MLB RUMORS AND NEWS

The Athletic "Rob Manfred got a phone call. It was “one of our more senior owners,” as the commissioner put it, and they began talking about the number of employees who work on, well, numbers. “You know, I don’t know what this analytics thing is, but I have, like, 75..." April 01

ESPN "Anthony Rendon wasn't very talkative Saturday, two days after video surfaced of the Los Angeles Angels All-Star swiping at an Oakland fan following an Opening Day loss to the Athletics. "I'm sorry. I can't comment," the third baseman..." April 01

Larry Brown Sports "The New York Mets were victims of one of the weirdest rules violations of the young MLB season on Opening Day, or so it seemed at the time. However, the league has apparently reached out to tell the organization that the strange call should not have happened. Mets second baseman Jeff..." April 01

Empire Sports Media "There may be a changing of the guard underway in the outfield after Yankees manager Aaron Boone elected to bench Aaron Hicks in favor of Oswaldo Cabrera on Opening Day. Cabrera had a challenging first game, enjoying four at-bats and striking out all four times, despite the..." April 01

MLB Trade Rumors "The Padres have reached an agreement with infielder Jake Cronenworth on a seven-year extension, reports Dennis Lin of The Athletic.  According to Lin, the contract starts with the 2024 season.  Lin notes that Cronenworth “has already passed his physical and the..." April 01

Larry Brown Sports "Shohei Ohtani Watch is officially on just one game into the Los Angeles Angels’ season. Ohtani pitched a magnificent game on Opening Day against the Oakland Athletics on Thursday, fanning ten batters across six scoreless innings of work. Even more impressive was that Ohtani did..." April 01

Clutch Points "The Tampa Bay Rays were on the brink of winning the World Series a couple of years ago, but their team has drastically changed. Blake Snell, Kevin Kiermaier, and Joey Wendle departed from the Rays. Even if the key cogs from the 2020 World Series are gone, the Rays’ front office..." April 01

Larry Brown Sports "The Los Angeles Dodgers are offering a “my bad” after some hiccups at their stadium on Thursday night. The Dodgers beat the Arizona Diamondbacks 8-2 during their Opening Day battle. The game also marked the debut of a vibrant new LED light display at Dodger Stadium. The..." April 01

Sportsnaut "A couple of hours before his team took the field this season for the first time since he spent $300 million on new players, Chicago Cubs president Jed Hoyer learned from a press box wag that at least one national baseball pundit decided his manager, David Ross, is the likeliest to be the first..." March 31

The Score "The Pittsburgh Pirates and outfielder Bryan Reynolds were unable to reach a deal on an extension due to a major conceptual issue despite agreeing on dollars, according to Jon Heyman of MLB Network. Reynolds reportedly moved a lot on his contract requests to try to reach an..." March 31

Larry Brown Sports "MLB players are beginning to understand how the pitch clock will impact certain game situations in addition to shortening games. Philadelphia Phillies catcher JT Realmuto admitted that the pitch clock contributed to the Texas Rangers’ nine-run fourth inning on Opening Day..." March 31

The Athletic "MLB’s 15 games on Opening Day averaged 2 hours and 45 minutes Thursday, 26 minutes shorter than last year’s average, indicating a successful regular-season start for the pitch clock introduced to shorten games as part of the league’s new rule changes. Here’s what you..." March 31

The Score "We're one day into the interminable slog that is the Major League Baseball season, in which teams play 10 times more than NFL clubs. In many ways, the result of the game means very little. It's a drop in a bucket. What separates an Opening Day contest from any other matchup in..." March 31

ESPN "And we're off! The start of the 2023 season brings with it the most changes of any season since 1969 -- when Major League Baseball split into divisions for the first time, lowered the mound and redefined the strike zone while adding four expansion teams. The new rules promise a..." March 31

Larry Brown Sports "The Tampa Bay Rays are catching some jokes over the banner they unveiled on Opening Day Thursday. The Rays hosted the Detroit Tigers at Tropicana Field on Opening Day and won 4-0. Prior to the game, they unveiled a banner that boasted the team won a Wild Card spot in the AL last..." March 31

Black Sports Online "The cameraman understood the assignment when he saw Megan Thee Stallion walking out to the mound. The level of focus was something he should win a sports Emmy for. Megan knew exactly what she was doing when she wore those white pants. No one was paying attention to that..." March 31

