SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — Luis Arraez took to life in Padres Land right away.

He became fast friends with Fernando Tatis Jr. and Manny Machado during his two seasons in San Diego. He lockered near the two Padres stars he’d admired as an All-Star with the Miami Marlins and Minnesota Twins.

Arraez had come to San Diego in May 2024, via a trade ...Read more

MINNEAPOLIS — The Pohlads would be justified in moving the Minnesota Twins.

At least a few hundred feet.

At least far enough so Target Field no longer stands on an ancient burial ground from which emanates every manner of curse.

This is my annual “Twins are cursed” column. This one might sound a little like last year’s, but there is ...Read more

LOS ANGELES — The Dodgers have played mostly great baseball in Los Angeles for 68 years. How many position players wear the iconic L.A. cap on a Hall of Fame plaque?

Go on, take a guess.

Freddie Freeman, the Dodgers' star first baseman: "Three?"

Andrew Friedman, the Dodgers' president of baseball operations: "Two?"

The correct answer is ...Read more

PEORIA, Ariz. — The Seattle Mariners’ starting rotation had to do too much for too long. It had to carry a lineup that couldn’t stop striking out and an ownership group that struck out looking every offseason. It had to stack strikeouts and quality starts for six consecutive months, avoiding injury in an era terrorized by Tommy John. It ...Read more

TAMPA, Fla. — Heaven knows, even after they finally re-signed Cody Bellinger, the New York Yankees endured their share of naysayers this winter for bringing back essentially the same 94-win team that tied the Toronto Blue Jays for the most victories in the American League last year.

It never seemed to dawn on their critics that none of the ...Read more

GLENDALE, Ariz. — What does Luisangel Acuña want Chicago White Sox fans to know about him?

“That I play hard,” Acuña said through an interpreter while sitting at his locker and breaking in his outfield glove.

Simple and to the point.

The new addition to the Sox outfield isn’t going to speak boldly or put expectations on himself. He�...Read more

Former Major League Baseball pitcher Dan Serafini was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole on Friday for the 2021 first-degree murder of his father-in-law and attempted murder of his mother-in-law in Lake Tahoe.

Serafini, who pitched for six MLB teams during a 22-year professional career that ended in 2013, killed Gary ...Read more

NORTH PORT, Fla. — The Red Sox appear to have dodged a huge bullet.

During the bottom of the first inning of Friday’s game against the Atlanta Braves, Red Sox outfielders Roman Anthony and Ceddanne Rafaela collided in left field trying to chase down a fly ball off the bat of Jurickson Profar. The two went down and were immediately attended ...Read more

Daniel Serafini, the ex-MLB pitcher convicted of shooting his in-laws in a 2021 murder-burglary at their Homewood, Calif., residence near Lake Tahoe, was committed to life without parole after his sentencing Friday in Placer Superior Court.

Jurors in July convicted Daniel Serafini, 51, of first-degree murder in the death of his father-in-law, ...Read more

PHOENIX — It is never too early for hyperbole.

No major league team has won more than 116 games. The Dodgers had yet to play an exhibition game last spring when former Los Angeles Times columnist Dylan Hernández declared they could win 120.

Not to be outdone, the Dodgers were one week into the season when Bill Plaschke posted a column with ...Read more

CLEARWATER, Fla. — For 30 minutes Wednesday, on the half-field adjacent to the Phillies’ clubhouse, Larry Bowa flipped baseballs to Bobby Dickerson, who hit one-hoppers and choppers and line drives at Bryce Harper.

Over and over. Again and again.

Ninety feet from Harper, a nine-time Gold Glove-winning first baseman and former captain of ...Read more

FORT MYERS, Fla. — When a reporter approached Liam Hendriks with one of his earliest scouting reports, the veteran relief pitcher offered a prediction about what it would say.

“I’m assuming there is a little bit of short motion with a quick arm, 88-92 mph, with a little bit of arm side run,” Hendriks said. “Good changeup. Breaking ...Read more

PHILADELPHIA — No man is an island. Unless that man is Bryce Harper and he has just reached base.

Last season, there wasn’t a lonelier lot in life than to be a Phillies superstar standing on first, second, or third. Only four players in the majors reached base as many times as Harper did and scored fewer runs. The 72 runs he did score were ...Read more

NEW YORK — The Yankees are adding another number to Monument Park.

The Bombers announced that they will be retiring CC Sabathia‘s No. 52 on Sept. 26 before their game against the Baltimore Orioles, the team announced on Wednesday. The ceremony will include the unveiling of Sabathia’s plaque in Monument Park.

The 2009 World Series ...Read more

LOS ANGELES — Already well-known for selling out stadiums for baseball-themed spectacles that include choreographed dances, inventive trick plays and outlandish fan interaction, the Savannah Bananas have cemented their synergy with ESPN and Disney+ with a 25-game package in 2026.

Included in the deal will be a "Banana Ball Day" at Disneyland ...Read more

PEORIA, Ariz. — The team that bidets together stays together.

Or at least that’s the mantra of the Chicago White Sox after news that the team is introducing bidets in the clubhouse at the request of Japanese slugger Munetaka Murakami.

The jokes write themselves when it comes to the subject of eco-friendly hygiene, but the Sox are using the...Read more

SEATTLE — It's harder to keep a stride in your step when you're feeling a pebble in your shoe.

You could say this about MLB's elite young players, just as you can their most ardent fans.

Because as stable as the sport seems to be right now — with the ungodly contract sizes and last year's exhilarating postseason — there is a looming ...Read more

FORT MYERS, Fla. — Konnor Griffin could only stare as a man wearing a Paul Skenes shirsey gamely thought he could catch the baseball after Griffin’s first home run of spring training cleared the Green Monster-like structure in left field at JetBlue Park.

Two innings later, the sport’s prospect did something even more impressive, crushing ...Read more

LOS ANGELES — What's not to love about Pete Crow-Armstrong? The young, talented Chicago Cubs center fielder is somehow simultaneously super cool and fiery. Nicknamed simply PCA, he should be an entertaining and accomplished player to watch for many years.

And he's Southern California born and bred, the product of esteemed diamond factory ...Read more