Over the next week, players will have a chance to complete a new Conquest map and obtain units from a new series pack as part of the festivities. MLB The Show 22 is fresh off a successful week with its Spring Cleanup Event, which featured five bosses to challenge and takedown to receive great rewards. RELATED: MLB The Show 22 Content Stream Reveals New Bosses, Roster Updates and More...
Ichiro still is on the roster in the Bronx, due $6.5 million for 2014. The 40-year-old outfielder is 258 hits away from 3,000 in his major league career after reaching the milestone of 4,000 combined in MLB and Japan this past season. That career highlight was a happy part of an otherwise lousy season, as Ichiro hit .262/.297/.342 with a career-low 136 hits for the season. With Beltran joining an outfield that includes fellow free agent signee Jacoby Ellsbury, as well as holdovers Brett Gardner and Alfonso Soriano, the Yankees have a choice to make between Ichiro and Vernon Wells, because they currently have six outfielders under contract....
St. Louis has done its “due diligence” on Giants lefty Tony Watson, according to The Athletic. It is unclear if this means the team is heavily pursuing him, but it likely means the Cardinals have scouted a few of his outings and have made a decision as to whether or not he would fit in with the pitching staff. Watson is 2-0 with a 2.85 ERA in 44 games this season....
The Orioles have a superstar shortstop they’re willing — and motivated — to deal. Is this match going to work? There are complications, but this almost makes too much sense not to. Manny Machado is a superstar free-agent-to-be who is having a fantastic season for a team that’s otherwise been pretty disappointing (Dylan Bundy is an exception). He’s not re-signing with the Orioles; he’s expected to command a free-agent deal possibly worth north of $300 million....
The problem with having good young players, though, is those players eventually have to get paid. The Pittsburgh front office tried to extend their window of contention, signing Andrew McCutchen, Josh Harrison, Starling Marte and Gregory Polanco to longer-term deals. Some worked out, some haven’t. MORE: Ranking the most important January trades since 2000 The Pirates haven’t even reached 80 wins the past two seasons, and that same front office has difficult decisions to make....
Leake is set to make $9.775 million in his final year of salary arbitration. The 27-year-old is 3-4 with a 4.35 ERA and 48 strikeouts in 82 2/3 innings, but pitches in one of the most hitter-friendly parks in baseball. MORE: Baseball’s worst everyday players Cueto is the bigger name, but also will have a higher price tag. Numerous teams reportedly are interested in the 29-year-old with a 4-4 record and 2....
The Mets right-hander leads MLB with his 1.68 ERA and he tops the NL with his 2.33 FIP, to go with 149 strikeouts and only 90 hits allowed in 123 1/3 innings pitched. He’s allowed one or fewer earned runs in 14 of his 19 starts this season. It feels like a long time ago, but when deGrom and his Mets were in the playoffs, he was outstanding, rolling up a 2....
The club would prefer to dangle Gee in trade negotiations more so than other starting pitchers Jonathon Niese and Bartolo Colon, Rubin reports. The Royals and Rangers are likely trading partners with the Mets, according to MLB.com’s nthony DiComo. The Mets are looking to for an upgrade from shortstop Wilmer Flores and are seeking to add a left-handed reliever and a right-handed bench bat this offseason, DiComo said. The Royals, who are unlikely to re-sign free-agent ace James Shields, would welcome Gee with the hopes of returning to the World Series....
Facing off against the Pittsburgh Pirates, the St. Louis Cardinals were down 5-0 in the sixth inning at the time of writing. On the season, they’re 34-27, good enough to place them first in the National League Central. When asked about being a Cardinals fan, Rock didn’t hesitate with an answer. He stated exactly why he loves St. Louis so much. His team wasn’t playing their best baseball with him at the game, but Rock didn’t care....
And Goldschmidt loves playing at home. The St. Louis Cardinals are hosting the Pittsburgh Pirates this week for four games. Yesterday, they played game one of the series, and Goldschmidt made his presence known. The right-handed batter crushed a home run and a double en route to his team overcoming a five-run deficit to win 7-5. Today, he kept it going. In the first game of today’s double-header, Goldschmidt crushed another home run and batted in three runs....