New York Post "The Yankees finally settled on their 26-man Opening Day roster — for Thursday’s game anyway. After making their signing of outfielder/first baseman Franchy Cordero official, the Yankees opened the season Thursday with a roster that included 14 position players and 12..." March 31

The Athletic "The Giants agreed to terms on a minor-league contract with free-agent catcher Gary Sánchez, a major-league source told The Athletic. Here’s what you need to know: Sánchez spent the first seven years of his MLB career with the Yankees,..." March 31

The Score "Jackson Holliday, the son of longtime major leaguer Matt Holliday, is waiting his turn. The first overall pick in last June's MLB draft was in the cafeteria line at the Orioles' minor-league complex in Twin Lakes Park, Florida, last week. Pasta with meatballs and grilled..." March 31

Clutch Points "Philadelphia Phillies president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski was active in bolstering his team’s pitching depth during the offseason, and he reportedly pondered making a move for another left-handed pitcher. According to the New York Post’s Jon Heyman, the..." March 31

The Big Lead "The Los Angeles Angels suffered a disappointing 2-1 defeat to the Oakland Athletics on Opening Day and the mood around the team wasn't great. As the squad headed for the locker room, third baseman Anthony Rendon got into it with an A's fan who had heckled him. The former All-Star..." March 31

Bleacher Report "The Colorado Rockies will be without closer Daniel Bard, as he will start the 2023 season on the injured list to address his anxiety. According to Danielle Allentuck of The Gazette, Bard has "decided to be open and honest about what he's going through instead..." March 31

ABC 7 Chicago "The Chicago White Sox bid goodbye to longtime veteran outfielder Leury Garcia on Thursday, paving the way for prospect Oscar Colas. The moves were among several made by the team to finalize its Opening Day roster prior to Thursday night's game against..." March 31

LADbible "A man's elaborate marriage proposal on the field at a baseball game ended up going horribly awry. There are some massively differing schools of thought when it comes to big elaborate proposal ideas. Some people find them incredibly sweet and romantic, showing that the..." March 31

MLB Trade Rumors "The Pirates announced Thursday that they’ve designated outfielder Ryan Vilade for assignment and selected the contracts of left-hander Rob Zastryzny and catcher Jason Delay, both of whom were in spring training as non-roster invitees. Lefty Jarlin..." March 31

MLB.com "Cardinals cornerstone Adam Wainwright wasn’t able to pitch on Thursday in the final Opening Day of his 18-year MLB career, but he still managed to steal the show at Busch Stadium. Wainwright, 41, now in his final MLB season after announcing plans to retire following..." March 31

The Big Lead "Opening Day has given us a ton of highlights as Major League Baseball is most definitely back. The play to top them all came during the evening games when new Los Angeles Angels outfielder Hunter Renfroe made a no-look catch against the Oakland A's. Seriously, it was..." March 31

CBS Sports "Solak was a casualty of a series of roster moves ahead of the team's Opening Day game Thursday against the Pirates. The 28-year-old former top prospect has slashed just .246/.317/.354 in 839 major-league plate appearances since the beginning of the 2020 season. " March 31

The Athletic "Major League Baseball and Fanatics Collectibles unveiled Thursday “Debut Patches” to be worn by rookies making their MLB debut this season. After a player appears in his first game, the patch will go on his rookie card in a future Topps set. Here’s what you need to..." March 31

MLB Trade Rumors "The Rangers are in agreement with Rafael Ortega on a minor league contract, reports Joel Sherman of the New York Post (on Twitter). The deal allows him to opt out on April 29 if he’s not added to the roster, reports MLBTR’s Steve Adams. If Ortega secures a big league..." March 31

Houston Chronicle "The Astros designated J.J. Matijevic and Bligh Madris for assignment on Thursday to clear spots on their 40-man roster for César Salazar and Corey Julks. In a bigger surprise, the team did not place second baseman Jose Altuve on the 60-day injured list, offering at least some..." March 31

CBS Sports "The 26-year-old spent all of 2022 in the minors with the White Sox, holding a 5.78 ERA over 123 innings. Blewett saw brief action in the big leagues with the Royals from 2020-21 and will give Atlanta some veteran depth at Triple-A Gwinnett. " March 31

MLB Trade Rumors "The Tigers announced Thursday that they’ve designated right-hander Edwin Uceta for assignment. That move, coupled with yesterday’s outright of Rony Garcia, will open the two roster spots necessary to select the contracts of lefty Chasen Shreve and..." March 31

