Posts

Miguel Cabrera, Ian Kinsler, Justin Verlander and J.D. Martinez have been part of the rumor mill this month. All four would garner a lofty return — with the possible exception of Martinez, who is only under club control for one more season. MORE: SN’s 2016 AL All-Star team It’s no secret Tigers owner Mike Ilitch, 87, desperately wants to see his beloved team win another World Series, which is why he awarded Cabrera, Verlander, Prince Fielder, Justin Upton, Anibal Sanchez, Jordan Zimmermann and Joe Nathan massive contracts over the past few seasons....

The rumor: The Yankees are interested in trading for Rangers shortstop Elvis Andrus as a replacement for Derek Jeter, according to the New York Post’s Joel Sherman . HOT STOVE: Top 10 free-agent infielders | Outfielders | Pitchers | Catchers The rationale: At the moment, the Yankees’ depth chart on MLB.com has exactly one player listed at shortstop. That’s Brendan Ryan. Nobody thinks the Yankees are prepared to open their first post-Jeter year with a 33-year-old shortstop who has hit ....

The Cincinnati Reds reportedly tried to pry Gardner away from the Yankees by offering up Brandon Phillips as a replacement for Robinson Cano at second base, but according to CBS Sports' Jon Heyman, among others, New York rejected that offer. — SN selects MLB’s 20 best managers of all time The reasoning behind the Yankees rejecting a Gardner-Phillips swap is fairly obvious. Gardner figures to make somewhere in the neighborhood of $4 million in arbitration, while Phillips has four years and $50 million left on his contract....

“Deal is done,” Real Salt Lake goalkeeper Nick Rimando told Reuters sports reporter Simon Evans . MORE: MLS preview | Sunderland scandal | Terry to stay with Chelsea Neither side has confirmed a deal is in place. Free-agent eligibility and player salaries were among the key issues in the labor dispute. MLS will open its season on time Friday night when the Chicago Fire square off against the defending MLS Cup champion LA Galaxy, according to the reports....

Garber, speaking at an event organized by the Associated Press Sports Editors featuring numerous U.S. sports commissioners, tackled several questions about MLS’s past and future with questions trending toward the latter. MORE: Garber wants U.S. players to stay home and help grow MLS “There are more cities now that are coming out and showing soccer success today that were never on our radar screen,” Garber said. The commissioner spoke highly of San Antonio’s recent sellout for a U....

Below, we’ll break down the current moneyline and over/under odds before providing some betting advice to aid in your handicapping of the game. MLB Field of Dreams betting odds Moneyline odds Cubs -110 (implied probability 52. 38 percent) Reds -110 (implied probability 52. 38 percent) With veteran lefty Drew Smyly (4-6, 3.97 ERA, 4.25 xFIP) on the bump for Chicago, the Cubs opened up as short favorites. Smyly’s coming off his best start of the season in the Cubs’ 4-0 victory over the Marlins last Saturday (6....

They had played in a winter league game in Venezuela Thursday night along with winter league teammate Carlos Rivero, according to reports. The car was being driven by Rivero’s driver when the car collided with a rock. Rivero and his driver survived the crash. MORE: Notable sports deaths of 2018 “The Astros family lost two young men yesterday, entirely too soon,” the Astros said in a statement released by the team....

About an hour earlier, Ryan Zimmerman met with a Nationals beat writer in the TV interview room, and not long after that started, Andrew Stevenson chatted with another beat reporter in an empty office. After Zimmerman was finished, rookie Luis Garcia met with a third beat writer in the TV room. “Honestly, I really do enjoy talking with you all,” Nationals manager Davey Martinez said, from his normal spot on that same breezy patio....

Scouts will spend countless hours studying statistics, film and medical records in the hopes of finding — and drafting — baseball’s the next superstar. But, for every Derek Jeter that makes it to the top of the sport, there are dozens of Matt Bush types that wash out during their time in the minor leagues after being drafted. That is to say, even the most “can’t miss” prospects often do, and accurately predicting which amateur players will turn into big league all-stars is incredibly difficult....

It’s safe to say Bryce Harper is on fire. The Nationals outfielder hit six home runs in his last three games, but possibly none bigger than the walkoff bomb he dropped on the Braves Saturday. Cubs third baseman Kris Bryant may have been batting .278 with a .422 OBP and 14 RBIs in his first 20 games. But until Saturday, he’d yet to hit the all-important first career home run....

