PEORIA, Ariz. — No ballclub is perfect. There are nits to pick with every major league roster. Maybe even one or two for the mighty Los Angeles Dodgers and their (gasp!) $395 million payroll.

It’s just, finding the flaws in this Mariners roster isn’t as easy as it has (almost always) been. Take a few minutes to scan the field during ...Read more

PORT CHARLOTTE, Fla. — The turn into Charlotte Sports Park still feels automatic for Craig Albernaz.

The windy asphalt road curves past palm trees and practice fields before leading to the players’ entrance — a route Albernaz traveled many times during his 13 seasons inside the Tampa Bay Rays organization. On Thursday afternoon, he nearly...Read more

PHOENIX — The man who managed Shohei Ohtani in Japan dropped by the Dodgers' training camp the other day, camera crew in tow. He was there to interview Andrew Friedman.

Friedman, quite naturally, assumed the questions would be about Ohtani.

Not at all. The questions were about Friedman, and what he had in common with the people who lead ...Read more

CHICAGO — The Detroit Tigers released a statement Wednesday saying they were “incredibly proud” of announcer Jason Benetti being named the new voice of NBC’s “Sunday Night Baseball” broadcasts.

In only 10 years, the Homewood-Flossmoor graduate has gone from budding Chicago White Sox play-by-play man to the top of the business, ...Read more

A few weekends back, we watched the best hockey players on the planet compete in an unforgettable showdown with an Olympic gold medal on the line. The contest will be remembered for years to come and will likely draw more fans to the game.

It’s a shame that baseball’s biggest international competition can’t produce similar results. While ...Read more

PEORIA, Ariz. — Fourteen years ago in Kentucky, the family of teenage pitcher Walker Buehler threw an MLB draft party in anticipation of the San Diego Padres taking Buehler with the club’s third pick.

“We kind of had somewhat of an agreement at pick 55,” Buehler said. “There was a scout named Kevin Jarvis that my mom knew really well...Read more

On the first night of the Rays’ community engagement tour, there was something for everyone.

For the diehard fan who has been waiting a generation for a better stadium experience, there was a slick AI video, slides and promises of a self-contained village of restaurants, shops, hotels and family-friendly memories.

For Hillsborough College ...Read more

SARASOTA, Fla. — Trevor Rogers initially assumed something was wrong. He certainly wasn’t aware what was happening in real time.

A pair of fielding errors forced the Baltimore Orioles southpaw to toss extra pitches and linger underneath the sun on Tuesday afternoon. Suddenly, his teammates converged near the mound. It wasn’t a meeting ...Read more

LOS ANGELES — The day after he saved the Los Angeles Dodgers' season, Will Klein was hungry. He ordered from Mod Pizza.

He drove over to pick up his order. The guy that handed him the pizza told him he looked just like Will Klein.

"You should just look at the name on the order," Klein told him.

Chaos ensued.

"He actually started screaming,...Read more

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — Injuries continue to throw a wrench into the Giants’ wide-open bullpen competition — and are robbing one player of an opportunity to participate in the World Baseball Classic.

Left-hander Reiver Sanmartin was slated to pitch for Team Colombia in this year’s WBC, but the 29-year-old sustained a right hip flexor injury...Read more

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — As Chase Dollander sat down in the middle of the Rockies clubhouse, the irony was inescapable. He no longer needed a therapy couch. He needed a new coach. A fresh approach.

Dollander experienced a rookie season that ranked somewhere between eating thumbtacks and rubbing a cheese grater on shins. Viewed as a future ace, he ...Read more

PHILADELPHIA — Phillippe Aumont retired from baseball in the summer of 2020 after the pandemic paused the major league season. Once a Phillies prospect, Aumont had been a professional since he was 18. He grew up in Canada, dedicated his life to baseball, and pitched in 46 big league games with the Phillies before deciding it was finally time ...Read more

PORT CHARLOTTE, Fla. — He’s not a star, but you already knew that.

His one-year, free-agent deal is for $7 million, which doesn’t seem like much compared to George Springer (6 years, $150 million) or Kyle Schwarber (5 years, $150 million) or Christian Yelich (9 years, $215 million) or Teoscar Hernandez (3 years, $66 million) or even Randy...Read more

PEORIA, Ariz. — It’s time to start collecting Ryan Sloan cards.

Take it from Sloan, Seattle’s sensational 20-year-old pitching prospect, who collects baseball cards when he’s not bombarding batters. On Sunday, the 2024 second-round draft pick said: “I’m not into the old cards a ton. Mostly newer stuff. I collect a lot of prospects, ...Read more

LOS ANGELES — For Angels fans, these are the worst of times.

Their team is coming off back-to-back last-place finishes for the first time in 50 years. The team 30 miles up the freeway is coming off back-to-back World Series championships, led by a global icon who left Anaheim when the Angels could not deliver a winning team and would not ...Read more

BRADENTON, Fla. — Maybe it was the backstory.

The tale of a nondescript prospect who, in back-to-back years, was the classic “player to be named later” in trades and was already 29 by the time he made his major-league debut.

Maybe it was the way he played.

A mix of intensity and joy that seemed impossible to fabricate. The dirty uniform...Read more

MIAMI — Us against the World is all the rage as the international World Baseball Classic begins with Miami again serving as main host and hub city.

The sixth iteration of the 20-nation, 20-year-old tournament running March 6-17 is a celebration of the power of sports to unite, but it arrives this time shadowed by geopolitical conflict.

U.S. ...Read more

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — How do you improve on the perfect ending?

Clayton Kershaw stood in the desert heat Monday, wearing a far darker shade of blue than the Dodgers do. He does not need a medal, or a chance to fail. His election to the Hall of Fame will be a formality.

In his farewell year, the Dodgers won the World Series, becoming baseball'...Read more