SEATTLE — The easy answer is, this team has more talent than any roster the Mariners have assembled since 2001. That’s why these Mariners have a real shot to win the World Series.

More than that, though, there’s a spirit and a camaraderie among these Mariners — a sincere belief and determination that they can win it all this fall.

...Read more

TAMPA, Fla. — The honeymoon starts now. With any luck, it will last through brunch.

By then, the Rays’ incoming ownership group will have been reminded that Tampa Bay needs a baseball stadium. That the payroll needs a boost. That Junior Caminero needs a pen, a notary and a contract extension that would make an accountant blush.

These are ...Read more

This year, October started a day early for the Dodgers.

Thanks to their underwhelming regular season, their march toward postseason history began before the month even started.

This season’s team, coaches and players acknowledged repeatedly in recent weeks, had played their way into this spot: Having to begin the playoffs on the last day of ...Read more

CHICAGO — Dansby Swanson doesn’t think he’s built to play football.

“But I can probably haul in a catch or two,” Swanson said.

The Chicago Cubs shortstop looked like a wide receiver while making a tremendous over-the-shoulder catch in shallow center field during a pivotal point in Game 1 of the National League wild-card series ...Read more

SAN DIEGO — It was this simple: Padres hitters weren’t good enough Tuesday afternoon in Game 1 of the best-of-three wild-card series.

And making the 3-1 road loss more concerning, the inadequate offense wasn’t surprising from a unit that ranked 18th of 30 major league teams in runs scored this season.

The Padres hit no home runs on a ...Read more

NEW YORK — Sometimes you just need to get an ace to put your rotation over the top.

The Mets sure could have used one over the weekend in Miami. They could have used someone who brings energy on the mound and pitches in a way that keeps everyone behind him engaged, pitch after pitch. In previous offseasons, president of baseball operations ...Read more

NEW YORK — In the span of 24 hours at last December’s MLB winter meetings in Dallas, the Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees each secured an ace left-hander to lead their respective team back to baseball’s promised land.

New York signed free agent Max Fried, outbidding Boston, among other suitors. The following day, the Red Sox acquired ...Read more

CLEVELAND — There should be no surprises. Not between these two teams. And certainly not at the point in the season.

But here was one, just in time to remind everyone in the heat of the moment — in the Tigers’ postseason opener, no less — that baseball is nothing if not unpredictable.

Playoff baseball? Doubly so.

So here was Zach ...Read more

CHICAGO — Craig Counsell’s stump speech is well known to the media and anyone who has tuned into his news conferences on TV.

Forget everything you’ve known about baseball since you were born, the Chicago Cubs manager lectures, and get it into your mind that all pitchers are simply out-getters, no matter their titles.

“Roles are out the...Read more

CHICAGO — The first postseason start of Dylan Cease’s career was in this city, for the White Sox in 2021. It was as forgettable as the two turns he took for the Padres last year in the National League Division Series — only that’s not how the 29-year-old right-hander approaches such things.

“It never really leaves; it’s part of your...Read more

LOS ANGELES — Despite missing the last three weeks of the season with a fracture in his right hand, catcher Will Smith was included on the Dodgers' roster for their best-of-three wild-card series against the Cincinnati Reds this week, the team announced ahead of Game 1 on Tuesday.

It was not immediately clear if Smith would be able to start ...Read more

CHICAGO — Two days before his first Major League Baseball playoff game, Seiya Suzuki tried to envision what the experience and environment might entail.

Suzuki hadn’t asked any of his 14 Chicago Cubs teammates who previously played in a postseason to describe it. Instead, Suzuki found a YouTube video of Cubs fans’ filmed live reactions to...Read more

The Los Angeles Angels will not keep manager Ron Washington nor interim manager Ray Montgomery in their roles for 2026, a source confirmed Tuesday morning.

The Angels made no official announcement about the decision.

The Angels will be looking for their fifth full-time manager since Mike Scioscia stepped down following the 2018 season, ...Read more

CLEVELAND — The last time Tarik Skubal walked off the mound at Progressive Field, he’d just given up three runs without a ball leaving the infield and had a sick feeling in his gut after inadvertently hitting David Fry in the face with a fastball.

A week later, he walked off triumphantly, putting his arm around Javier Báez and accepting ...Read more

CHICAGO — Baseball’s regular season is a study in contradictions.

It goes on forever, but when it finally ends, it seems like it went by in the blink of an eye.

Now comes the delicious part: the start of the 2025 postseason, in which 12 teams that made the grade theoretically have the same chance to become World Series champions.

The ...Read more

LOS ANGELES — Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said he would be scoreboard watching on Sunday afternoon.

But he insisted he didn’t care how things played out.

His team, of course, had already been locked in as the National League’s No. 3 seed, set to host a best-of-three wild-card series at Dodger Stadium starting Tuesday.

What wasn’t ...Read more

NEW YORK — David Stearns didn’t sugarcoat it.

Throughout his end-of-season press conference, the Mets’ president of baseball operations pointed to his roster’s inability to prevent runs as a primary culprit in the team’s demise.

An inconsistent starting rotation that struggled to provide length and a defense that graded as one of MLB...Read more

NEW YORK — Steve Cohen has promised Mets fans a full post-mortem following the end of a season that was at best confusing, and at worst, difficult to watch. The Mets owner and CEO sent a message to fans on social media Monday morning, apologizing for not giving them what was promised.

What the fans want now is a promise for heads to roll. A ...Read more

SAN FRANCISCO — For a third consecutive year, the Giants have let go of a prominent figure in their organization.

The Giants announced on Monday morning that they have fired Bob Melvin after two seasons managing the club, a decision that comes just three months after the team exercised Melvin’s option for the 2026 season.

“When seasons ...Read more