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Dave Roberts and Rich Aurilia bonded over wine as teammates. Now it's a business for them.
LOS ANGELES — A great wine is pleasurable and smooth, with a long, satisfying finish. It makes you wonder where it's been all your life.
In other words, it's nothing like the relationship between Dave Roberts and Rich Aurilia when they were National League West rivals.
Every time Roberts stepped to the plate, Aurilia cringed.
Pesky left-...Read more

Matt Calkins: Mariners' T-Mobile Park might be skewing perceptions more than we think
SEATTLE — Perhaps it angered a good many Mariners fans when the team's top baseball executive, Jerry Dipoto, discussed the offense earlier in the week. As the public — and this writer — clamored for the M's to add an impactful bat, Dipoto justified standing pat by citing Seattle's offensive road stats.
The Mariners play in a pitcher-...Read more

He's back: Kiké Hernández agrees to deal with Dodgers
LOS ANGELES — After welcoming a flurry of new faces to the organization this offseason, the Dodgers brought back a much more familiar figure on Sunday.
The team and Kiké Hernández have agreed on a contract that will see the veteran utilityman re-sign with the club for its World Series defense in 2025, according to a person with knowledge of...Read more

Bill Madden: Everybody's happy Pete Alonso is back with Mets, but Polar Bear needs big season
NEW YORK — So Pete Alonso is back with the Mets and everyone is happy.
The Polar Bear is happy because he never wanted to leave the Mets, especially after he grudgingly came to realize he didn’t have a market. Steve Cohen is happy because he got to appease Mets fans in bringing back their favorite son — at his price. David Stearns is ...Read more

Padres spring training about to begin, for better or worse
SAN DIEGO — Since we last saw them, lifeless after having reached the doorstep of advancing past the Dodgers in the postseason, the Padres have hardly stirred.
They extended the contracts of their manager and almost the entirety of their coaching staff. They re-signed utility player Tyler Wade. They have added three free agents (part-time ...Read more

Former Orioles 1B/OF Trey Mancini reportedly signs minors deal with Diamondbacks
BALTIMORE — Trey Mancini’s comeback bid is on.
After being cut by the Miami Marlins last spring and failing to latch on with another club, the former Orioles first baseman and outfielder signed a minor league contract with the Arizona Diamondbacks on Friday with an invitation to spring training, according to multiple reports.
Mancini, 32, ...Read more

Gleyber Torres responds after Yankees GM Brian Cashman notes he resisted move to third base
NEW YORK — Gleyber Torres would like to turn the page.
The former Yankees and new Tigers second baseman made that clear in a since-deleted social media post on Thursday night, which came after the YES Network aired an interview with Brian Cashman. In the interview, the general manager said that he acquired Jazz Chisholm Jr. from the Marlins ...Read more

Bill Shaikin: Are the Dodgers ruining baseball? 'There are some owners that have concerns.'
PALM BEACH, Fla. — Are the Dodgers ruining baseball?
“I don’t think so,” said Mark Walter, the Dodgers’ controlling owner.
Let’s ask someone not wearing a Dodgers polo shirt. Are the Dodgers ruining baseball?
“I don’t agree with that,” said Rob Manfred, the commissioner of Major League Baseball.
The Dodgers’ current ...Read more

Interpreter who stole millions from Shohei Ohtani gets more than four years in prison
LOS ANGELES — Ippei Mizuhara, the former interpreter for Dodgers superstar Shohei Ohtani, has been sentenced to more than four years in federal prison for stealing nearly $17 million from the Japanese baseball player to cover debts.
Mizuhara, 40, previously pleaded guilty in June to bank and tax fraud. U.S District Court Judge John W. Holcomb...Read more

MLB owners approve John Seidler as Padres' new control person
PALM BEACH, Fla. — There is a new person in charge of the Padres.
Or there will be.
Major League Baseball owners voted Thursday to approve John Seidler as control person of the Padres.
Usually, such a vote involves a transfer of ownership. Thursday was essentially a handoff to the oldest brother of former Padres chairman Peter Seidler, who ...Read more

