ARLINGTON, Texas — Manager Bruce Bochy, pitching coach Mike Maddux, outfielder Adolis Garcia and All-Star second baseman Marcus Semien all shared one thing in common beyond their time together with the Texas Rangers — they weren’t cheap.

Their departures from the team this offseason have led many a scarred Ranger fan to believe the ...Read more

PHILADELPHIA — Matt Strahm ranked among the most effective lefty relievers in baseball over the last three seasons.

Yet, to the Phillies, he was expendable.

In a move that saved nearly $7 million to help address other needs (re-signing J.T. Realmuto?) — and may have been spurred by an increasingly strained relationship between the team and...Read more

TAMPA, Fla. — The Rays had a busy Friday that seemed to shift their focus to the future, trading two-time All-Star slugger Brandon Lowe and two other major leaguers to the Pirates in a three-team deal, and sending starting pitcher Shane Baz to the division rival Orioles for a haul of four prospects and a draft pick.

The trade of Baz, who went...Read more

SANTA ANA, Calif. — The family of deceased pitcher Tyler Skaggs and the Angels reached a settlement Friday, ending a contentious trial as jurors had begun a third day of deliberations regarding Skaggs' drug-related death on the road with the team. Terms of the agreement, which followed 31 days of testimony and four years of legal wrangling, ...Read more

TAMPA, Fla. — The Rays had a busy Friday that seemed to shift their focus to the future, trading starting pitcher Shane Baz to the Orioles for four prospects and a draft pick, and working on another deal that would ship out veteran infielder Brandon Lowe and two other major leaguers to bring back two other prospects.

The trade of Baz, who ...Read more

NEW YORK — Over the last two seasons, four pitchers have saved eight or more games for the Yankees. Three of those pitchers are now with the Mets.

The Mets might have a pitching lab in Port St. Lucie, Fla., but there’s a pitching pipeline that has suddenly developed over the last few years that goes from the Bronx to Queens. Luke Weaver ...Read more

PHILADELPHIA — Adolis García is the new Nick Castellanos. That’s the simplest way to look at the Phillies agreeing to a one-year, $10 million contract with the former Rangers star on Monday. It’s true on a lot of different levels, including some that will make you scratch your head about why Dave Dombrowski decided to go in this direction...Read more

LOS ANGELES — Four years after the family of deceased Angels pitcher Tyler Skaggs filed a wrongful death suit against the Angels, and two months into often contentious testimony in an Orange County Superior Court courtroom, jurors are set to begin deliberations on whether Skaggs' widow and parents deserve hundreds of millions of dollars.

...Read more

LOS ANGELES — Proving yet again that nobody combines excitement and entertainment like these guys, this week the Los Angeles Dodgers made baseball's most important winter deal.

They acquired Timmy Trumpet.

In real life he's an Australian impresario who, surprise, plays the trumpet. But in the breathtaking world of ninth-inning baseball, he's...Read more

TAMPA, Fla. — He is 24 years old and has lost most everything he once held dear in his life.

The paychecks, at one time scheduled to potentially accumulate in excess of $200 million, are no longer deposited in his bank account. The career, which he spent the greater part of his youth creating, is on perpetual hold. The lifelong dreams, ...Read more

PHILADELPHIA — After a spring training workout in February, Kyle Schwarber contemplated the likelihood of the Phillies keeping most of the roster’s core intact through the end of the decade.

“I think we would love to all finish our careers together,” he said. “But who would want to come out and watch a bunch of 40-year-old dudes play ...Read more

ST. LOUIS — With opportunity to offer a pitcher looking to reestablish health and performance, the Cardinals made their first leap of the winter in free agency on Saturday.

Right-handed starter Dustin May and the Cardinals reached an agreement on a one-year deal, the Post-Dispatch confirmed via multiple sources. The deal, which was first ...Read more

DETROIT — The Tigers have made their first splash signing of the offseason.

On Saturday, they reached an agreement on a one-year deal worth $11 million with veteran leverage reliever Kenley Jansen, per multiple reports and confirmed by the Detroit News.

The deal, which will include an option for 2027, is pending a physical.

Jansen, 38, has ...Read more

NEW YORK — The New York Mets are back on the board.

After losing Pete Alonso to the Baltimore Orioles and Edwin Diaz to the Los Angeles Dodgers at the Winter Meetings, the Mets have inked infielder Jorge Polanco to a two-year, $40 million deal, according to multiple reports.

Polanco spent last season with the Seattle Mariners, where he ...Read more

LOS ANGELES — A large group of Dodgers fans enthusiastically answered the call during an August home game against the Arizona Diamondbacks. It was the team's eighth annual Union Night celebration, and while cheering for the Dodgers, fans also chanted for their local.

"Who are we?" a leather-lunged fan shouted.

"Teamsters!" came the reply.

...Read more

BALTIMORE — Invoking the name of Frank Robinson is no small gesture in Baltimore.

The Orioles traded for the Hall of Fame outfielder in 1966, acquiring him from the Cincinnati Reds to be the missing piece for a young, up-and-coming organization. The Reds were concerned about how the then-30-year-old would age and the Orioles scooped him up ...Read more

LOS ANGELES — At the start of the winter, the assumption was that top free-agent closer Edwin Díaz would fall out of the Dodgers' preferred price range.

Knowing they needed bullpen help, however, the Dodgers decided to reach out with interest anyway.

What followed will go down as one of the most surprising outcomes of this MLB offseason. ...Read more

LOS ANGELES — A large group of Dodgers fans enthusiastically answered the call during an August home game against the Arizona Diamondbacks. It was the team's eighth annual Union Night celebration, and while cheering for the Dodgers, fans also chanted for their local.

"Who are we?" a leather-lunged fan shouted.

"Teamsters!" came the reply.

...Read more