needed to help starting pitching regain the relevance it enjoyed as recently as a decade...
Yankees mourn the death of Brett Gardner’s youngest sonVideo
TAMPA, Fla. — The New York Yankees shared tragic news Sunday afternoon, announcing the death of Brett Gardner’s youngest son, Miller. According to a statement released by the former Yankees outfielder and his wife, Jessica, Miller died after falling ill on vacation. He was 14. “We have so many questions...
NL West Preview: Dodgers, Diamondbacks, Padres lead a loaded division
Could October deliver another thrilling slugfest between the rival Los Angeles Dodgers and San Diego Padres? Or, it could be the Arizona Diamondbacks’ turn again on the big fall stage. In the loaded NL West, Shohei Ohtani and the big-money Dodgers remain the team to beat after winning 11 of...
NL East Preview: Juan Soto joins Mets in power-packed division with Phillies and Braves
NEW YORK — Juan Soto is back in the NL East, a much richer man with a new address and a different uniform. Same powerful bat, though. Again a serious problem for Braves and Phillies pitchers. Following a World Series appearance for the New York Yankees last year, Soto jumped...
NL Central Preview: Brewers looking to hold off Cubs and Reds at top of division
CHICAGO — Christian Yelich and Milwaukee finished on top of the NL Central each of the past two seasons. A three-peat is going to be quite the challenge. While the Brewers had a quiet winter in the wake of their third division title in four years, the Chicago Cubs revamped...
AL West Preview: The Astros will look different, and that could mean a new division champ this year
The Houston Astros will certainly look different when trying to continue their impressive run of AL West titles, after letting two of their best hitters go and with Jose Altuve likely moving to left field. This could be the season that another team finally overtakes the Astros as division champs....
AL East Preview: Yankees and Orioles are still talented, but the race at the top could be tighter
Juan Soto and Corbin Burnes are gone from the division, and although the Yankees and Orioles can certainly succeed without them, the AL East seems noticeably tougher to predict this year. In 2023, Baltimore and Tampa Bay won 101 and 99 games, with the rest of the division another 10...
AL Central Preview: Four solid teams, and then the White Sox
The American League Central was a surprisingly strong division last season, with four teams finishing above .500. Then there was the Chicago White Sox — who racked up 121 losses for the most defeats in modern Major League Baseball history. Expect more of the same in 2025. The defending champion...
MLB preview: Shohei Ohtani, Dodgers hope to become 1st repeat champs since ’98-’00 YankeesVideo
Shohei Ohtani was in the batter’s box for the season’s first pitch Tuesday, arriving at the Tokyo Dome coronated a World Series champion. Twenty-nine other teams will be trying to dethrone his Los Angeles Dodgers, who flexed their financial might again during the offseason hoping to become the first repeat...
Pitcher Julio Urías suspended through the All-Star break under domestic violence policy
NEW YORK — Former Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Julio Urías was suspended through the All-Star break by Major League Baseball on Friday under its domestic violence policy with the players’ association. Urías had pleaded no contest last May to one count of misdemeanor domestic battery. The penalty was the second...
Former Cy Young Award winner Jake Peavy returns to Padres as special assistant to CEO
SAN DIEGO — Jake Peavy, the 2007 NL Cy Young Award winner and member of the San Diego Padres Hall of Fame, has joined the team as special assistant to CEO Erik Greupner. Greupner said Thursday the three-time All-Star will assist multiple departments and serve as a team ambassador. “I’m...
Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Shohei Ohtani deliver in MLB season opener
TOKYO — Yoshinobu Yamamoto threw five strong innings, Shohei Ohtani had two hits and scored twice and the defending World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Chicago Cubs, 4-1, on Tuesday in MLB’s season opener at the Tokyo Dome. Playing in front of their home country, Yamamoto and Cubs...
Shohei Ohtani merchandise is prompting long lines — even in the rain — in Tokyo
TOKYO — The Los Angeles Dodgers gave Shohei Ohtani an unprecedented $700 million contract hoping to drive interest — and the dollars that come with it — from fans across the Pacific. It seems to be working. He’s the main attraction as the Dodgers and Chicago Cubs open the MLB...