A cautious Rob Manfred says MLB's 'values on diversity remain unchanged'
PALM BEACH, Fla. — Three days after NFL commissioner Roger Goodell said his league would remain committed to its diversity initiatives, Major League Baseball commissioner Rob Manfred said his league would, too — albeit more cautiously.
"Our values on diversity remain unchanged, but another value that is pretty important to us is, we always ...Read more

'Are the Dodgers crazy?' How baseball's newest big-market antihero reacts to villain storyline.
LOS ANGELES — For the first of what's certain to be many times, following a blockbuster offseason of seemingly limitless roster spending, Dodgers players were asked about the same hot-button topic last weekend.
Were they surprised how the rest of the sport recoiled in the face of the team's freewheeling winter, in which the Dodgers made half ...Read more

Pete Alonso agrees to return to Mets on 2-year, $54 million deal: reports
NEW YORK — Pete Alonso isn’t going anywhere.
In a surprise development, the fan-favorite first baseman reached a two-year, $54 million contract to return to the Mets, according to multiple reports. The first baseman will be making $30 million next season and owns a $24 million player option for the 2026 season.
Alonso’s agreement ...Read more

Angels extend their Angel Stadium lease, committing to the venue through 2032
ANAHEIM, Calif. — The Angels extended their stay at Angel Stadium for three more years, committing to remain at their Anaheim home through 2032.
The Angels' future had been murky since a deal with the city collapsed in 2022. Under that deal, the team would have renovated or replaced Angel Stadium and committed to play there through 2050.
...Read more

Mike Vorel: Defending the 'dismay' expressed by more than a few Mariners fans
SEATTLE — Two weeks before position players report to spring training in Peoria, Ariz., Jerry Dipoto acknowledged that there won't be many new names among them ...
"Much to, I think, the dismay of a few."
A few more than a few.
The 2024 Mariners (85-77), after all, finished one game out of a wild-card spot — thanks to an offense that ...Read more

Yankees fan who grabbed Mookie Betts' glove bombarded with messages, anonymous packages: 'I just want to be forgotten'
NEW YORK — The Yankees fan who ripped the ball from Mookie Betts’ glove at the World Series has since received social-media vitriol, profanity-riddled voicemails and even a package containing feces, he said in a new interview.
In his first comments since MLB banned him indefinitely, Austin Capobianco told The Athletic he regrets the ...Read more

Tom Krasovic: Padres have been smarter, savvier under A.J. Preller
SAN DIEGO — It took a while, but A.J. Preller — entering his 11th spring training with the Padres — has established San Diego as one of the National League’s smarter franchises.
Don’t take it only from me. Take it from executives with other teams.
Front-office folks surveyed by MLB.com this winter have voted the small-market Padres ...Read more

Dodgers trade reliever Ryan Brasier to the Cubs
LOS ANGELES — Ryan Brasier's time with the Dodgers officially ended on Tuesday, with the veteran reliever being traded to the Chicago Cubs less than a week after being designated for assignment.
Brasier, 37, was DFA'd by the Dodgers last week in order to make room on their 40-man roster for newly signed veteran reliever Kirby Yates.
The ...Read more

Former Met J.D. Martinez will pivot to pickleball after retirement: 'I see pickleball as a sport I'll be involved in for the long run'
NEW YORK — J.D. Martinez hasn’t officially retired from baseball, but he’s already planning a post-retirement pivot to pickleball. Table tennis and pickleball equipment manufacturer JOOLA announced a sponsorship contract Tuesday, detailing the free agent DH’s intention to compete in competitive pickleball when his baseball career comes ...Read more

John Romano: Rays' signing of Ha-Seong Kim is one more example of MLB's broken system
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Welcome to baseball’s problem in a nutshell.
Was enjoying a quiet Sunday morning reading the Tampa Bay Times when I came across this phrase in a Marc Topkin analysis of Ha-Seong Kim’s two-year, $29 million deal with the Rays:
“… the second largest the Rays ever have given a free-agent position player, behind ...Read more
Popular Stories
- Matt Calkins: Mariners' T-Mobile Park might be skewing perceptions more than we think
- Dave Roberts and Rich Aurilia bonded over wine as teammates. Now it's a business for them.
- He's back: Kiké Hernández agrees to deal with Dodgers
- Padres spring training about to begin, for better or worse
- Bill Madden: Everybody's happy Pete Alonso is back with Mets, but Polar Bear needs big season