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The league will accept bids for teams 25 and 26 up until the end of January, and will announce the location of those two clubs by the third quarter of 2017, league commissioner Don Garber said on a Thursday conference call. Those two clubs will begin play in the 2020 season. The locations and start date for clubs 27 and 28 will be announced at a later date. MLS said the franchise fee for teams 25 and 26 will be $150 million, with the fees for teams 27 and 28 yet to be determined....

WATCH: Lodeiro’s key away goal Montreal will host Toronto in the first leg of the Eastern final on Tuesday, Nov. 22 at 8 p.m. ET, with the return leg to be played in Toronto on Wednesday Nov. 30 at 7 p.m. ET. Seattle will also host Colorado on Nov. 22, with kickoff slated for 10 p.m. ET. The return leg for the West final will be held Sunday, Nov. 27 and is slated for a 4 p....

Felipe Gutierrez put the visiting side ahead inside 10 minutes and Johnny Russell doubled the lead just before the break for Sporting Kansas City. Bastian Schweinsteiger set the stage for a comeback by setting up Aleksandar Katai for Chicago’s first on 70 minutes, and the floodgates opened for the Fire. Two goals from Nemanja Nikolic followed, putting the home side in front in the 82nd. But the fireworks were far from over....

Villa struck early in the second half as a 10-man City recorded a 2-1 win over the Fire on Saturday. Get Seattle 8/11 vs San Jose Yangel Herrera was sent off in the 12th minute at Yankee Stadium after a rash challenge on Fire star Bastian Schweinsteiger. But Villa volleyed in the opener just after halftime before Frederic Brillant headed in the home side’s second. David Accam scored from 25 yards for Chicago, but they were unable to find another as their 11-match unbeaten league run was ended....

He’s the third consecutive shortstop taken atop the draft, the first time in draft history that’s happened. He’s the first prepster taken this year. He’s considered a power bat, wherever he eventually winds up defensively. MORE: Five worst MLB Draft misses for each franchise | Best picks, 1-50 Rockies fans, of course, will immediately look at Rodgers as the eventual replacement at shortstop for Troy Tulowitzki. Good luck with those expectations, eh?...

At 26 years old, Heyward was the most sought-after outfielder on baseball’s offseason market. He turned down offers of more than $200 million from several teams — the opt outs could be worth a fortune, though — according to Yahoo! Sports. TOP FREE AGENTS: 25 best | C | 1B | 2B | SS | 3B | OF | SP | RP A left-handed hitter and right fielder, Heyward started the 2015 season, his first with the Cardinals, a bit cold....

RUMOR: The Cubs want to land a haymaker to the Cardinals after jabbing St. Louis by signing free-agent pitcher John Lackey. Signing outfielder Jason Heyward, who spent 2015 with the Cardinals, would give Chicago a top all-around free-agent outfielder, plus allow it to use Jorge Soler as a trading chip, perhaps with the Braves for pitcher Shelby Miller. REPORTED BY: The Chicago Sun-Times TOP FREE AGENTS: 25 best | C | 1B | 2B | SS | 3B | OF | SP | RP...

The three-year deal, which became official after Span passed his physical, reportedly is worth $31 million plus incentives. (UPDATE: The San Jose Mercury News reported the contract also includes a $12 million mutual option for a fourth year with a $4 million buyout.) MORE: Old faces in new places | Top 10 highest-paid MLB players Span, 31, became one of baseball’s more versatile outfielders during his three seasons in Washington....

The Correa-Mets agreement is still in progress. Insiders claimed that they still held out hope that the sides would reach a compromise. However, the transaction is obviously at a turning point, and for the first time, the team is genuinely debating whether it wants to move forward. Carlos Correa and the Mets reached an agreement on a 12-year, $315 million contract on Dec. 21. Later on, medical examinations indicated ongoing issues regarding a prior ankle injury....

Josh Donaldson, Addison Russell, Wilmer Flores and Skip Schumaker all provided walk-off hits for their respective teams in a dramatic Tuesday night around MLB. Donaldson did so with a dramatic home run in the bottom of the ninth for a 10-9 Blue Jays win over the White Sox, while Flores helped the Mets escape the Phillies with a 5-4 win in the 10th. MORE: Report: Orioles to play Cuban national team in exhibition, MLB denies | Harper thinks he pops up, actually hits home run...

