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Juan Soto set for Mets spring opener vs. Astros at Clover Park

Sports / Baseball /

PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. — Technically, Juan Soto has already worn a Mets uniform and there are photos to prove it. But come Saturday afternoon, he’ll wear blue and orange for the first time in front of fans when the Mets open their spring slate against the Houston Astros at Clover Park.

Spring training games are mostly forgettable, but the ...Read more

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Marcus Stroman has 'zero' regrets following bullpen comments as Yankees win spring opener

Sports / Baseball /

TAMPA, Fla. — After a planned one-inning start, Marcus Stroman said he has “zero” regrets about stating he would not pitch out of the bullpen this season.

The righty, the subject of trade rumors and apparent odd man out of the Yankees’ rotation, started the club’s spring training opener at George M. Steinbrenner Field on Friday. ...Read more

Yankees owner: Payroll 'almost identical' to 2024, supports salary cap and floor as Gerrit Cole questions it

Sports / Baseball /

TAMPA, Fla. — After discussing a trim to the Yankees’ facial hair policy, Hal Steinbrenner took questions about shaving payroll.

The owner, whose team lost last year’s World Series to the Dodgers, was asked if that’s his intention Friday. No team has reduced payroll the season after reaching the World Series since the thrifty Rays did ...Read more

Jose F. Moreno/The Philadelphia Inquirer/TNS

Q&A: Kyle Schwarber on a possible extension and whether this Phillies core has an expiration date

Sports / Baseball /

CLEARWATER, Fla. — After spring training opened in 2022, the Phillies signed Kyle Schwarber to a four-year, $79 million contract. A quick check of the MLB home-run leaderboard since then:

— 157 — Aaron Judge

— 132 — Shohei Ohtani

— 131 — Schwarber

Nice company, isn’t it?

Schwarber, entering the final year of his contract, ...Read more

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Yankees no longer need to be clean-shaven. But will beards help them clean things up on field?

Sports / Baseball /

LOS ANGELES — So the New York Yankees, at long last, have done away with their anti-facial hair policy.

Maybe, they reasoned, Aaron Judge wouldn't have bungled that routine fly ball in Game 5 of the World Series against the Dodgers had he worn a suave Salvador Dali mustache.

Perhaps Gerrit Cole wouldn't have slept on covering first base in ...Read more

Dustin Satloff/Getty Images North America/TNS

Yankees trim 'outdated' facial hair policy, will permit 'well-groomed beards'

Sports / Baseball /

TAMPA, Fla. — The Yankees’ antiquated facial hair policy has been amended.

The surprising decision came via an announcement from Hal Steinbrenner on Friday morning. With the Yankees preparing to play their first game of spring training, the owner announced that players can wear “well-groomed beards moving forward.”

“In recent weeks I...Read more

Wally Skalij/Los Angeles Times/TNS

Dodgers' Roki Sasaki announces marriage; Bobby Miller feeling better after comebacker

Sports / Baseball /

PHOENIX — The announcement came out of nowhere, so much so that Dodgers manager Dave Roberts didn't even know about it before his daily address with reporters on Friday morning.

"Roki?" Roberts asked with surprise when informed that Roki Sasaki, the club's new 23-year-old phenom pitcher from Japan, had announced earlier in the morning he got ...Read more

Mike Windle/Getty Images North America/TNS

ESPN says it will end MLB broadcasts after striking out on deal

Sports / Baseball /

LOS ANGELES — ESPN's coverage of Major League Baseball is headed to the bottom of the ninth.

The Walt Disney Co.-owned sports broadcasting giant and MLB on Thursday night separately announced an end to their long association after the season that begins next month. The network and league had been in discussions to restructure the TV rights ...Read more

Meg McLaughlin/The San Diego Union-Tribune/TNS

Padres eager to see ball-strike challenge system up close during spring training games

Sports / Baseball /

Brett Sullivan caught a couple of games at the University of the Pacific, but he didn’t truly move behind the plate until 2016, his second year in the Tampa Bay Rays system. The 30-year-old veteran continues to bounce around the diamond to remain a versatile bench option for the Padres, but it would not be wise to question his command of the ...Read more

Paul Sullivan: Justin Turner's arrival at Cubs camp takes center stage. 'We intend on being good this year.'

Sports / Baseball /

GLENDALE, Ariz. — Why would anyone want to continue playing baseball at age 40?

For newly signed Chicago Cubs infielder Justin Turner, the answer was simple.

Turner said he loves the game and still feels he can compete. As long as a major league team believed he could still contribute, there was no reason to retire.

