ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — At the time, the moment seemed unremarkable. A ground ball to Taylor Walls. An underhand flip to Jose Caballero to force Toronto’s Vladimir Guerrero Jr. at second base. A completed 4-3 Rays victory in their final home game of a frustrating 2024 season.

Is it really possible that was the closing act in the life of ...Read more

Only one Paul Skenes major league rookie debut patch autograph card exists.

It can be found in a pack of 2024 Topps Chrome Update cards.

The Pittsburgh Pirates want that card.

Badly.

The team made quite an offer Friday on X — with a bonus thrown in by Skenes' famous girlfriend — to whomever ends up in possession of the unique and ...Read more

Major League Baseball last expanded in 1998. For years, commissioner Rob Manfred has maintained the league would not consider expansion until the Oakland Athletics and Tampa Bay Rays resolved their stadium situations.

In September, the A's played their final game in Oakland, en route to Sacramento next year and eventually Las Vegas. In July, ...Read more

LOS ANGELES — Dodgers reliever Brusdar Graterol is expected to miss the first half of next season after undergoing surgery Thursday on the labrum in his right shoulder, the team announced.

Graterol's surgery comes after a season plagued by shoulder troubles, in which he made just seven regular-season outings and missed the first two rounds of...Read more

ATLANTA — Braves starting pitcher Chris Sale is the 2024 National League Comeback Player of the Year.

In his first season in Atlanta, Sale won a triple crown — achieved by leading the NL in wins, ERA and strikeouts. He finished with 18 wins, a 2.38 ERA and 225 strikeouts.

On Nov. 20, Sale is expected to win the first Cy Young Award of his ...Read more

SAN DIEGO — It’s that time, once again.

Time to behold the A.J. Preller Effect on baseball’s national media, as they report and pontificate on potential splashy trades or free-agent signings to come.

Preller’s bold track record demands that every pundit or reporter mention the Padres as a potential destination for almost every ...Read more

The Angels signed veteran infielder Kevin Newman, who could provide depth across the infield, the team announced on Thursday.

Shortstop Zach Neto, third baseman Anthony Rendon and utility infielder Luis Rengifo will all be coming off injuries next season, and Newman could fill in for any of them.

The Angels previously added Scott Kingery, who ...Read more

TAMPA, Fla. — The Rays are planning to play the 2025 season at Tampa's Steinbrenner Field, spring training home of the rival New York Yankees.

The Rays have been looking for an interim home since Hurricane Milton caused extensive damage to Tropicana Field last month. Under a repair plan revealed Tuesday, the Trop won’t be playable until the...Read more

SAN DIEGO — By now, the depths of Jackson Merrill’s terrific 2024 season have been duly plumbed. All that remains is to find out Monday if baseball writers chose the Padres’ center fielder as the National League’s Rookie of the Year.

But worth a few moments of exploring, here, following, are side benefits to A.J. Preller being right ...Read more

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Some 23 months ago, the Royals launched a “listening tour,” they called it, an attempt to sell Kansas City on the idea of downtown baseball.

OK, baseball in or around downtown, they said — before, hey, how about baseball in the Northtown?

Two years later now, the Royals have expanded their stadium considerations once...Read more

TAMPA, Fla. — Rays shortstop Wander Franco will have to check in monthly with Dominican Republic court officials while awaiting a hearing as the result of his latest legal issue, a judge ruled Wednesday.

Franco, 23, was arrested Sunday in San Juan de la Maguana after an altercation in the parking lot of an apartment building in which guns ...Read more

SEATTLE — The words "payroll flexibility" hadn't quite entered the Mariners' offseason lexicon back on Nov. 22 of last year when they somewhat surprisingly traded Eugenio Suarez to the Arizona Diamondbacks in exchange for catcher Seby Zavala and right-handed reliever Carlos Vargas.

While Suarez was coming off a year that didn't quite meet his...Read more

The Dodgers’ championship season is filling a lot of shelves with fresh hardware.

The Dodgers were recognized as the top offensive team in baseball, winning the Silver Slugger team award on Tuesday. Three individuals — Shohei Ohtani, Teoscar Hernandez and Mookie Betts — also won Silver Slugger awards as the top hitter in the National ...Read more

SAN DIEGO — When it comes to value, no player the Padres will pursue this offseason matches Roki Sasaki.

The Japanese ace and 2023 World Baseball Classic star stands as one of the sport’s best pitchers, yet he’ll cost mere pennies on the dollars relative to the likely returns he’ll generate. For several years, Sasaki’s salary will ...Read more

It is now clear that one of the Angels’ main strategies for improving this winter is by adding players they believe can have a positive influence on the ones they already had.

The Angels signed veteran catcher Travis d’Arnaud to a two-year, $12 million deal on Tuesday.

General manager Perry Minasian then described the value he believes d�...Read more

LOS ANGELES — It was just last month when 63-year-old Fernando Valenzuela, the beloved Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher who sparked Fernandomania, died from a mysterious illness.

A newly published copy of his death certificate dispels much of the mystery: According to that document, Valenzuela's underlying cause of death was possibly related to a ...Read more

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Tropicana Field can be repaired in time for the Rays’ 2026 season for about $55.7 million, according to the damage assessment report sent to St. Petersburg City Council members on Tuesday.

The report, which does not include all items to be repaired, estimates that Hurricane Milton caused $39 million in damage and an ...Read more

UNCASVILLE, Conn. — Manny Ramirez turned to the man next to him, his former captain, and shared a little secret.

“When I came to Boston, I watched you and I looked up to you,”: Ramirez told Jason Varitek. “When you went 4 for 4 or 0 for 4, you worked hard. It made me a better player.”

It was a poignant moment during an evening of ...Read more

LEXINGTON, Ky. — As the night deepened on Oct. 30, Walker Buehler was summoned from the Los Angeles Dodgers bullpen with his team needing three New York Yankees outs to claim the 2024 World Series championship.

It was to be the Lexington native’s first appearance as a relief pitcher since 2018.

In the stands at Yankee Stadium, the pitcher�...Read more

ATLANTA — Braves starting pitcher Chris Sale is a finalist for the National League Cy Young Award, voted on by members of the Baseball Writers’ Association of America.

This is no surprise. The only surprise would be if Sale did not win the award.

The other finalists are Pirates rookie phenom Paul Skenes and Phillies ace Zack Wheeler.

The ...Read more