SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — Pressure doesn’t make perfect.

Colorado Rockies outfielder Nolan Jones learned that harsh lesson last season.

“That was the ultimate mistake that I made, I wanted to be perfect,” he said. “I set big goals. I wanted to hit 30 homers. I wanted to steal 30 bases. I wanted to win a Gold Glove.

“I wanted to be ...Read more

TAMPA, Fla. — This spring there is a palpable buzz coming out of the Boston Red Sox camp in Fort Myers that can be heard all the way up the gulf coast to Steinbrenner U. Where the Yankees are now anticipating their biggest challenge to American League East supremacy coming from an old familiar foe about to rise out of dormancy.

You have to ...Read more

PORT CHARLOTTE, Fla. — He is neither a phenom nor an established hitter. He is not a new face and not a darling of the preseason hype. He is not a kid anymore, and he hasn’t yet scored the big contract.

He is, simply, hope.

Hope that the Tampa Bay Rays have less volatility and more consistency in center field. Hope that he is the rare ...Read more

TEMPE, Ariz. — Andrew Benintendi hoped for the best from tests after getting hit by a pitch in the first inning Thursday against the Cleveland Guardians.

Instead, the Chicago White Sox left fielder learned he would miss four to six weeks with a nondisplaced fracture in his right hand.

“I think we were hoping for better news, but in the ...Read more

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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