HOUSTON — The Yankees acquired Juan Soto predominantly for his bat and his eye. But it was his arm that saved them in his Yankees debut. Soto threw out a runner at the plate in the bottom of the ninth inning to help preserve a 5-4 comeback win over the Astros in Thursday’s Opening Day … Read more
The free agent market’s best designated hitter this side of Shohei Ohtani has found a new home. After a potent return-to-form last season, J.D. Martinez signed a 1-year, $12-million deal with the New York Mets on Thursday, pending a physical, league sources said. MLB Network insider Jon Heyman was first to report the news. With … Read more
Do Harry Marino and his supporters have enough votes to remove Tony Clark as head of the Major League Baseball Players Association? The showdown between Marino and the union’s leaders, Clark and his No. 2, Bruce Meyer, might hinge on that answer, according to interviews with people briefed on the situation. Some club player reps … Read more
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — When you come to Tropicana Field for a Tampa Bay Rays game this season, you will see a major change. For the first time at The Trop, fans will see a striped field. The turf will resemble a mowed grass field. Rubber pellets are being substituted for coconut husks in the … Read more
With ESPN’s direct-to-consumer plan, the network is attempting to uphold its mission statement of, “Serving sports fans. Anytime. Anywhere.” In the process, Disney CEO Bob Iger and ESPN chairman Jimmy Pitaro are looking to make deals. Anytime. Anywhere. Iger and Pitaro are trying, through equity stake talks with the biggest leagues and with distribution discussions … Read more
The Houston Astros are at it again. In January, they signed closer Josh Hader, the best closer on the free-agent market. Now, according to sources briefed on their discussions, they are engaged in a serious pursuit of left-hander Blake Snell, the best starter on the market. Snell, 31, is believed to be seeking the same … Read more
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — Shohei Ohtani and his wife arrived in South Korea with his Los Angeles Dodgers teammates on Friday ahead of their season-opening games with the San Diego Padres next week. Ohtani, wearing a black training suit and a cap backwards, was the first Dodgers player who showed up at the arrival … Read more
PEORIA, Ariz. — A.J. Preller did not, in fact, sit on his hands all the way until Opening Day. It is not his style. It never has been. Instead, the San Diego Padres’ president of baseball operations and a sizable contingent from his front office sat inside Goodyear Ballpark on Tuesday night, watching coveted right-hander … Read more
Commercial content 21+. The injury bug has delivered a massive blow to Gerrit Cole’s bid for a second straight American League Cy Young Award. The Yankees ace, who was a consensus favorite to repeat less than a week ago, is out at least 1 to 2 months with an elbow injury, The Post first reported … Read more
Early Tuesday, I heard the Texas Rangers might be close to acquiring Chicago White Sox right-hander Dylan Cease. The tip turned out not to be true, at least at that moment, but two sources briefed on the talks confirmed the teams engaged in recent discussions. Which makes sense. There are growing indications that the White … Read more