Whitey Herzog, a Hall of Fame manager who led the St. Louis Cardinals to three World Series and the 1982 championship and worked for the Mets as a coach and director of player development from 1966-1972, has died. He was 92. “Whitey spent his last few days surrounded by his family,” the Herzog family said in a statement released through the Cardinals. “We have so appreciated...
The fired ex-interpreter of Shohei Ohtani was charged today with stealing more than $16 million from the superstar’s bank account. Ippei Mizuhara made the illegal transfers to pay off his own gambling debts that he piled up over several years with an illegal bookmaker, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, which filed the federal charges. “Mr. Ohtani is considered a victim...
The reigning National League champions just made the final splash of the 2024 offseason, signing pitcher Jordan Montgomery, according to ESPN’s Jeff Passan. Montgomery is the last big free agent to sign—just two days before the season starts—after an offseason marred by big names pushing their free agency well into February and March. Cody Bellinger, Blake Snell, Matt Chapman, and J.D....
It feels like March just started, and yet the end of spring training is fast approaching. However, MLB has begun heavily enforcing the obstruction around the bases rule, and those around the game are less than thrilled about some of the most recent calls and developments that have come about in that regard. Obstruction, as MLB defines it, is imposed when a fielder hinders a baserunner’s...
With free agency spending down significantly this off-season, a group of major and minor league players told MLB Players Association executive director Tony Clark they wanted to replace the union’s second-in-command on a zoom call yesterday, according to reports in ESPN and The Athletic. A majority of the dozens of players representatives on the Zoom pushed for the ousting of deputy...
The Mets got both sparkling and disastrous performances from their pitchers in Friday night’s game against the Nationals. On the positive end, Brooks Raley, Jórge Lopez, Junior Santos, and Phil Beckford gave up no run and just a combined two hits in the Mets’ 7-3 loss to the Nationals. Raley struck out six, Santos struck out one, and Phil Bickford fanned two to keep the Mets competitive....
The San Diego Padres are finalizing a trade to acquire pitcher Dylan Cease from the Chicago White Sox, sources told Jeff Passan of ESPN. The White Sox will receive reliever Steven Wilson and three of the Padres’ top 10 prospects, according to Bob Nightengale of USA Today. Cease, 28, was in trade rumors all winter after pitching to a 4.58 ERA, 1.41 WHIP and 3.72 FIP in 2023. It was a down...
Next year’s free agent class of starting pitchers was set to be strong with Corbin Burnes, Zack Wheeler, Max Fried, Walker Buehler, and Shane Bieber. Dylan Cease could also be available in a trade. For the New York Mets, after essentially skipping out on this year’s market (barring Blake Snell and Jordan Montgomery’s prices going down), they relied on this market to help out...
Very early Sunday morning, Jeff Passan of ESPN reported that the Chicago Cubs have reached an agreement with free agent outfielder Cody Bellinger. Bellinger is set to return to Chicago on a three-year deal worth a total of $80 million. The important aspect of the deal is there are opt outs after the first and second seasons of the contract, according to Passan. The 28-year-old Bellinger entered...
“The apparel,” Polonius advised his son Laertes in Shakespeare’s Hamlet, “oft proclaims the man.” New MLB uniforms, designed by Nike and manufactured by Fanatics, were met with mixed reviews by players as camps opened in Florida and Arizona. Officially dubbed the Nike Vapor Premier uniforms, the new look is tailored toward maximizing athletic performance, but they...
Former New York Mets general manager Billy Eppler got busted for doing what several general managers and front offices have also likely been doing for years. A phantom migraine over here, a fictional case of arm fatigue over there, you know the drill. Obviously, he shouldn’t have done it as blatantly as he did, but if he hadn’t, well, how many useful players would he have to...
Jeff Passan of ESPN reported Monday that the Kansas City Royals and star shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. are in agreement on an 11-year, $288.7 million extension. The deal, which includes opt-outs after the seventh, eighth, ninth and tenth years, is the largest contract in franchise history. Witt’s contract also includes a club option after the eleventh year that would add on an additional three...
