MLB RUMORS AND NEWS

Bleacher Report "The New York Mets continued their winter spending spree on Friday by agreeing to a four-year, $50 million contract extension with Jeff McNeil, according to ESPN's Jeff Passan. The deal is pending a physical and also includes a fifth-year option that could bring the value to..." January 27

ESPN "We're calling these lineup rankings "way-too-early" -- and while that might well be true, maybe it's not. At this point of the winter, teams across MLB have largely completed their heavy lifting. We do still have a few free agents out there and some trades have continued to..." January 27

The Athletic "Some have questioned whether the White Sox will release pitcher Mike Clevinger after The Athletic reported Tuesday that Major League Baseball is investigating allegations of domestic violence and child abuse made by the mother of his youngest..." January 27

Bleacher Report "The Atlanta Braves announced Friday they have reached an agreement with manager Brian Snitker to extend his contract through the 2025 season. The 67-year-old has managed the team since 2016, going 542-451. Atlanta has made the playoffs each of the past five years, including a 2021..." January 27

Clutch Points "The Los Angeles Dodgers are going to be a contending team in 2023. However, they likely will not win 111 games again after losing a number of key players during the offseason. With free agency coming to an end and Spring Training right around the corner, LA will mostly be limited to trades..." January 27

The Score "Houston Astros icon Jeff Bagwell believes the team made the right decision in hiring Dana Brown as its new general manager. Bagwell - now an Astros community outreach executive and special adviser to owner Jim Crane - thinks Brown can blend traditional scouting with newer forms..." January 27

Clutch Points "It appeared all but certain Los Angeles Angels owner Arte Moreno was ready to sell the team to the highest bidder. All of the sudden, Moreno pulled the club off the market. With no change coming in ownership, the question is how will this about-face affect their chances of..." January 27

The Score "Every offseason, MLB teams hand out lucrative, long-term contracts with the hope that players can replicate their past success well into the future. There have been a staggering number of megadeals handed out this winter and a few other head-scratchers that could leave clubs in trouble in the..." January 27

Bleacher Report "Shohei Ohtani may not be a member of the Los Angeles Angels much longer. The Moreno family, which owns the team, announced Monday that it was no longer exploring potential sales of the Angels. That could have a ripple effect, as Andy Martino of SNY reported..." January 26

Larry Brown Sports "The San Diego Padres have made bold moves to bring in star players in recent years, but eventually they will have to find a way to keep them all. That may be an unrealistic proposition. In a new Padres mailbag article, Dennis Lin of The Athletic revealed that team officials..." January 26

Bleacher Report "With the top of MLB's free-agency market settled, some notable players remain unsigned. Spring training is around the corner, and while most teams know what they are working with, some of them could use these free agents still on the market. This may have been the plan..." January 26

Battery Power "The Houston Astros announced Thursday that they have hired Dana Brown to be their next general manager. Brown spent the previous four seasons with the Atlanta Braves as their Vice President of Scouting. Brown replaces James Click, who was let go at the end of the 2022..." January 26

Clutch Points "The 2022-23 MLB free agency period has been as busy as could be. We saw the best shortstop market ever, with the likes of Dansby Swanson, Xander Bogaerts, and Trea Turner all finding new homes. Carlos Correa looked to be on his way out of Minnesota as well, but after two concerning..." January 26

The Score "The Baltimore Orioles acquired left-handed starter Cole Irvin and right-handed minor-league pitcher Kyle Virbitsky from the Oakland Athletics in exchange for infield prospect Darell Hernaiz, the team announced Thursday. Irvin made 30 starts for..." January 26

The Athletic "It has been a while since Cubs fans were truly satisfied after an offseason of work. Since the addition of Yu Darvish, which came early in the spring of 2018, it was nearly four years before the Cubs once again dipped into free agency and came away with what one would describe as..." January 26

CBS Sports "The 2022-23 MLB offseason will be remembered as the winter free agency became exciting again. A record $3.8 billion has been committed to free agents thus far, among that two 11-year contracts (Xander Bogaerts and Trea Turner) and one nine-year contract (Aaron Judge). That doesn't..." January 26

The Score "Every fan wants their team to sign the top free agent in the winter, but there's only one Aaron Judge. The fact is, there are a bunch of lower profile players who can also help a team win, and while they don't get the headlines of the New York Yankees retaining their record-breaking..." January 26