Bleacher Report "After an unusually quiet offseason, the Los Angeles Dodgers could be primed to make a significant run at Shohei Ohtani as a free agent next winter. Appearing on Get Up ESPN's Buster Olney said the feeling around MLB is that "many believe" Ohtani will end up..." March 30

Real GM Baseball "Ian Happ appears poised to enter the 2023 season on the final year of his contract with the Chicago Cubs. Happ said Wednesday he had "nothing really to report" and "no real comment on it." He said he is not breaking off talks on an extension, but added: "That..." March 30

Clutch Points "New York Yankees pitcher Gerrit Cole and San Francisco Giants pitcher Logan Webb have combined to make history on Opening Day, according to Sarah Langs of MLB.com. Both Gerrit Cole and Logan Webb both struck out 10+ batters in the game, which is only..." March 30

The Score "Major League Baseball fans eagerly awaiting the introduction of the automated strike zone may have to wait longer than expected. "The short answer is, I don't know what's going to happen going forward," MLB commissioner Rob Manfred said during a panel Wednesday,..." March 30

Clutch Points "Seeing a 100 mph pitch in a Major League Baseball game isn’t a rarity anymore. When a pitcher throws 105 mph though, people have to stop and think “did that just happen?” Cincinnati Reds pitcher Hunter Greene did just that on Opening Day, firing a 105 mph fastball to..." March 30

McCovey Chronicles "Some things are just unavoidable. The San Francisco Giants came within a few hours of making it through a Spring Training without a trade. But you knew they couldn’t do it. You knew there’d be a move, likely for an unheralded former member of the Los Angeles..." March 30

USA Today "Dusty Baker plops down in a chair in front of his desk, looks around his office, and recognizes that Thursday’s game against the Chicago White Sox could be the final Opening Day game of his career.  Baker, 73, is not saying this will necessarily be it, with plans to retire..." March 30

The Big Lead "The Boston Red Sox hosted the Baltimore Orioles this afternoon for Opening Day of the 2023 MLB season. It did not take very long for the weirdness to start at Fenway Park, thanks to exciting young catcher Adley Rutschman. Rutschman smacked an opposite field..." March 30

The Athletic "Happy Opening Day! To get you ready for the start of another season, let’s go team by team and identify reasons for optimism and pessimism. Play ball!   NL East Atlanta..." March 30

ESPN "Atlanta Braves infielder Orlando Arcia has signed a three-year contract that includes a team option for 2026, the team announced Thursday before their season opener. The Braves did not disclose financial terms, but sources confirmed to ESPN's Buster Olney that the..." March 30

Yahoo! Sports "The New York Yankees, one of MLB's most storied and successful franchises, have a high-end problem: they're running out of uniform numbers to give to players. They've retired 22 numbers (including Jackie Robinson and Mariano Rivera's No. 42), at least eight more than any..." March 30

Larry Brown Sports "Los Angeles Angels owner Arte Moreno disagrees with 28 other MLB franchises about the value of having radio announcers travel with the team. For the fourth consecutive season, the Angels’ radio broadcast duo of Terry Smith and Mark Langston will have to call road games remotely..." March 30

The Athletic "Dusty Baker grins. “I’m spoiled,” the Astros skipper says. “Winning spoils you.” Being defending World Series champions isn’t enough. No team has repeated as champs since the Yankees won back-to-back-to-back titles from..." March 30

The Big Lead "Boston Red Sox fans were raring to go on a very chilly Thursday as the team kicked off its 2023 MLB season by hosting the Baltimore Orioles. Corey Kluber got the nod as the starter for a home team and almost immediately fell apart, leaving the Sox in a hole and the fans..." March 30

Egotastic Sports "Wrestling fans out there will be glad to know that one of their own, Carmella, the wife of Corey Graves attended a little spring training game between the Dodgers and the Angels. The wrestler who has been around the industry her whole life, thanks to her dad working for the WWE while..." March 30

The Big Lead "Laz Diaz has long been one of the worst umpires MLB has to offer. On Opening Day, he lived down to that reputation. In the bottom of the sixth inning of the New York Yankees-San Francisco Giants game on Thursday, Diaz proved why people can't stand him...." March 30

The Athletic "The first-ever collective bargaining agreement in minor league baseball history is near, a landmark moment in the sport’s history, and for the players in particular. Around 9 p.m. on Wednesday, Major League Baseball Players Association leadership notified thousands of minor..." March 30