If only Pat Williams were still alive.

We need him now more than ever.

The beloved Orlando dreamer, the sports visionary who co-founded the Magic four decades ago, told us this was going to happen years before he passed away in July.

He told us that if we’d just get off our butts and get to work, we could lure the Tampa Bay Rays to Orlando....Read more

PHILADELPHIA — In Dave Dombrowski’s previous offseasons in charge of the Phillies’ baseball operations, circumstances dictated that he act more like a carpenter than a designer.

Because if you think of the roster as a house, it required upgrades in specific areas. A refurbished master bathroom here, a star shortstop there. So, Dombrowski ...Read more

SAN DIEGO — The Padres will be thrilled if Jackson Merrill proves as durable as the lithe and baseball-passionate Benito Santiago, who, like Merrill, had a big rookie season with San Diego.

One of the sport’s more athletic catchers, Santiago revolutionized the position by snapping off rapid throws from both knees. He caught more games than ...Read more

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The Kansas City Royals have added more firepower to their lineup.

On Friday, they traded right-handed pitcher Brady Singer to the Cincinnati Reds in exchange for infielder Jonathan India and outfielder Joey Wiemer.

India figures to be the club’s leadoff hitter in 2025. He has a career .360 on-base percentage in the role....Read more

NEW YORK — After going through a closely covered free-agent process himself in 2022, Aaron Judge said he’s taking a hands-off approach to Juan Soto’s sweepstakes.

Judge, speaking on a Friday conference call after winning his second MVP Award, said that he hasn’t talked to Soto “at all” since the Yankees lost the World Series to the ...Read more

LOS ANGELES — The Dodgers avoided arbitration with two pitchers Friday, agreeing to contracts for next season with right-handers Dustin May and Tony Gonsolin, both of whom will be returning to the mound after missing all of this past season because of injuries.

According to people with knowledge of the situation not authorized to speak ...Read more

LOS ANGELES — The four words were first spoken here on a bright spring afternoon at Camelback Ranch, my astonished syllables joining similar tones of amazement floating from every corner of a crowded press box.

"Are you kidding me?"

Down to his last pitch in his first spring training game as a Dodger, Shohei Ohtani had just launched a two-...Read more

Alyssa Nakken, the first woman coach in Major League Baseball history, is leaving the Giants to join the Cleveland Guardians as an assistant in player development, as first reported by 95.7 The Game’s Steven Rissotto.

Nakken is the latest member of last year’s coaching staff to depart from the team, joining Justin Viele (Rangers), Pedro ...Read more

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Two hours after voting to spend about $24 million to start repairing hurricane-damaged Tropicana Field by replacing the ballpark’s roof, the St. Petersburg City Council on Thursday voted a second time and decided to halt that plan.

The rare action added to the uncertainty over where the Rays will play starting in 2026...Read more

LAS VEGAS — Major League Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred says the Athletics’ move to Las Vegas is on track — without a doubt.

Speaking Thursday to reporters following owners meetings in New York, Manfred reiterated what he has said several times before: The A’s relocation from Oakland and the construction of a $1.5 billion, 33,000-fan...Read more

LOS ANGELES — The coronation was nothing new.

The narrative that came with it, however, reflected just how much has changed in one year.

For the third time in his decorated Major League Baseball career, Shohei Ohtani won most valuable player award honors on Thursday, claiming the National League's top individual accolade by a unanimous vote ...Read more

NEW YORK — For the second time in three years, Aaron Judge turned a historic season into an MVP trophy.

The Yankees captain was named the 2024 AL MVP on Thursday, an expected result after he led the majors in nearly every major offensive category.

Judge received all 30 of the first-place votes, with Kansas City Royals shortstop Bobby Witt Jr...Read more

LOS ANGELES — The past few weeks have been a whirlwind for Zachary Ruderman.

He's the 10-year-old Dodgers fan who ended up with one of the most significant baseballs in team history — the one his favorite player, first baseman Freddie Freeman, hit for a walk-off grand slam during the 10th inning in Game 1 of the 2024 World Series against ...Read more

CLEARWATER, Fla. — When trust gets obliterated and respect seems nonexistent, there is only one way to rebuild a deal as delicate and complicated as the plan for the new Rays stadium:

Let’s hear it for spite!

If this stadium ever rises from the parking lots of Tropicana Field — and the odds seem firmly against it — we should all be ...Read more

SAN DIEGO — It won’t stop Padres fans from carping for another quarter-century about the ball call on Tino Martinez in the 1998 World Series. Or quipping that Matt Holliday still hasn’t touched home plate.

Pendulums can swing only so far.

But when it comes to judging balls and strikes in past years, MLB umpires have been very good to ...Read more

ATLANTA — Braves president of baseball operations and general manager Alex Anthopoulos has been in baseball since 2000. In 25 seasons in and around clubhouses, he has seen every type of player and personality imaginable. He knows real from fake.

Chris Sale is one of a kind.

“A lot of times, the word ‘competitor’ gets thrown around, and...Read more

CHICAGO — The Chicago Cubs took initial steps Wednesday to address two areas of need on their roster.

A bullpen that must be overhauled this offseason gained a new big-league arm as the Cubs acquired 28-year-old right-hander Eli Morgan from the Cleveland Guardians for Low-A outfield prospect Alfonsin Rosario.

They also traded for catcher ...Read more

DETROIT — Can you imagine a better or more fitting birthday present for Tigers lefty ace Tarik Skubal? Or a better way to cap a sensational, breakthrough season?

On Wednesday, the day he turned 28 years old, Skubal was named the American League Cy Young Award winner for 2024 by a vote of the Baseball Writers Association of America.

Happy ...Read more

LOS ANGELES — So the Dodgers begin their title defense this week by flirting with baseball's hottest available star.

Here's hoping they get ghosted.

No Soto.

So the Dodgers can strengthen baseball's best lineup, deepen their historic batting order, tighten their versatile defense, become even more exciting, more enchanting, more unbeatable....Read more

NEW YORK — Surrounded by reporters in the lobby of MLB’s Midtown offices on Wednesday, Hal Steinbrenner did his best to avoid direct answers about the Yankees’ recent meeting with Juan Soto.

The owner, along with Brian Cashman, Aaron Boone, Randy Levine and Omar Minaya, visited Soto and his agent, Scott Boras, in Southern California on ...Read more