SEATTLE — For those clamoring for Jerry Dipoto to make a big-ticket splash in the free-agent market, Friday's trade with the Milwaukee Brewers was probably a disappointment by implication.

The biggest ticket of them all, outfielder Aaron Judge, was realistically above the Mariners' pay grade from the start. The team has no need to dip into ...Read more

NEW YORK — Every athlete’s playing days have to come to an end eventually.

Some are lucky enough to make it all the way to the professional ranks, collecting a fortune along the way. Others max out in college, while an overwhelming majority give up their game during childhood, the iron curtain of adulthood separating them from competitive ...Read more

BALTIMORE — The Orioles have supplied their rotation with a veteran presence for 2023, agreeing to terms with right-hander Kyle Gibson on a one-year contract, according to multiple reports. ESPN and The Athletic reported the deal is pending a physical.

Gibson, 35, has made 25 or more starts in every full season since 2014, pitching for the ...Read more

PHILADELPHIA — Bryce Harper left an operating room in Los Angeles on Nov. 23 with a reconstructed ligament in his right elbow and a giant question mark over his head.

When might he play again?

In a tightly worded news release issued on Thanksgiving eve, the Phillies announced that the face of the franchise will be back in the lineup, ...Read more

SEATTLE — Gaylord Perry used to call the spitball "my survival pitch," and by the time he got to Seattle in 1982 — barely hanging on at 43 years old, 21 years into his career — survival was his preeminent goal.

Perry was three wins shy of 300, the magic number he knew was needed to reach the Hall of Fame, considering the specter of ball-...Read more

SAN DIEGO — A.J. Preller appears to be at it again.

Or perhaps the Padres President of Baseball Operations is simply doing his usual uniquely exhaustive due diligence.

While there is no real clarity on how advanced discussions are, the Padres have at least waded further into the deep free agent shortstop market.

A league source said Friday ...Read more

Free agent pitcher Jacob deGrom has agreed to a five-year deal with the Texas Rangers.

The Rangers announced the signing Friday night and said a press conference to introduce deGrom would be held at Globe Life Field after the Winter Meetings, which are Sunday through Wednesday in San Diego.

The Rangers did not disclose terms, but Jeff Passan ...Read more

SEATTLE — With one somewhat expected transaction, the Mariners addressed their needs at second base while also cleaning up their roster in terms of positional fit and clubhouse chemistry.

With the start of the Major League Baseball Winter Meetings looming on Monday in San Diego, the Mariners reached an agreement with the Milwaukee Brewers ...Read more

LOS ANGELES — Former Dodgers star Yasiel Puig could face trial Jan. 10.

Puig has been charged with making false statements in a federal investigation of an illegal sports betting operation. He had agreed to plead guilty, but his attorney said Wednesday he would withdraw from that agreement and plead not guilty.

Under the plea agreement, Puig...Read more

CHICAGO — After years of debate over the Hall of Fame worthiness of players linked to performance-enhancing drugs, baseball’s Steroids Era stands trial this weekend in San Diego at the 2022 winter meetings.

If Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens are selected to the Hall of Fame by the 16-member Contemporary Era committee that convenes Sunday, ...Read more

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — The Rays made their first big move of the offseason, agreeing to a three-year, $40 million contract with starting pitcher Zach Eflin.

The deal, pending a physical, is the largest the Rays ever have given to a free-agent player.

The Rays went into the offseason seeking to bolster their offense but opted to first improve...Read more

Are the Red Sox still in the business of accomplishing Plan A or are they simply a second-tier franchise that now collects the scraps when the top teams are through?

That question is at the heart of the 2022 Red Sox offseason, and it’s starting to take shape as we get closer to the Winter Meetings, which begin Sunday in San Diego.

At the ...Read more

DETROIT — The likelihood of a Matthew Boyd reunion in Detroit grew infinitely stronger the day Scott Harris was hired as the Tigers president of baseball operations.

It was Harris, then with the Giants, who signed Boyd last offseason for $5.5 million, even though Boyd was coming off flexor tendon surgery and wasn't going to be available until...Read more

A couple of months ago, Braves Chairman Terry McGuirk told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution that his goal was for the organization to eventually have a top-five payroll – but did not specify when. Recently, Liberty Media President and CEO Greg Maffei echoed this sentiment.

Ahead of next week’s Winter Meetings in San Diego, Braves fans have ...Read more

CHICAGO — Chicago White Sox general manager Rick Hahn made a stunning admission Tuesday during a Zoom session with the media.

“Earlier today, foolishly, I was on Twitter,” Hahn said.

If anyone should have been avoiding Twitter, it was Hahn, especially on the day José Abreu was joining the Houston Astros. No good could come of it, as ...Read more

PHILADELPHIA — Years ago, before John Middleton became the face of the Phillies’ ownership group, Jimmy Rollins equated him with George Steinbrenner. It’s a comparison that Middleton never minded. Because the late Yankees owner was notoriously obsessed with winning, a trait that is admirable to a former college wrestler-turned-billionaire ...Read more

LOS ANGELES — Former Dodgers star Yasiel Puig has withdrawn from an agreement to plead guilty to a charge of lying to federal investigators in a sports betting probe and has changed his plea to not guilty, his representatives said Wednesday.

"I want to clear my name," Puig said in a statement. "I never should have agreed to plead guilty to a ...Read more

NEW YORK — The Aaron Judge watch is expected to kick into high gear with the start of the MLB Winter Meetings on Sunday.

And the Bombers don’t plan to go down without a fight.

The Yankees have an offer to Judge on the table that is around eight years and $300 million, according to ESPN. This would make him the highest-paid position player ...Read more