7+ hour, 3+ min ago (384+ words) Tatsuya Imai isn't looking to join a superteam as he eyes a move to the MLB. He wants to challenge one. Fresh off a Sawamura Award season, the star right-hander says defeating a stacked club like the Dodgers would mean more than joining them. Japanese right-hander Tatsuya Imai has spent the last few seasons establishing himself as one of Nippon Professional Baseball's most reliable front-line pitchers. Now, as he explores a potential jump to Major League Baseball, he's making one thing clear: he isn't interested in simply joining a ready-made powerhouse; he wants to beat one. During a recent appearance on "Hodo Station," hosted by former MLB pitcher and two-time World Baseball Classic champion Daisuke Matsuzaka, Imai was asked about the possibility of playing alongside Shohei Ohtani, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, and Roki Sasaki in Los Angeles. Many players from NPB have…...

4+ day, 16+ hour ago (282+ words) If the Atlanta Braves want to find a shortstop in free agency or on the trade market, at least a starting-caliber one, it could come in a few different directions. When examining what that might look like, Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic had some intriguing thoughts about a potential trade for CJ Abrams. While he questioned why the Washington Nationals would move on from him, it was interesting to hear about him potentially being available for Atlanta. "Free agent Bo Bichette also does not appear to be a possibility for Atlanta. Many teams, knowing Bichette's defensive metrics are among the league's worst, no longer view him as a shortstop," he wrote. Abrams has been a tough player to evaluate throughout some of his career, but for the most part, he's been excellent. During his time with the Nationals, he even…...

6+ day, 5+ hour ago (527+ words) Amid a transaction-filled day across Major League Baseball, the Seattle Mariners acquired reliever Alex Hoppe from the Boston Red Sox on Tuesday. In exchange, they traded away catcher Luke Heyman. Several deals were made around baseball as team's sought to protect players from the Rule-5 Draft and get their 40-man rosters in order. Now 26 years old, Hoppe was a sixth-round pick of the Red Sox in the 2022 MLB Draft. He played his college ball at UNC Greensboro. In 44 appearances in 2025, mostly at Triple-A, Hoppe went 1-3 with a 4.55 ERA and six saves. He struck out 73 batters in 61.1 innings, but he also walked 34. The following comes from Joe Doyle of Over Slot Baseball, who is also a frequent guest on the 'Refuse to Lose' podcast: Very interesting arm. Leverage stuff. Walks/command have slowed his ascent, but stuff is very unique. Bugs…...

6+ day, 22+ hour ago (50+ words) Boston eyes a power surge. Should Alex Bregman be out of reach, the Red Sox prepare an aggressive pursuit to land the Mets' star slugger. Boston eyes a power surge. Should Alex Bregman be out of reach, the Red Sox prepare an aggressive pursuit to land the Mets' star slugger....

1+ week, 6+ day ago (330+ words) Los Angeles Dodgers SP/DH Shohei Ohtani is seto to be announced as the runaway NL MVP award winner, giving him four of the highest individual honors in the sport over his career. He will have won three in a row and two straight with the Dodgers. Ohtani's first of this projected current three-peat came with the Los Angeles Angels, as did his very first award. As NBC Sports' Matthew Pouliot notes, this was a vulnerable year for Ohtani by his standards. But unlike New York Yankees OF Aaron Judge, Ohtani doesn't have someone like Seattle Mariners C Cal Raleigh to push him for the MVP in the National League this past year. New York Mets OF Juan Soto got a shoutout for being great, but late to the party as his team fell out of playoff contention in the…...

2+ week, 3+ day ago (40+ words) Frank Nazar left Friday's game and didn't return for the Chicago Blackhawks. Jeff Blashill provided an update on the injury. Frank Nazar left Friday's game and didn't return for the Chicago Blackhawks. Jeff Blashill provided an update on the injury....

2+ week, 4+ day ago (390+ words) Toronto also made a $22,025,000 qualifying offer for 2026 to free agent infielder Bo Bichette, who is expected to reject it. "He's been important," general manager Ross Atkins said Thursday. "We will be in his market." Mattingly joined the Blue Jays following the 2022 season as bench coach to Schneider. The former New York Yankees slugger and six-time All-Star became Toronto's offensive coordinator before the 2024 season but returned to his role as bench coach at the end of that year. Atkins said Mattingly left his role after reaching his first World Series because of a desire to spend more time with his family. "He's had a significant (impact) and I feel like it will be lasting," Atkins said. "It's something that we have to deal with in the game. We have to figure out a way to continue to improve even when we…...

2+ week, 4+ day ago (429+ words) The San Diego Padres were dealt a tricky situation, as they found out after the 2025 season that Mike Shildt was stepping down from his role as the team's manager. Despite having a playoff roster, the Padres needed to find a new manager. San Diego's search began in earnest, and one name brought up as a strong candidate was Albert Pujols. But, as the Padres announced, they have decided to hire Craig Stammen to be the team's new manager. The first-year manager is signed on for the next three years in San Diego. Stammen becomes the Padres' new manager after spending a few years as a special assistant in the player development department. He's worked closely with AJ Preller and, going forward, will be the new manager of the Padres. The 41-year-old now becomes the Padres manager for the next three…...

2+ week, 5+ day ago (276+ words) Last Saturday's game averaged 27.33 million on Fox Sports, Fox Deportes and Fox's streaming platforms. According to Nielsen, it was the second most-watched broadcast of last week. It also was the most-watched Fall Classic game since 2017's Game 7 between the Dodgers and Houston Astros averaged 29.07 million. It was a 16% improvement over the last Game 7 between the Washington Nationals and Astros (23.19 million). Game 6 was fourth in the Nielsen ratings, Game 4 seventh, Game 5 eighth and Game 3 13th. The game averaged 11.6 million in Canada on Sportsnet and the French-language TVA Sports. It was the most-watched, English-language broadcast since the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics. In Japan, where the deciding game had a 9 a.m. local start time, the average was 12 million after last Friday's Game 6 " where World Series MVP Yoshinobu Yamamoto allowed one run in six innings " averaged 13.1 million, the most-watched World Series game on a single network in…...

3+ week, 13+ hour ago (191+ words) Portrait of our Danish youngsterJust 29 seconds were on the clock when Clement Bischoff stunned SV Ried with a perfectly placed volley into the far corner " in the fastest goal of the current Bundes... Just 29 seconds were on the clock when Clement Bischoff stunned SV Ried with a perfectly placed volley into the far corner " in the fastest goal of the current Bundesliga season! The 4-1 home victory capped off a perfect week for the 19-year-old (2 goals, 2 assists), who has been gaining momentum ever since joining us at the beginning of September. The newcomer is also discovering the city of Salzburg step by step and growing to love it. His current favourite spot " besides the Red Bull Arena " is a frozen yogurt shop in the city center, which was introduced to him by Salko Hamzic. It's clear that Clement is not only…...