NEW YORK — New Year, new Clay Holmes.

The Mets’ newest pitching acquisition is already undergoing a transformation of sorts with his new team. Tuesday afternoon on a Zoom call, the right-hander was sporting a beard, something forbidden while playing for the Yankees, and a t-shirt from the brand Meanwhile Back in Queens, a local company that...Read more

LOS ANGELES — Closer extraordinaire Devin Williams had been told by the Milwaukee Brewers that he likely would be traded to the Los Angeles Dodgers. He went to the New York Yankees instead, a turn of events Williams described as "the Yankees snuck in under the table and got the deal done."

It's not a secret that fortifying the bullpen remains...Read more

CHICAGO — It seemed inevitable Cody Bellinger would be wearing a different uniform on opening day after the Chicago Cubs acquired right fielder Kyle Tucker to create a crowded outfield.

Less than three hours after the team introduced Tucker during a video news conference Tuesday afternoon, the Cubs traded Bellinger to the New York Yankees for...Read more

CLEARWATER, Fla. — The Pinellas County Commission approved bonds to pay for a new Tampa Bay Rays stadium late Tuesday, putting pressure on the team to hold up its end of the deal it signed onto over the summer.

On a board with a new majority of commissioners who are skeptical of the deal’s financial terms, the commission voted 5-2 to take ...Read more

NEW YORK — Plan B is officially taking shape.

In the fallout of Juan Soto walking across town, the Yankees have acquired first baseman and outfielder Cody Bellinger in a deal with the Chicago Cubs, according to multiple reports. Chicago is also sending $5 million to the Yanks in the deal.

The Bombers sent pitcher Cody Poteet in exchange for ...Read more

NEW YORK — Devin Williams figured he would be traded this offseason, but the Yankees were not on the closer’s radar.

Instead, the two-time National League Reliever of the Year expected the Milwaukee Brewers to send him to the Los Angeles Dodgers, whose interest was heavily rumored.

“That was what I was being told,” Williams, 30, said ...Read more

BALTIMORE — The Orioles have addressed their pitching staff.

In a surprise move, Baltimore signed Japanese right-hander Tomoyuki Sugano to a one-year deal, the team announced Monday. The deal will be for $13 million, a source with direct knowledge of the terms told The Baltimore Sun.

Sugano, 35, has spent his entire professional career with ...Read more

LOS ANGELES — Would he do it all over again?

That was the one question I wanted to ask Benny Gallo. He wanted to talk baseball.

Baseball is not what he does. It is who he is.

It is the wonder at a glimpse of a freshly mowed field, the pride in identifying a teenager that just might be good enough to make a living playing the game, the ...Read more

MINNEAPOLIS — In about nine weeks, Twins pitchers and catchers will report to spring training. That is important to note here, in the land of hand warmers and remote starters.

Twins fans will be able to travel to Fort Myers, Fla., for sunbathing, golf and watching a Twins team desperate to distance itself from last season’s late-season ...Read more

NEW YORK — The Yankees have multiple vacancies in their infield.

Alex Bregman is a free agent.

It makes sense, then, that Yankees general manager Brian Cashman has spoken about the longtime Houston Astros third baseman with agent Scott Boras, which Cashman confirmed doing during a Zoom press conference Friday.

“I certainly respect the ...Read more

CHICAGO — It might just be a coincidence that the Chicago Cubs made their biggest trade in 20 years soon after national baseball writer Ken Rosenthal named Chairman Tom Ricketts and his siblings “Dorks of the Week.”

Speaking on a podcast last week, The Athletic’s baseball bigfoot used the four-letter word to describe “Cubs ownership�...Read more

LOS ANGELES — A sports memorabilia auction is never as gripping as the ballgame that gave the item being auctioned immense value. But bidding for the baseball Freddie Freeman crushed for a grand slam that gave the Dodgers a walk-off victory in Game 1 of the World Series against the New York Yankees in October did generate its own brand of ...Read more

LOS ANGELES — The face of the franchise, Landon Knack is not — that distinction belongs to Dodgers stars Shohei Ohtani, Freddie Freeman, Mookie Betts and Clayton Kershaw — but the rookie pitcher has been as much, if not more, of a social media presence than his more famous teammates in the weeks since the Dodgers beat the New York Yankees ...Read more

NEW YORK — There is joy in Flushing where no one cares that Steve Cohen spent a record $765 million (so far) — and was prepared to go for more if the Yankees matched him — for one player in Juan Soto. And while Soto tried to tell us last Thursday it was not about the money but rather what teams wanted to do for the next 15 years, it was as...Read more

TAMPA, Fla. — The first version of this column was about how, after signing free-agent catcher Danny Jansen, the Rays’ next big move likely would be to deal from their depth and trade a starting pitcher.

They did that Saturday afternoon, striking a deal to send left-hander Jeffrey Springs to the A’s.

With only one big-leaguer, righty Joe...Read more

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — The Rays addressed their starting pitcher surplus Saturday, completing a trade to send left-hander Jeffrey Springs to the Athletics in a deal that includes five players and a competitive balance-round draft pick.

The Rays will get right-hander Joe Boyle, first baseman Will Simpson, minor league right-hander Jacob ...Read more

DALLAS — Baseball does not need a “Golden At-Bat” to stimulate our senses, but the brainstorming session that proposed such a stupid rule needs to continue.

For this reason.

“Baseball is an entertainment product,” Texas Rangers general manager Chris Young said to a small gathering of reporters during the annual winter meetings.

...Read more

NEW YORK — Former Mets captain David Wright will be honored this summer in a dual ceremony, taking his rightful place in franchise history.

The former Mets third baseman who played all 14 years of his major league career in Queens will be inducted into the team hall of fame and have his number retired July 19, ahead of a game against the ...Read more

MINNEAPOLIS — Two months after the Minnesota Twins were put up for sale, the first potential buyer has been identified. And he’s an increasingly familiar face in professional sports.

Phoenix Suns part-owner Justin Ishbia, the billionaire founder and managing partner of Shore Capital Partners, a private equity firm in Chicago, is considering...Read more