It’s exactly five months since the Boston Red Sox won Game 5 of the World Series to claim their ninth title. After a slow start to baseball’s offseason, the drama ramped up in recent weeks with several of the biggest deals in MLB history taking place with some of the game’s most recognizable names. Watch ChangeUp, a new MLB live whiparound show on DAZN, on Opening Day Bryce Harper and Manny Machado held the sport hostage for months, negotiating record-breaking contracts with each landing in a new city....

Check The Linemakers on Sporting News’ odds page for current baseball lines from Las Vegas.Seattle Mariners +112 (@ Boston Red Sox) San Francisco Giants +150 (at Pittsburgh Pirates) Gerrit Cole (14-7, 2.61 ERA) vs Mike Leake (0-1, 2.84) The Pirates have upper hand here, but the value is with the visiting Giants. Bucs starting pitcher Gerrit Cole has been solid all season and boasts an excellent ERA as well as other stats, while Giants send Mike Leake to the mound right after his return from the DL....

No, some of them are more than mad. Some of them are downright furious. Few players have opened up about their feelings on the Astros’ sign-stealing scandal before the start of spring training, but as players start trickling into camp, a lot more have given their opinions about baseball’s biggest controversy since steroids. Here’s what they have to say: Cody Bellinger: ‘Everyone knows they stole the ring from us.’ One of the latest players to add fuel to the fire, the Los Angeles’ Dodgers’ MVP outfielder had some choice words for MLB commissioner Rob Manfred on Friday....

The 2020 MLB playoffs are here, with the World Series heading to Globe Life Park in Arlington, Texas. But before two teams vie for a world championship, 16 will take the field in an expanded playoff picture that kicks off on Tuesday, Sept. 29. MORE: SN’s predictions for pennant winners, World Series champ In a normal year, only 10 teams would enter in their chance to win the commissioner’s trophy, but the Players’ Association and the league agreed to expand the playoff picture on Opening Day, putting another six teams on the field come Tuesday....

MORE: Postseason schedule leading to the World Series The Dodgers won the NLCS and will face the Astros, who beat the Yankees in seven games in the ALCS, in the 2017 World Series, which will open in L.A. Sporting News takes a look at the full MLB playoff bracket. 2017 MLB playoff bracket Here is the MLB playoff picture (all times Eastern): AL wild-card game Oct. 3: Yankees 8, Twins 4...

Sports Illustrated reported Monday night that Astros assistant GM Brandon Taubman taunted female reporters in the clubhouse after the team reached the World Series, repeatedly yelling “Thank god we got (Roberto) Osuna” in their direction. Osuna, a relief pitcher, came to the club last year amid abuse allegations. Other outlets corroborated Sports Illustrated’s account, and NPR has since reported that Taubman was triggered by a female reporter’s purple bracelet meant to support victims of domestic violence, as well as previous tweets that shared phone numbers for domestic violence hotlines when Osuna took the mound....

Los Angeles made the tragic announcement of Skaggs’ death earlier in the day. Shortly after, players and teams posted heartfelt messages on social media remembering the pitcher. He was 27 years old. Skaggs grew up in the LA area and was selected by the Angels out of Santa Monica High School with the 40th overall pick in the 2009 MLB Draft. He was traded to the Diamondbacks in 2010 and made his major league debut with Arizona two years later....

“We have communicated (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) recommendations to our clubs and MLB employees and have provided factual information, including symptom identification and best practices on prevention,” an MLB spokesman told Washington, D.C., radio station WTOP. MORE: USOC consults with specialists There have been nine confirmed cases of the mosquito-borne virus in Florida. The Aedes aegypti mosquito, or Yellow Fever mosquito, is not indigenous to the United States, but has migrated north and adapted to harsher climates....

Although it is certainly shocking that Sony would allow one of its most well-established exclusives to go to a direct competitor’s console, even if it were MLB’s choice, it’s not without precedence. In 2020, the company decided to expand its horizons by releasing PlayStation exclusives on PC. Although this strategy has been implemented very carefully and slowly for the past year, it’s clear that Sony sees some benefit in loosening the terms of what makes its games “exclusive....