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Jim Souhan: Jhoan Duran, Griffin Jax to lead talented Twins bullpen

Sports / Baseball /

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?

Sports / Baseball /

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

K.C. Alfred/The San Diego Union-Tribune/TNS

Tom Krasovic: Peter Seidler's sunny prediction about Padres has been proven right

Sports / Baseball /

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'

Sports / Baseball /

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

Monica Herndon/The Philadelphia Inquirer/TNS

Phillies' Bryce Harper has a bruised triceps after getting hit by a pitch in his spring debut

Sports / Baseball /

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

Wally Skalij/Los Angeles Times/TNS

Hyeseong Kim to the minors? Why Dodgers are considering options for rookie's development.

Sports / Baseball /

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

Sports / Baseball /

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

Sports / Baseball /

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

Sports / Baseball /

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

Heather Khalifa/The Philadelphia Inquirer/TNS

David Murphy: Bryce Harper isn't the issue with the Phillies' batting order. They are lopsided, whether he hits first, second or third.

Sports / Baseball /

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

Sports / Baseball /

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

Smiley N. Pool/The Dallas Morning News/TNS

John Romano: Robot umps are on the way and Rays players seem happy with the idea

Sports / Baseball /

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

Sports / Baseball /

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

K.C. Alfred/The San Diego Union-Tribune/TNS

Jackson Merrill knows 'there's more to prove' in second season with Padres

Sports / Baseball /

PEORIA, Ariz. — Jackson Merrill might struggle in his second big-league season .

But …

When speaking of the cruel manner in which baseball treats most who play it, there seems to always be a “but” with Merrill.

Said Jake Cronenworth: “Yeah, 100% it’s going to be hard. All of us in this room have gone through that. The league makes...Read more

Chris Sweda/Chicago Tribune/TNS

Paul Sullivan: John Schriffen, the embroiled TV voice of the Chicago White Sox, vows to have a 'different tone' in 2025

Sports / Baseball /

GLENDALE, Ariz — It’s hard to say who took more heat on the South Side last year.

Was it Chicago White Sox Chairman Jerry Reinsdorf, the owner who had to listen to “Sell the team” chants while sitting in his suite? Or was it Pedro Grifol, the manager who couldn’t buy a win or keep his job?

Perhaps it was the players who suffered ...Read more

Wally Skalij/Los Angeles Times/TNS

'This kid is special.' Kenley Jansen eager to help Angels' Ben Joyce reach next level.

Sports / Baseball /

LOS ANGELES — Troy Percival, then a rookie setup man with 26 big-league appearances under his belt, watched from the visiting dugout in the Oakland Coliseum as Lee Smith, then the Angels' 37-year-old closer, gave up a walk-off grand slam to Mark McGwire in an 8-5 loss to the Athletics on June 30, 1995.

It was just the second blown save of a ...Read more

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After near-death experience, Dustin May thrilled to be pitching: 'Like a new beginning'

Sports / Baseball /

PHOENIX — Dustin May screamed into his cap after blowing a 95-mph fastball by Oscar Gonzalez for an inning-ending strikeout on Sunday, and when the Los Angeles Dodgers right-hander returned to the dugout, he was engulfed in a sea of hugs and high-fives.

It seemed like an over-the-top celebration for throwing one scoreless inning in an 8-3 ...Read more

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Bill Madden: Reminder to Juan Soto that it is still all about the pitching

Sports / Baseball /

NEW YORK — Before we dig into the “who’s better Mets or Yankees?” debate between Juan Soto and Aaron Judge, let’s get this out of the way: Despite his contention that he signed with the Mets because he thought they had the best chance to get to the World Series, we all know the real deciding factor for Soto was that the Mets gave him ...Read more

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Paul Sullivan: Impending ESPN-MLB divorce is another reminder that all good things must come to an end

Sports / Baseball /

MESA, Ariz. — The breakup of ESPN and Major League Baseball was a shocker to those of us who looked at the partnership as a match made in heaven, or at least the baseball equivalent in Dyersville, Iowa.

Since they presented their vows back in 1990, ESPN helped spread the gospel of baseball through the Steroids Era, the start of bat flipping ...Read more

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Cubs betting on Pete Crow-Armstrong -- with a new number and starry hair -- to make an impact this season

Sports / Baseball /

MESA, Ariz. — The back of Chicago Cubs center fielder Pete Crow-Armstrong’s jersey will look a little different this year.

All thanks to a friendly hoops challenge.

President of baseball operations Jed Hoyer likes fast-guy uniform numbers — the single digits that look sleek on the back of speedsters like Crow-Armstrong. So the football ...Read more