free-agency Page 7 - Sports News, Headlines & Highlights

Fixing MLB's Broken Economics Is About More Than Free Agency<em></em>
There have been a number of significant hints that MLB and the Major League Baseball Players Association are headed for some very combative collective bargaining in 2021, but the two sides being willing to talk about economics ahead of schedule will stand out to anyone who has ever been through thi...

Did Le'Veon Bell Make The Right Decision?
The Le’Veon Bell contract saga was always going to be about much more than Le’Veon Bell. Bell refused to play the 2018 season on a second franchise tag—after passing on a long-term contract offer from the Steelers that would have made him the league’s highest-paid running back, but was short on full...

Le'Veon Bell's Jets Deal Is A Good Reminder: Guarantees Are Not Always Guaranteed
The Le’Veon Bell contract saga, two years and three negotiating cycles in the making, finally concluded just after midnight today. Bell will play for the Jets, for a reported $52.5 million across a max of four years, with a max value of $61 million, and guarantees totaling $35 million. There are a l...

Le'Veon Bell Continues Self-Imposed NFL Exile By Signing With Jets
It took a year-long holdout, and alienating many of his Steelers teammates, and enduring the experience of having his role comfortably usurped by another dirt-cheap replacement, but Le’Veon Bell has finally successfully ducked franchise tag hell and engineered his way to a long-term contract. Sadly...

Anthony Barr Just Couldn't Bring Himself To Join The Jets
That free-agent deal that Vikings linebacker Anthony Barr reportedly agreed to last night with the Jets? On second thought ......

The Phillies Knew Their Fans Wanted Bryce Harper Over Manny Machado
The Phillies eventually got their man in Bryce Harper, even if it took all damn winter, but they were always favored to get someone, given that principal owner John Middleton perhaps unwisely admitted the team’s willingness to spend “stupid” money. What was in dispute was whether their primary targe...

The Bryce Harper Sweepstakes Made Dummies Of Us All
The last time we saw Bryce Harper’s name linked to the Philadelphia Phillies, we were told he hated Philadelphia, the shambolic organization, and especially manager Gabe Kapler, who is supposed to be as mad as a brush....

The Bryce Harper Sweepstakes Made Dummies Of Us All
The last time we saw Bryce Harper’s name linked to the Philadelphia Phillies, we were told he hated Philadelphia, the shambolic organization, and especially manager Gabe Kapler, who is supposed to be as mad as a brush....

These Were Bryce Harper's Other Offers
Bryce Harper is a Phillie, finally. It was a long, drawn-out process that turned fans insane and made reporters stupid. But the seeming interminability of it all ultimately served Harper’s purposes: It wasn’t until this last week that the Phillies offered record money or a 13-year contract. Harper a...

These Were Bryce Harper's Other Offers
Bryce Harper is a Phillie, finally. It was a long, drawn-out process that turned fans insane and made reporters stupid. But the seeming interminability of it all ultimately served Harper’s purposes: It wasn’t until this last week that the Phillies offered record money or a 13-year contract. Harper a...

Bryce Harper Finally Signs With The Phillies
After a long, stupid, painful process in free agency, Bryce Harper will be staying in the NL East. Jon Heyman first reported that the ex-Nationals outfielder will be going to Philly, and several other prominent baseball reporters confirmed it shortly after. Harper and the Phillies were reportedly “s...

Bryce Harper Finally Signs With The Phillies
After a long, stupid, painful process in free agency, Bryce Harper will be staying in the NL East. Jon Heyman first reported that the ex-Nationals outfielder will be going to Philly, and several other prominent baseball reporters confirmed it shortly after. Harper and the Phillies were reportedly “s...

Why Is Baseball's Biggest Drama So Damned Boring?
Bryce Harper has been “about to sign” with the Philadelphia Phillies for two weeks now, including one weekend when Andy MacPhail, the team’s chief baseball brain, said the Phillies were good with what they had and weren’t looking to add much in firepower or the payroll to fuel it....

Reports: Manny Machado Will Finally Be Signed, By The Padres
Manny Machado’s going to get the long-term security and money he wanted. The infielder will reportedly sign with the San Diego Padres on a 10-year, $300 million contract. The deal contains an opt-out after the fifth year, as reported by Yahoo Sports’ Tim Brown....

This Is What It Takes To Sign Auston Matthews
The thing about building an elite team—something the Leafs have done for the very first time in the salary-cap era—is that, very quickly, you have to figure out how to pay for it. It gets top-heavy, and you either have to get creative, or see it all fall apart. The Maple Leafs already agreed to pay ...

Kyrie Irving's Number Is Next Up In Disgruntled Superstar Bingo
With Kristaps Porzingis shipped off to Dallas and Anthony Davis in limbo between his current team and some hypothetical future team, the NBA’s attention has shifted over to the next potential domino: Kyrie Irving. Unlike Porzingis or Davis, Irving is the centerpiece of an actually good team, though ...

Oh Look, An Owner Of An MLB Team Has Brought Up Another Excuse To Not Pay Bryce Harper Or Manny Machado Their Worth
Astros owner Jim Crane was the latest team owner to give his opinion on why stars like Bryce Harper and Manny Machado aren’t receiving the blockbuster contracts many expected them to sign this offseason. At a team event on Friday, Crane, whose net worth is an estimated $2.5 billion, told reporters t...

Can Somebody Besides The White Sox Please Give Manny Machado An Offer?
MLB’s slow trudge towards the signing of top free agents Manny Machado and Bryce Harper may at last possibly be nearing a conclusion. It also may not be! But at the very least the speculation concerning those two stars’ final destinations seems to have narrowed dramatically. Unless any of the ubiqui...

Baseball Doesn't Need Collusion To Turn Off The Hot Stove
The baseball panic is rising. With every additional day that Bryce Harper and Manny Machado go unsigned—and Dallas Keuchel and Mike Moustakas and A.J. Pollock and Craig Kimbrel—the drumbeat strengthens: Something is wrong here. After all, as has been pointed out here, every team could use a Manny Ma...

We're Approaching The Endgame Of The Machado/Harper Negotiations
Depending on how much you’re willing to believe the reported rumors, there appear to now be clear frontrunners in what seems to be at best to be three-team races for top free agents Bryce Harper and Manny Machado....