Dodgers’ Mookie Betts struggling with illness; status for Opening Day in doubt
TOKYO — Los Angeles Dodgers shortstop Mookie Betts is still struggling to recover from an illness, with manager Dave Roberts pessimistic the eight-time All-Star will be ready for Opening Day against the Chicago Cubs on Tuesday in Japan. Betts was able to go through a light workout Sunday but became...
Tampa Bay Rays withdraw from planned $1.3 billion ballpark in St. Petersburg, citing storms, delays
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — The Tampa Bay Rays on Thursday withdrew from a $1.3 billion ballpark project, citing hurricanes and delays that likely will drive up the proposal’s cost. The team issued a statement by principal owner Stuart Sternberg saying that “a series of events” in October, which included severe...
Yankees ace Gerrit Cole to have Tommy John surgery, out for seasonVideo
TAMPA, Fla. — Yankees ace Gerrit Cole will have season-ending Tommy John surgery on his right elbow Tuesday. The Yankees said the 34-year-old right-hander was examined Monday by Dr. Neal ElAttrache at the Cedars-Sinai Kerlan-Jobe Institute in Los Angeles. ElAttrache, the Dodgers’ head team physician, will operate. Cole, a former...
Former OF Tyler Naquin says comeback as pitcher started last year
GOODYEAR, Ariz. — As he begins his attempted comeback at a new position, Cleveland Guardians right-hander Tyler Naquin says his transition from playing outfield to pitching was more than a year in the making. Naquin, who played the outfield for four major-league teams from 2016-23, signed a minor-league contract with...
Outfielder Lawrence Butler agrees to $65.5 million, 7-year deal with A’s, AP source says
Outfielder Lawrence Butler agreed to a $65.5 million, seven-year contract with the Athletics, a person with direct knowledge of the negotiations said Thursday night, the latest big-money deal for a team suddenly spending as it prepares to play three seasons in a minor league ballpark. The agreement, first reported by...
Mets spent more in 4 years than Pirates, Marlins and Rays over past 21
NEW YORK — The New York Mets led the major leagues in spending for the third straight season in 2024 and have totaled $1.36 billion in payroll and luxury tax over four years under owner Steve Cohen, exceeding what the Miami Marlins, Pittsburgh Pirates and Tampa Bay Rays each have...
Vagabond A’s enter Sacramento era with playoff expectations
MESA, Ariz. — The Athletics have moved about an hour east from Oakland to the Sacramento area, where they will be based in a minor-league ballpark for the next three seasons while hoping a more permanent home in Las Vegas will be ready in 2028. If this doesn’t sound like...
Cleveland Guardians owner Lawrence Dolan dies at 94Video
CLEVELAND — Lawrence J. Dolan, owner of Cleveland’s major league baseball team since 2000, has died at age 94. The Cleveland Guardians put out a statement Monday saying Dolan died Sunday night of natural causes. “Mr. Dolan invested his entire life in Greater Cleveland and impacted our community on so...
Juan Soto hits a 426-foot home run in 1st at-bat for New York MetsVideo
PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. — Juan Soto wasted little time in showing off his power for his new team. Again. Soto homered in his first spring training at-bat for the New York Mets, hitting a solo shot to left-center field in the first inning against Houston on Saturday. The Mets...
Eddie Fisher, an All-Star reliever with the Chicago White Sox in 1965, dies at age 88
ALTUS, Okla. — Eddie Fisher, the right-hander whose 15-year major league career included an All-Star selection for the Chicago White Sox and a World Series title with Baltimore, has died. He was 88. The Lowell-Tims Funeral Home & Crematory in Altus says Fisher died Monday after a brief illness. Born...
Yankees owner Hal Steinbrenner might support a salary cap proposal tied to payroll minimum
TAMPA, Fla. — New York Yankees owner Hal Steinbrenner might support a salary cap proposal as long as it contains a provision mandating minimum payrolls. “I have been on the record already saying that I would consider supporting a cap depending on what the cap is and contingent on the...
New York Yankees drop ban on beards, 49 years after it was imposed by owner George SteinbrennerVideo
TAMPA. Fla. — The New York Yankees dropped their ban on beards Friday, 49 years after it was imposed by owner George Steinbrenner, in a move aimed to improve player recruitment as the team tries to win its first World Series title since 2009. Current owner Hal Steinbrenner, son of...