Trout went 2 for 5 with two home runs and four RBIs on Wednesday in the Angels’ 6-2 win over the Rangers. He now leads LeMahieu in every category offensively save two — batting average and hits. In fact, LeMahieu leads Trout significantly on those fronts, as he finished the Yankees’ 5-1 win over the Mets with a .342 average and 110 hits on the season. But here’s the kicker, despite leading Trout by nearly 50 points in average, Trout is beating LeMahieu by 65 points in on-base percentage....
According to SI.com, which cited multiple unidentified sources, while the focus remains on a trio of cities — St. Louis, Sacramento and Charlotte — St. Louis is furthest along in the process, a sentiment that Garber reinforced. “We are in very advanced discussions in St. Louis, and we really appreciated the details that they provided,” Garber said. “We look forward to continuing those discussions in the weeks and months ahead....
A brace from Abu Danladi helped Minnesota United to a surprise 2-1 win against the Fire at Toyota Park. It marked a fourth consecutive defeat for Chicago, which has fallen off the pace and is fourth in the Eastern Conference. Danladi opened the scoring nine minutes before halftime, tapping in an Ethan Finlay pass. The Ghanaian forward struck again before the break, getting on the end of a Jerome Thiesson cross from the right....
It's a common directive from coaches as their players get ready to step into the batter's box. They adjust their gloves, tap their cleats and move their helmet to just the right spot. A batter is equipped with a helmet in case of a wild pitch or errant throw on the base path. A pitcher, tasked with fielding the "right up the middle" part of the diamond on 1/3 of a second of reaction time, has none....
The National League features a few interesting early-season divisional tilts that could lay down early markers. The Cardinals look to even up their series with the Brewers after a tough 5-4 loss on opening day, while the Diamondbacks will call on Robbie Ray to attempt to right the ship after they allowed a record eight home runs to the Dodgers yesterday afternoon. The final game of the night features the new look Padres looking to start the season 2-0 versus the Giants with talented young arm Joey Luchhesi on the mound....
The chorus was assembled and prepared to sing the “The Star-Spangled Banner” when a recorded voice of a woman singing came over the loudspeakers. When the song ended, the 100 members were escorted off the field and, according to members of the chorus, “heckled with homophobic taunts.” MORE: Oral history of Roseanne Barr’s botched national anthem in San Diego Here is an excerpt from MLB’s statement: “The Department of Investigations has concluded that the San Diego Gay Men’s Chorus has performed the Star-Spangled Banner multiple times before a Padres game; that Saturday’s regrettable situation was a product of human error; that the situation was exacerbated by the fact that the lead entertainment supervisor was involved in a car accident on Friday night and thus was unable to work on Saturday and handle his typical responsibilities; that employees involved in the matter were handling new duties with which they were insufficiently familiar; and that the employees involved had no malicious intentions and, in fact, universally relayed contrition for how the incident unfolded and the adverse impression that it created....
O’Dowd, now a regular analyst for the network, is in his fourth decade of involvement with the MLB Draft, though. O’Dowd’s front-office career started with the Orioles, and in 1988 he moved to Cleveland to become the director of player development, then was promoted to assistant GM in 1993. In 1999, he was named general manager of the Colorado Rockies, and he held that post for 15 years. MORE: SN’s latest MLB Mock Draft...
Reigning National League MVP Clayton Kershaw fired yet another gem Thursday, a three-hit shutout against the Mets at Citi Field. He struck out 11 without issuing a walk in the 3-0 Dodgers victory. He also carried a perfect game into the seventh inning before Curtis Granderson broke it up with a leadoff single. MORE: See which active players are bound for the Hall of Fame | Cowherd’s statements on Dominicans in baseball were stupid...
The Bears, rather Cubs, shut out the Browns, err, Indians, in a 17-0 shellacking Wednesday night at Progressive Field. MORE: Joc better than Duke in field? Scully argues case | Gallo crushes HR off Kershaw Cubs rookie Kris Bryant smacked his first career grand slam (off Indians outfielder David Murphy) as part of a seven-run ninth inning that added an exclamation point to Chicago’s dominance. Six players had multiple hits for the Cubs, who pounded out 18 in all, including seven for extra bases and four home runs....
The current deal expires Dec. 1, which means the two sides have just over a week to reach an agreement. It would mark the first MLB lockout in 21 years. MORE: The 40 most influential people in baseball history According to the report, owners have become frustrated with the players’ union not moving at a quicker pace to get many important issues resolved. Three of the largest issues at play are the proposal of an international draft, the competitive-balance tax and the Joint Drug Agreement....
