SAN DIEGO — The recent massive spending by the big-market Dodgers and Mets and the ensuing criticism of Major League Baseball’s economic system has led some bright folks to recycle a familiar defense that, as far it goes, isn’t wrong.

Call it the Trophy Argument.

The World Series trophy, these folks point out, seldom goes to the team ...Read more

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The Kansas City Royals have reportedly added to their bullpen. On Wednesday, the Royals agreed to a free-agent deal with right-handed reliever Carlos Estévez.

Estévez, 32, posted a 2.45 ERA with 26 saves in 2024. He registered a 2.1 WAR (wins above replacement) and 50 strikeouts in 55 innings with the Los Angeles Angels ...Read more

LOS ANGELES — The Dodgers won't have an arbitration hearing after all this offseason.

The team agreed to terms with reliever Alex Vesia on Wednesday, according to a person with knowledge of the situation not authorized to speak publicly, settling on a contract with the last arbitration-eligible player on its roster.

Vesia's deal will ...Read more

CHICAGO — When Rupert Murdoch’s Fox Entertainment Group bought the Los Angeles Dodgers from the O’Malley family back in 1998, I asked Chicago Cubs President Andy MacPhail during spring training whether having Fox as an owner was good for baseball.

MacPhail hesitated before giving an ambiguous response, suggesting the economic trends in ...Read more

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — The Tampa Bay Rays made a bold move Wednesday to improve their lineup, striking a two-year, $29 million deal with Korean infielder Ha-Seong Kim.

The 29-year-old is recovering from right shoulder surgery and is expected to be ready sometime in May.

The deal, contingent on a physical, will pay Kim a team-high $13 million...Read more

LOS ANGELES — The Dodgers' latest offseason addition is complete.

On Tuesday night, the team agreed to a one-year, $13 million contract with veteran right-handed reliever Kirby Yates, according to a person with knowledge of the situation not authorized to speak publicly. The signing came a week after news emerged the Dodgers and Yates were in...Read more

TAMPA, Fla. — Playing this winter for the hometown Escogido team he grew up rooting for was important to Rays third baseman Junior Caminero.

He certainly made the most of it.

Caminero capped the experience Monday with a monstrous go-ahead home run in the ninth inning of Game 7 of the Dominican league championship series, leading the Leones ...Read more

PITTSBURGH — Albeit on the opposite side of the state, Chase Shugart’s upbringing in East Texas wasn’t all that different from some of the kids featured in “Friday Night Lights.”

Shugart hails from Bridge City, a town of roughly 10,000 located on the Texas side of Sabine Lake, which borders Louisiana. The area is known primarily for ...Read more

DETROIT — While Tigers ace Tarik Skubal was in New York City on Saturday night picking up his American League Cy Young Award, his pitching-staff mate, Tyler Holton, was in Detroit, collecting some hardware of his own.

Holton, the Tigers' do-everything lefty, was named the Bill McAdam Tenth Man Award winner for 2024 by the Detroit Baseball ...Read more

CHICAGO — The Chicago Cubs have made a big move to bolster the back end of their bullpen.

They acquired veteran reliever Ryan Pressly from the Houston Astros on Sunday, sources confirmed to the Chicago Tribune. Pressly waived his no-trade clause to accept a move to Chicago. The complete terms of the deal are not yet known.

The 36-year-old ...Read more

CHICAGO — Martín Pérez and Will Venable were teammates on the Texas Rangers in 2015.

The two reconnected in Boston and later again in Texas, where Pérez pitched while Venable worked on both coaching staffs.

Pérez said Venable’s role as the new Chicago White Sox manager played a factor in him recently signing with the club.

“We are ...Read more

NEW YORK — The deep freeze enveloping New York is symbolic of what’s going on between the Mets and Scott Boras over Pete Alonso, and it really is quite amazing how the euphoria over their$765 million Juan Soto deal has dissipated so much in just six weeks: Boras is scrambling mightily to find deals remotely close to his initial asking prices...Read more

ATLANTA — The Braves are the car buyer who passes on the new German luxury model and instead purchases a year-old sedan that’s nice but not over the top. The Dodgers are the guy who can’t decide between the Rolls-Royce, Porsche and Mercedes-Benz so he just buys all three.

(The Pirates are the guy who has to borrow $25 from his girlfriend ...Read more

NEW YORK — Chants of “We want Pete” started up among Mets fans Saturday as the team’s key decision makers sat down for a panel at Citi Field.

The chants grew louder about 20 minutes later when Pete Alonso’s name was mentioned.

But the chants stopped suddenly when Mets owner Steve Cohen candidly expressed his frustrations with how the...Read more

ATLANTA — About three weeks ago, Jurickson Profar first became aware of the Braves’ interest in him. He told his 7-year-old son, Khairy, about it.

“Since I told him that the Braves were interested,” Jurickson said, “he was like, ‘You gotta go there, you gotta go there. What are you waiting for?’ Because of the good players that ...Read more

LOS ANGELES — It's been an unrealized goal of Andrew Friedman's for years. This summer, however, it finally might come to fruition.

As he does at the start of every winter, the Dodgers' president of baseball operations set lofty ambitions for their activity this offseason. He wanted to reinforce a talented team, one just months removed from ...Read more

PITTSBURGH — Just three days after it was uncovered, the fate of one of the game's most prized baseball cards has been determined. Fanatics Collect announced Friday that a special print card featuring Skenes' autograph and a jersey patch from the right-hander's MLB debut will go to auction.

An 11-year-old collector hailing from Los Angeles ...Read more

PITTSBURGH — Be careful what you wish for.

I’m still reeling from the fact that Andrew McCutchen spoke those words at PiratesFest last weekend, in defense of team owner Bob Nutting — the man who didn’t have the guts to take questions during the “Ask Pirates Management” session, instead putting human shield/CEO Travis Williams in ...Read more

ATLANTA — The Braves tried to sign right-hander Jeff Hoffman … but he failed his physical with them, had another one flagged by Baltimore and then signed with Toronto.

The Braves sought prized young starter Garrett Crochet in a trade … but the White Sox ended up dealing him to Boston.

The Braves did not land either, but the two ...Read more