SAN DIEGO -- Commissioner Rob Manfred took a contentious stance Wednesday at the winter meetings when addressing the owners' plan to eliminate 42 minor league teams, in the name of what he said would be better facilities, travel arrangements and pay for minor league players.

Although major league owners successfully lobbied Congress last year ...Read more

SAN DIEGO -- The Los Angeles Angels spent the last week watching starting pitchers come off the board. In the face of a fast-moving free-agent market, general manager Billy Eppler and his staff scrapped multiple plans plotting a path toward contention.

"There are a lot of ways to create a winning team," Eppler said late Wednesday in response to...Read more

SAN DIEGO -- The only area the Dodgers have specifically sought to upgrade this offseason is the bullpen. As president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman described it, the need to bolster a relief corps is "omnipresent."

The Dodgers were specifically looking for someone they believe could dominate batters in the later innings. On Wednesday,...Read more

SAN DIEGO -- The Braves surely are exploring unpredictable avenues, but they've been clear about their hopes to supplement their lineup with power. The addition could come at third base or the outfield; it could be re-signing Josh Donaldson or bringing in an alternative.

"It's fair to say we'd like to do something for the middle of the order," ...Read more

SAN DIEGO -- The Los Angeles Angels on Tuesday traded veteran infielder Zack Cozart and 2019 first-round draft pick Will Wilson to the San Francisco Giants for cash or a player to be named, clearing space on the payroll and roster as negotiations heat up at baseball's winter meetings.

Cozart, 34, signed a three-year contract as a free agent ...Read more

SAN DIEGO -- After years of slowed-down signings in free agency and a general cooling of baseball's hot stove, the winter meetings kicked off Monday with a flurry of activity and World Series Most Valuable Player Stephen Strasburg re-signing with the Washington Nationals for a record contract.

But as the player movement that's made the baseball...Read more

SAN DIEGO -- For the past year, if not longer, the general assumption when it came to the Texas Rangers' finances was that ownership was biding its time for 2020.

The new ballpark, with the roof the owners wanted, would be ready for play.

The rebuild would be further along, with more known about the young players on the roster and with the ...Read more

SAN DIEGO -- As the baseball world came together here Monday for the start of the winter meetings, the Phillies put a bow on their first big piece of offseason business.

Five days after reaching agreement on contract terms with free-agent pitcher Zack Wheeler, the Phillies finalized the five-year, $118 million deal. The 29-year-old right-hander...Read more

When members of Mike Shildt's major-league staff begin contacting position players next week to discuss reports delivered this week and discuss how they'll prepare for this spring, the information will all be individualized, but the first question won't be.

"It's always going to be: 'What do you think?'" Shildt, the Cardinals' manager, said ...Read more

SAN DIEGO -- As Braves general manager Alex Anthopoulos readies for baseball's winter meetings, which open Monday in San Diego, most of his to-do boxes are already checked.

Anthopoulos has wasted no time since the World Series concluded. He added All-Star reliever Will Smith on a healthy $13 million-a-year commitment. He retained seasoned ...Read more