The Athletic "This offseason has been filled with record-breaking signings but relatively few trades as player evaluation has become more similar from team to team thanks to sophisticated analytics and algorithms. There were still some terrific trades made this winter, highlighted by the three-team deal in..." January 26

USA Today "2000 National League MVP Jeff Kent is speaking out against Baseball Hall of Fame voting after he failed to make it to Cooperstown in his 10th and final year on the writer's ballot. "The voting over the years has been too much of a head-scratching..." January 26

ESPN "Baseball eras come and go faster than you think. The game you remember as a child is played differently than the one you are now enjoying as an adult. It's not unrecognizable but it has changed. That's true now, and it's probably always been true. The game is played much..." January 26

Sportsnaut "The Pittsburgh Pirates outrighted Miguel Andujar to Triple-A Indianapolis on Thursday after the third baseman cleared waivers. Andujar, 27, will be a non-roster invitee to spring training. " January 26

MLB Trade Rumors "It’s been a quiet offseason for the Royals on the whole, but they’ve taken up a prominent position on the trade market in the past few days, shipping center fielder Michael A. Taylor to the division-rival Twins in exchange for relief prospects Evan..." January 26

CBS Sports "The Houston Astros are in an unusual position. They are the defending World Series champions and will again be on the short list of World Series contenders heading into 2023, yet they don't have a general manager. The Astros and GM James Click parted ways in..." January 26

The Score "Cody Bellinger said he's excited to see the impact of Major League Baseball's new shift restrictions in action once the 2023 season gets underway. "It just opens up a completely different part of the game," one of the newest Chicago Cubs additions said..." January 26

Arizona Sports "The Arizona Diamondbacks appear to be adding depth to the bullpen with the reported signing of veteran reliever Jeurys Familia to a minor league deal. The reported deal for Familia includes an invite to the team’s major league spring training camp, USA Today’s Bob..." January 26

Phillies Nation "Former Philadelphia Phillies infielder César Hernández is reportedly off the free-agent market, ready to join his fourth team in three seasons. He’s agreed to minor-league contract with the Detroit Tigers, according to a Wednesday afternoon report from Jon Heyman..." January 26

NBC Chicago "The Chicago Cubs have agreed to a minor-league deal with free agent catcher Luis Torrens, according to a report from Ángel Daniel Conde T of the Venezuelan Professional Baseball League’s Navegantes del Magallanes. Torrens, who will turn 27 in May, has..." January 26

MLB Trade Rumors "The Red Sox have finalized a pair of up-the-middle pickups this week, formally adding Adam Duvall on a one-year free agent deal to play center field and acquiring infielder Adalberto Mondesi from the Royals yesterday. Chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom met with reporters..." January 26

Dallas Morning News "Throughout the offseason, the Rangers have focused on revamping their pitching staff with veteran arms. They aren’t done making moves on that front just yet. On Wednesday, the Rangers and right-handed reliever Reyes Moronta agreed to terms on a minor league contract, a..." January 26

Sportsnaut "Former Chicago White Sox and Boston Red Sox pitcher Gary Peters, who won the American League ERA title twice, has died at age 85. The White Sox announced his death on Thursday but didn’t provide further details. Peters made his major league debut on Sept. 10, 1959, and..." January 26

Sportstalk 790 "Speaking at an event, Jim Crane said the Astros have not requested to speak with David Stearns. " January 26

SI "After spending the past two years in the SF Giants organization, Jason Vosler has inked a minor-league deal with the Mariners. Vosler will likely compete for a spot on the end of Seattle's bench in spring training but is probably ticketed for their Triple-A affiliate in..." January 26

MLB Trade Rumors "The Marlins announced that reliever Enrique Burgos has signed a minor league contract with a non-roster Spring Training invitation. The 32-year-old makes it back to the affiliated ranks for the first time since he was released by the Tigers in March 2018. Burgos, a Panama..." January 26

CBS Sports "Schultz is a former prospect with the Rays who was released by the Mariners in September of 2021 and didn't throw a pitch in 2022 while dealing with an oblique issue. The right-hander has also spent time with the Dodgers and owns a 5.86 ERA in 35.1 innings across 26 career..." January 26

