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Blue Jays need some reality; Gooden, Strawberry numbers retired; Wainwright switches careers
In a lot of ways, feverishly watching the flight route of a plane that wasn’t everything it was cracked up to be is a pretty nice metaphor for the Toronto Blue Jays’ offseason and outlook. The Jays knew Shohei Ohtani wasn’t on that flight, but their fans certainly didn’t. That doesn’t mean that the ...

Atlanta Braves acquire washed-up pitcher
The Atlanta Braves are acquiring oft-injured pitcher Chris Sale from the Boston Red Sox in exchange for infielder Vaughn Grissom, according to ESPN’s Jeff Passan....

These are the worst MLB free-agent signings ever
The media and fans (not so) patiently waited for the two biggest free agents —Shohei Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto — to sign new deals with new teams. The American League MVP and the 25-year-old ace both inked pacts with the Los Angeles Dodgers, who have spent more than $1 billion so far this offsea...

The New York Mets can, and should fall back on their billionaire owner
Welp, so much for that idea. Yoshinobu Yamamoto is a Los Angeles Dodger, and the New York Mets are still the Mets. After putting on a full-court press for the Japanese ace, giving it 115 percent, and leaving it all on the field, owner Steve Cohen’s efforts amounted to diddly squat. Now it’s back to ...

Yoshinobu Yamamoto’s free agency is a lot more interesting because there’s a lot less Dodgers
The Yoshinobu Yamamoto sweepstakes are infinitely more interesting and illuminating than Shohei Ohtani’s free agency for many reasons: People have been allowed to report on them, there seem to be more suitors than just the Dodgers and a couple are based in the last few baseball-rabid markets in Amer...

This week in MLB: Shohei Ohtani stirs controversy; Mariners' tough spot is bad for game; Juan Soto takes NY
Maybe GM Jerry Dipoto is trying to make that 54 percent a real challenge. ...

Every trade ever made between the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox
Amidst slow winter meetings, two of baseball’s biggest rivals broke the ice by making a rare trade. The New York Yankees acquired Boston Red Sox outfielder Alex Verdugo in exchange for Richard Fitts, Greg Weissert, and Nicholas Judice. ...

Yankees trade for outfielder — no, not that one
We all know the New York Yankees were in the market for a left fielder. But while linked to San Diego Padres slugger Juan Soto, the Bronx Bombers instead swung a trade with the rival Red Sox for Alex Verdugo — a right fielder. ...

Will the Texas Rangers please <i>PLEASE</i> knock off the Astros?
Was it inevitable? One won the American League West, while the other led it for most of the season and was forced to go the wild-card route to make it to this stage. The Texas Rangers and Houston Astros share a state and are bitter rivals and will face each other in the postseason for the first time...

Now comes the tricky part for the Orioles
It’s awfully easy, and too easy, to point at an up-and-coming team like the Rangers that spent a lot of money to augment the players they developed from within and say that’s the reason they clobbered an up-and-coming team like the Orioles that did the exact opposite, basically only adding the decre...

Your MLB team is out, so who do you root for?
Playoff baseball is in full swing. As we move closer to crowning a champion, who do you root for if your team has been eliminated? Do you stick with a club in your favorite squad’s league? Support the underdog? Or just watch football or whatever else is on TV? ...

MLB got what it deserves with its wild-card round
MLB and Rob Manfred don’t really have to care what happens in the wildcard round. Their only aim was to provide more playoff baseball, good or not, because its mere existence netted them more TV cash. So the fact that MLB will get no Game 3s, no interesting storylines, and barely any drama, followin...