“I feel like I’m a ...Read more

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Dodgers open Cactus League with loss; Bobby Miller exits after comebacker to head

Sports / Baseball /

PHOENIX — The Dodgers' first official game of 2025 began with a reminder of 2024.

"Now taking the field," said the public address announcer at Camelback Ranch on Thursday afternoon, "your 2024 world champion Los Angeles Dodgers!"

Come October, the Dodgers' hope is to be back in the World Series, trying to become Major League Baseball's first...Read more

Jose F. Moreno/The Philadelphia Inquirer/TNS

David Murphy: The Phillies know they can't afford to play it safe with Aidan Miller. Don't rule out a 2025 debut.

Sports / Baseball /

CLEARWATER, Fla. — The hype is easier to ignore when you sleep where you did before the hype began.

On Tuesday morning, one of baseball’s best prospects walked out the front door of his parents house, climbed into his car, and made the half-hour drive down U.S. Route 19 for his second day of work with the NL East champs.

“Sleeping in my ...Read more

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Joe Starkey: Pirates are more culpable than Dodgers in MLB's payroll disparity farce

Sports / Baseball /

PITTSBURGH — Some of you might be burning over comments Major League Baseball commissioner Rob Manfred made Tuesday.

Speaking in Phoenix, Manfred addressed the grotesque financial inequities in his sport — namely, the Los Angeles Dodgers boasting a payroll of nearly $400 million, which is practically a decade of Pirate payrolls.

"They've ...Read more

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The Dodgers have a record-setting payroll. Could their spending impact future CBA talks?

Sports / Baseball /

PHOENIX — The last time Major League Baseball and the players association negotiated a collective bargaining agreement, the owners locked out the players before the 2022 season, a work stoppage that nearly resulted in the loss of regular-season games for the first time since 1995.

Now, with that CBA set to expire after the 2026 season, there ...Read more

Dean Rutz/The Seattle Times/TNS

How Edgar Martinez has helped unlock Mariners star Julio Rodriguez

Sports / Baseball /

PEORIA, Ariz. — The last six weeks of success and solid baseball couldn't save the Mariners from watching the MLB playoffs for a second straight season. The last six weeks of strong at-bats where he smashed baseballs with power while swinging and missing at fewer pitches than the previous 4 1/2 months of the 2024 season couldn't salvage the ...Read more

Jason Getz/The Atlanta Journal-Constitution/TNS

Marcell Ozuna better prepared to handle the grind of a full season

Sports / Baseball /

NORTH PORT, Fla. — Marcell Ozuna finished last season with 39 home runs and 104 RBIs over the regular season. For the first time in his career, he played all 162 games.

Behind the numbers was an exhausted Big Bear.

“At the end of the year, yeah, when you’re close to having a goal and you put a little bit extra work and you try a little ...Read more

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

Healthy Padres leadoff hitter Luis Arraez looks to be back to normal

Sports / Baseball /

PEORIA, Ariz. — The Padres had a real leadoff batter in 2024 for the first time in nearly two decades.

This year, maybe they will have the real Luis Arraez.

Arraez won his third consecutive batting title last season, and his .345 on-base percentage in 520 trips to the plate as the Padres’ leadoff hitter was the highest in 18 years by any ...Read more

Wally Skalij/Los Angeles Times/TNS

Dodgers rookie phenom Roki Sasaki pleased with first live session of spring training

Sports / Baseball /

PHOENIX — Everywhere Roki Sasaki looked Wednesday afternoon, curious eyes stared back at him.

Facing hitters for the first time in Dodgers camp this spring, and still just barely a month removed from his blockbuster signing with the team, the 23-year-old Japanese phenom was the center of attention at Camelback Ranch during the team's latest ...Read more

Robin Buckson/The Detroit News/TNS

Tigers ace Tarik Skubal continues to reach for a soon-to-be-extinct goal -- 200 innings

Sports / Baseball /

LAKELAND, Fla. — Tigers’ ace lefty Tarik Skubal isn’t big on setting individual statistical goals. Team wins are more his thing.

But there is one stat he sets his sights on: 200 innings.

“I plan on doing that the rest of my career,” he said. “This job is to pitch as deep into every single start I have and make the job hard on AJ (...Read more

MLB commissioner calls West Sacramento ballpark 'charming' ahead of A's temporary stay

Sports / Baseball /

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Major League Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred toured Sutter Health Park last month before the Athletics are slated to play their first game there in late March, and this week he gave his first public comments about the stadium.

“It was a really positive day,” Manfred said during a news conference Tuesday in Arizona, ...Read more