TSN "Ken Giles is preparing for a return to Major League Baseball. The New York Post's Jon Heyman reports the former Toronto Blue Jays closer is set hold a showcase for interested teams at Arizona State on Feb. 8. " January 26

The Score "The Tampa Bay Rays and left-hander Jeffrey Springs agreed to a four-year contract extension, the team announced Wednesday. The pact is for $31 million, according to Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times. " January 25

Real GM Baseball "Cleveland police recovered Terry Francona's beloved scooter Tuesday night after it was stolen from outside his downtown apartment this past weekend. A Cleveland Guardians spokesman said police located the scooter and arrangements were being made for Francona to pick it up..." January 25

MLB.com "Nelson Cruz has unfinished business. The Padres have unfinished business. Maybe that's why the two are such an obvious fit. Cruz's one-year deal with the Padres became official on Monday after he passed his physical in his native Dominican Republic. A day later,..." January 25

NBC Sports Chicago "The White Sox are attempting to attack their needs at second base.  The South Siders have expressed interest in acquiring Kansas City Royals infielder Nicky Lopez via trade, according to a report from The Athletic.  The report details the Royals..." January 25

Michigan Live "Former Detroit Tigers manager Brad Ausmus is reportedly a finalist for the Houston Astros’ vacant general manager position. Jose de Jesus Ortiz, editor of OurEsquina.com, said he’s been told the job will come down to Ausmus, a longtime Astros player, and Atlanta..." January 25

MLB Trade Rumors "Right-hander Zack Greinke signed with the Royals in 2022, returning to the club that drafted him in 2002 and for whom he pitched from 2004 through 2010. The club has reportedly been interested in bringing him back for 2023 since before the offseason even officially began...." January 25

NBC Sports Bay Area "The Boston Red Sox made a surprising move to clear space on their roster on Tuesday. Veteran reliever Matt Barnes was designated for assignment to make room for newly-acquired outfielder Adam Duvall, the team announced. Boston will still need to pay his $7.5 million salary for..." January 25

The Athletic "After David Ortiz was elected to the Hall of Fame a year ago, the debate started as to whether anyone would be elected by the Baseball Writers Association of America in 2023. Looking ahead to 2024, the question is not “if,” but “how many?” Luckily for those..." January 25

Egotastic Sports "MLB WAG and Sports Illustrated Swim icon, Kate Upton posted a video of her working out! She pretty much broke the internet before breaking the internet was a thing, back when she was their star player for at least 4-5 seasons of SI Swim, people thought she was the best thing to happen..." January 25

CBS Sports "The National Baseball Hall of Fame announced on Tuesday night that Scott Rolen, a veteran of 17 big-league seasons, has been voted into Cooperstown by the Baseball Writers Association of America. Rolen received a vote on 76.3 percent of the ballots, putting him just above the 75 percent..." January 25

SI "One of the best stories in baseball last year is coming to Toronto. The Blue Jays have signed 31-year-old outfielder Wynton Bernard to a minor league deal, Robert Murray reports. After 10 seasons in the minors and over 800 MiLB games, Bernard made his MLB debut last season with..." January 25

NJ "Devin Smeltzer is packing his bags. MLB Trade Rumors reports the left-hander agreed to a minor-league contract with the Miami Marlins. The deal, which contains a non-roster invitation to Spring Training, would pay the ISE Baseball client at a $1MM..." January 25

CBS Sports "Saucedo will serve as the Mets' roster casualty after the team officially announced the signing of Tommy Pham on Tuesday. The 29-year-old reliever spent much of last season on the injured list, though he was able to post a 2.37 ERA and 1.26 WHIP in 19 Triple-A frames. " January 25

Phillies Nation "The Phillies announced that they have invited 21 players to big league spring training as non-roster invitees. Here are the names: Right-handed pitchers: Andrew Painter, Mick Abel, Griff McGarry, McKinley Moore, Billy Sullivan, Francisco Morales, Andrew Baker, Jon..." January 25

The Score "Scott Rolen has been elected into the Baseball Hall of Fame in his sixth year of eligibility on the Baseball Writers' Association of America ballot after receiving 76.3% of the vote. Rolen spent his 17-year career between the Philadelphia Phillies, St. Louis..." January 24