Sunday was a good day for pitchers. Yankees starter Michael Pineda kicked off the afternoon with 16 strikeouts against the Orioles, and the Indians’ Danny Salazar followed by striking out 11 against the Twins. Later in the day, Angels starter Garrett Richards struck out 10 Astros and Felix Hernandez became the fourth-youngest pitcher to reach 2,000 strikeouts, while Clayton Kershaw eclipsed the 1,500 career strikeout mark. MORE: Phillies fan’s impressive catch | Hamilton begins Triple-A assignment | McCutchen rids himself of demons...

Both teams have been playing outstanding baseball of late with the Cubs winning six of their last seven and the Giants taking 16 of their last 21. Madison Bumgarner pitched last night, taking him out of the series price equation, where the Cubs are listed as -140 favorites at William Hill sports books to take at least three of out four. MORE: Baseball’s best at hitting each pitch | Playoff panic...

Such is the world when Jose Altuve has come to the plate and gotten on base this postseason. The man who may be the American League MVP has reached base in 17 of 27 plate appearances against the Red Sox and Yankees, and reached home plate seven times. His bat and speed have reached another level in the playoffs, elevating him from greatness to something akin to divinity. Against the Yankees he is 5 for 8, but his legs have essentially won both games for the Astros....

That’s an essential truth for any baseball fan. Any sports fan, really. The umpires are easy scapegoats, the reasons your team won or lost on any given night. They screw the good guys out of wins, always. MORE: NLDS photos | ALDS images | Jays bash strike zone, replay Except that now, baseball has expanded replay, so for the most part there are few complaints about bang-bang plays at first, or fair/foul calls down the lines....

The rumor: Free-agent reliever Andrew Miller is seeking at least a four-year deal and “isn’t listening to any other offers unless the average annual value is ‘astounding,’ " Jason Mastrodonato of MassLive.com reports . HOT STOVE: Top 10 free-agent infielders | Outfielders | Pitchers | Catchers The rationale: Miller, 29, is perhaps the best relief pitcher on the market after a great year for the Red Sox and Orioles (73 games, 2....

Santana, who stopped by the Orioles' spring training complex in Sarasota, Fla., today, hasn't pitched since an aborted 2012 season with the New York Mets. He is recovering from the second of two shoulder surgeries and isn't expected to be ready until midseason. It has been a long, slow recovery for Santana, who turns 35 this month. Santana bombed out with the Mets, who trade four young players to get him and then locked him into a six-year, $137....

The announcement, reported by multiple media outlets, came only days after the Cuban federation released a list of 34 players it said was eligible to sign with MLB teams. Some of those players had been expected to be signed as soon as this season and playing in the U.S. MORE: Watch ‘ChangeUp,’ a new MLB live whiparound show on DAZN The agreement between MLB and the Cuban Baseball Federation, first negotiated by the Obama administration, was aimed at preventing players in Cuba from embarking on risky escapes in their effort to make it to the U....

The official MLB Twitter account announced today that Major League Baseball’s Game of the Week is returning to YouTube once more, and the first seven games have already been lined up. So, starting next month, you’ll be able to catch a live stream of each week’s big game. Only part of the schedule has been revealed so far, however, with everything from June 22 through the end of the season on October 5 still up in the air....

Oakland A’s reporter Susan Slusser first noticed Henderson in a promotional image released by Disney/Pixar. Henderson is in bobblehead form and is standing next to Woody in what looks like an antique shop. If you’re wondering how we know it’s Henderson and not some other random Athletics player, it’s because of the pose. After Henderson captured the base-stealing record, he put both of his arms up in the air with the base in hand....

Here is a look back at nine of the biggest trades of July 2011, and what resulted from them. Phillies acquired Hunter Pence and cash from Astros for Jarred Cosart, Jon Singleton, Josh Zeid and a player to be named later (Domingo Santana) Pence wound up playing 155 games for the Phillies, hitting .289/.357/.486 with 28 homers before he was traded to the Giants at the 2012 trade deadline for Tommy Joseph, Seth Rosin and Nate Schierholtz....