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Shohei Ohtani's swing looking good: Dodgers star homers in first spring at-bat
PHOENIX — For all the awards he won last season, and all the ways he amazed the Dodgers and their fan base in his first season with the club, Shohei Ohtani faces almost as many questions as he embarks on the 2025 season.
After offseason shoulder surgery to repair a torn labrum, will he be as explosive at the plate in his second campaign in ...Read more
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Yankees' Gerrit Cole strikes out 5 in first spring start
NEW YORK — Gerrit Cole’s first start of the spring had the Blue Jays swinging and missing, as the Yankees’ ace struck out five on Friday night at George M. Steinbrenner Field.
The right-hander, using a six-pitch mix, induced nine whiffs over 46 offerings and 3.1 innings. Cole allowed three hits and one earned run — courtesy of a Will ...Read more
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Veteran Justin Turner dives right in with Chicago Cubs; Matt Shaw on track to make spring debut Sunday
MESA, Ariz. — Justin Turner didn’t waste any time getting into Cactus League games.
Despite his veteran status, entering his 17th big-league season, Turner did not use that as a reason to ease his way into camp. After officially signing with the Cubs on a one-year, $6 million deal Feb. 20, Turner was in the spring lineup four days later. ...Read more
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Brett Baty off to another strong spring start as he fights to secure role with Mets
PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. — A week into Grapefruit League play, Brett Baty is making it hard for the Mets not to pay attention to him.
The former third base prospect, who has been up and down between the minors and the big leagues over the last two seasons, is 6-for-11 with two home runs and a double through his first four spring games. It’s a ...Read more
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Twins infielder Edouard Julien knows if he hits, the rest takes care of itself
LAKELAND, Fla. – When the Twins break camp and start the regular season in a month, there is a wide range of potential outcomes for Edouard Julien.
He could be the starting second baseman against righthanded pitching. He could be a bench bat, who picks up some playing time at first base. He could start the season at Class AAA.
Julien, 25, is...Read more
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Freddie Freeman returns to action, but will have to manage ankle during first half of season
He might have only been knocking the rust off. But Freddie Freeman was still less than thrilled.
Facing live pitching for one of the few times all spring this week, Freeman stood at the plate on a nondescript backfield at the Dodgers' Camelback Ranch facility and took swing after swing against a couple of minor-leaguers.
Less than three months...Read more
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Néstor Cortés, who allowed Freddie Freeman grand slam, says Yankees, not Dodgers, were better World Series team
The Dodgers were the best team in baseball last season.
Right?
They had the best overall record during the regular season, then stormed through the postseason before defeating the New York Yankees in the World Series by a rather convincing margin of four games to one.
But there's at least one person who isn't convinced that the Dodgers were ...Read more
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Jim Souhan: Jhoan Duran, Griffin Jax to lead talented Twins bullpen
FORT MYERS, Fla. – As is usually the case with Minnesota Twins closer Jhoan Duran, things were moving fast. He held a pristine baseball in his right hand, and held the attention of his teammates as he stretched his right index finger along a seam and unleashed a rapid … sentence in Spanish.
Duran was talking pitching with some of his fellow...Read more
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Who are the 4 biggest betting long shots to win an MLB pennant?
LAS VEGAS — The 2023 World Series featured a highly improbable matchup between the Arizona Diamondbacks and the Texas Rangers.
The Diamondbacks were 60-1 preseason long shots to win the National League pennant and the Rangers were 25-1 to win the American League pennant.
Two years removed from a 52-110 finish, Arizona went 84-78 to clinch a ...Read more
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Tom Krasovic: Peter Seidler's sunny prediction about Padres has been proven right
SAN DIEGO — Son of a gun. Peter Seidler may have been right.
Eight years ago, when the never-in-it 2017 Padres were headed to the franchise’s seventh losing season in a row, the team’s ever-sunny minority owner insisted the decade to come would be the franchise’s best yet.
Watch out, Seidler said.
In the 2020s, the Padres would earn ...Read more
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Sammy Sosa makes a big impression in his return to the Cubs as a guest instructor: 'He's an icon'
MESA, Ariz. — Sammy Sosa leaned against the cage while Chicago Cubs prospect Kevin Alcántara took a round of on-field batting practice Wednesday morning.
