LOS ANGELES — The only knock on Yoshinobu Yamamoto, the most highly regarded pitcher on the free-agent market besides Shohei Ohtani, is that he's short and light at 5-foot-10 and 175 pounds.

His reputation, however, is huge and his trophy case crammed with heavy metal after winning his third consecutive most valuable player award Tuesday on ...Read more

LOS ANGELES — For the past couple of years, as the Oakland Athletics flirted with Las Vegas, the comparison became painfully obvious: On any given night, the major league team in Oakland could be outdrawn by the minor league team in Las Vegas.

For 2024, we present this delicious possibility: On any given night, the major league team in ...Read more

The Dodgers have yet to make a major roster addition during the opening month of Major League Baseball's offseason. But on Monday, they ensured another important piece of their 2023 team would be back in the fold in 2024.

The club is nearing a new one-year contract with outfielder Jason Heyward worth $9 million pending a physical, according to ...Read more

More than a year after Sandy Alderson stepped down from his role as team president, the Mets have finally hired someone to run the business side of the club. M. Scott Havens, the former CEO of Bloomberg Media, is set to join the Mets in January as the president of business operations, the club announced Monday.

Havens will report directly to ...Read more

SAN DIEGO — On the surface, you have to think this is the last shot for A.J. Preller, the Padres' president of baseball operations. He's been stitching together teams in San Diego since late 2014 with no division titles and one full-season playoff appearance.

It's been a run filled with bold stabs, wild spending and highs sandwiched by ...Read more

PITTSBURGH — The Pirates haven't put one of their own from the modern era into the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum since Bill Mazeroski in 2001. It is time for another. Jim Leyland has been nominated for consideration by the Contemporary Baseball Era Committee for managers, executives and umpires. He belongs in Cooperstown.

"I'd be ...Read more

SEATTLE — Depending on a person's time of arrival in the Mariners clubhouse for games at T-Mobile Park, they were usually greeted by the smiling face of Eugenio Suarez, whose locker was the first in the line of sight upon entering the posh space.

If Suarez wasn't in front of his locker holding court with teammates, a glaring bright neon sign ...Read more

SEATTLE — On normal occasions, the "Twitter" mailbag will solicit questions from its numerous followers for the sporadic foray into answering questions about the Mariners, Major League Baseball and the mysteries of life.

But given the general mood and reactions right now on all forms of Mariners social media, and the propensity for the same ...Read more

SAN DIEGO — I like the Padres' decision to hire Mike Shildt because each of his three Cardinals teams were winners, and because Shildt learned under wise men such as legendary baseball sensei George Kissell, a longtime ace in player development.

Here's a "George-ism" for a few Padres hitters to chew on:

Destroy the first pitch before it ...Read more

ARLINGTON, Texas — With the Oakland Athletics’ Las Vegas relocation approved, fans must be wondering what the new ballpark will look like.

The design is still in the works, but an example of what to expect sits adjacent to the site where MLB owners approved the team’s move to Southern Nevada — at Live! Lowes hotel.

Globe Life Field, ...Read more

NEW YORK — Aaron Nola will not be doing a reverse Zack Wheeler.

The Mets project to be one of the biggest players in the free-agent pitching market, so Aaron Nola’s seven-year contract with the Philadelphia Phillies means two things: It’s one fewer elite starting pitcher to go after, and it means the level of competition in the NL East ...Read more

SEATTLE — As part of their offseason quest to reduce the number of strikeouts in their lineup, the Mariners were willing to sacrifice some the good vibes brought on a daily basis by Eugenio Suarez.

On Wednesday, in what is becoming a bit of a tradition of making news on the day before Thanksgiving, the organization traded the popular third ...Read more

SAN DIEGO — Mike Shildt had just spent nearly two decades in the St. Louis Cardinals organization the first time he talked to the Padres. He was not ready to dive headfirst into the top job in a new organization then, but instead waded carefully into San Diego waters as an adviser in player development and occasional crutch for the big league ...Read more

SAN DIEGO — Along the dusty minor league backroads in the early days of the 2012 season, the Double-A Springfield Cardinals had just finished getting the pulp and pride beaten out of them by a loaded team from Frisco that included future Padre Jurickson Profar.

The Cardinals, filled with young talent like pitchers Michael Wacha and Trevor ...Read more

BALTIMORE — No pitcher in Orioles history was better at finishing games than Zack Britton. This week, it was his career that he brought to an end.

Britton announced his retirement Monday, ending a 12-year major league career that included 7 1/2 seasons with Baltimore. The 35-year-old left-hander was the Orioles’ third-round pick in the 2006...Read more

LOS ANGELES — Twenty-six players are on the Baseball Hall of Fame ballot released Monday, but only one is considered a lock for induction next summer: former Dodger Adrián Beltré.

Beltré assembled an impeccable resume after signing illegally with the Dodgers out of the Dominican Republic when he was only 15 years old in 1994. Over a major ...Read more

SAN DIEGO — The Padres have hired their next manager, a man with managerial experience and experience working for A.J. Preller.

Mike Shildt is the choice to replace Bob Melvin and become the franchise's 18th full-time manager.

The Padres also interviewed Ryan Flaherty, a coach with them since 2020; former Angels infield coach Benji Gil; ...Read more

PHILADELPHIA — When the free-agent market opened for business two weeks ago, it became clear almost right away that a familiar rival would pose the primary threat to the Phillies’ quest to retain Aaron Nola.

The Braves, off back-to-back 100-win seasons and divisional-round ousters by the Phillies, made a six-year, $162 million offer to Nola...Read more