As Alcántara finished hitting and stepped out, Sosa, in camp for a week as a guest instructor, greeted the 22-year-old off to the side, and a conversation promptly ensued. Those little ...Read more
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Phillies' Bryce Harper has a bruised triceps after getting hit by a pitch in his spring debut
DUNEDIN, Fla. — Bryce Harper’s spring debut ended unceremoniously on Wednesday after he was hit by a pitch from Toronto Blue Jays lefty Richard Lovelady in the sixth inning.
The first pitch of the at-bat was a 90.5 mph sinker that missed up and in, but Harper was able to get out of the way. He wasn’t so lucky on the seventh pitch, a 92 ...Read more
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Hyeseong Kim to the minors? Why Dodgers are considering options for rookie's development.
PHOENIX — Could Hyeseong Kim start the season in the minor leagues?
Los Angeles Dodgers manager Dave Roberts took the long route to an answer.
Asked about the new South Korean infielder and how he'll fit into the club's plans come opening day, Roberts acknowledged there is still a "question mark" with Kim's bat. Roberts noted that the 26-...Read more
Paul Sullivan: As Sammy Sosa returns to Cubs camp after 21 years, here are 7 spring sagas we can't forget
CHICAGO — Sammy Sosa is expected to return to Chicago Cubs camp as a guest instructor, continuing the reunification of the former star and the organization that shunned him for more than two decades.
It will be Sosa’s first appearance at Cubs spring training since 2004, the final year of a long and eventful career on the North Side. He met ...Read more
Same hype, different experiences: How Blake Snell, Roki Sasaki are acclimating with Dodgers
LOS ANGELES — As free-agent acquisitions go, Blake Snell and Roki Sasaki generated similar hype upon joining the Dodgers this offseason.
Snell, a two-time Cy Young Award winner, was considered one of the best starters in free agency, kicking off the Dodgers' nearly half-billion-dollar spending spree with his $182 million signing in November. ...Read more
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Jason Mackey: Why the Andrew Heaney signing makes sense and what it could mean for the Pirates
PITTSBURGH — This Pirates offseason has programmed many of us, myself included, to automatically grab a stick and start swinging at the nearest piñata whenever a move has been made.
It's also understandable given the presence of Paul Skenes and what could be a darn good starting rotation. If you're not going to add now, when?
But as much ...Read more
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David Murphy: Bryce Harper isn't the issue with the Phillies' batting order. They are lopsided, whether he hits first, second or third.
PHILADELPHIA — Bryce Harper has earned the right to call his spot. Let’s be clear about that. As he goes, so go the Phillies. That’s been the case throughout Harper’s first six seasons here, and it will continue to be the case in 2025. If Harper is adamant about hitting third in the lineup, then third is where he should hit.
“...Read more
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Yankees' Giancarlo Stanton returns to New York for personal matter
NEW YORK — Giancarlo Stanton is no longer in Tampa.
The designated hitter returned to New York on Monday for personal reasons, according to Aaron Boone. The manager, speaking in Fort Myers, Fla., did not provide more details, per MLB.com’s Bryan Hoch.
Stanton’s return to New York became public Monday morning, though initial reports said ...Read more
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John Romano: Robot umps are on the way and Rays players seem happy with the idea
TAMPA, Fla. — First impression of baseball’s flirtation with an automated strike zone?
Bring it on!
Technically, it’s still in the experimentation stage this spring and won’t reach Major League ballparks before 2026 at the earliest, but this innovation should be getting close to no-brainer status. It’s quick. It’s not overly ...Read more
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Dodgers giving Korean rookie Hyeseong Kim every chance to succeed
LOS ANGELES — At the end of infield workouts most days during spring training, the Dodgers do a live-fungo drill in which every player has to field a ball cleanly and make an accurate throw to first base. If one fielder bobbles a grounder or makes an errant throw, they all have to start over again.
Whether it's rookie hazing, mettle testing, ...Read more
Popular Stories
- Veteran Justin Turner dives right in with Chicago Cubs; Matt Shaw on track to make spring debut Sunday
- Brett Baty off to another strong spring start as he fights to secure role with Mets
- Shohei Ohtani's swing looking good: Dodgers star homers in first spring at-bat
- Yankees' Gerrit Cole strikes out 5 in first spring start
- Twins infielder Edouard Julien knows if he hits, the rest takes care of itself