6+ hour, 38+ min ago (582+ words) Brandon Woodruff, the Brewers" stalwart right-hander, has decided to accept the team"s qualifying offer and return to Milwaukee for the 2026 season. The one'year deal is valued at approximately $22.025 million. This may not seem like a massive long'term commitment, but for a pitcher coming off shoulder surgery and a late-season lat strain, and for a franchise determined to remain competitive, the decision carries significant weight. "For me, it became clear pretty early on," Woodruff said. "It was an easy decision to take the qualifying offer, which I was extremely happy to do, and come back to somewhere I"m extremely comfortable. I"m pumped up." Woodruff had twelve days after receiving the qualifying offer to measure the market and consider his future. What tipped him over the edge: comfort and confidence. "Come on, that"s a large [salary] number and…...

17+ hour, 11+ min ago (1393+ words) This is a love story about stadium food. Last spring, television cameras caught a couple at Wrigley Field Lady and the Tramp-ing a hot dog, attacking it simultaneously from either end until they eventually met in the middle for a kiss. At the same park, in 2012, the center-field message board flashed a fifth-inning proposal: erica, will you marry me? Alas, Erica's seat was empty. Only when she returned from her beer run, a cold one in either hand, was the message reposted while her suitor, Greg, took a knee, their relationship consecrated in two-fisted splendor. Ninety-seven years later, those last five words remain good advice. Ballpark food is equal parts gluttony and poetry. Dippin' Dots, tater tots, Chicken wings, onion rings. That's just one inning at a Rockies game. Eating a sundae from a Mets hat in Flushing, with blue…...

17+ hour, 37+ min ago (482+ words) The 2025-26 MLB free agent class is fascinating despite lackingAaron Judge, Shohei Ohtani or Juan Soto, the three superstar MLB free agents of the past three winters. It's deep in sluggers and late-game relievers, with a helping of starting pitchers and third basemen. It feels hard to predict where players will land, and that should make this a fun offseason. The domino effect of one or two surprise signings -- such asKyle Schwarber not returning to the Philadelphia Phillies or Pete Alonso not returning to the New York Mets -- will create chaos. As always, a lot of money will be spent -- not all of it wisely. Last year's top-10 domestic free agents did pretty well, historically speaking, going from a combined 34.2 WAR in 2024 to 28.2 in 2025 to retain 82% of their value. In 2023-24, that figure was just 57% and in 2022-23, just 54%. Let's dig into the…...

17+ hour, 37+ min ago (482+ words) The 2025-26 MLB free agent class is fascinating despite lackingAaron Judge, Shohei Ohtani or Juan Soto, the three superstar MLB free agents of the past three winters. It's deep in sluggers and late-game relievers, with a helping of starting pitchers and third basemen. It feels hard to predict where players will land, and that should make this a fun offseason. The domino effect of one or two surprise signings -- such asKyle Schwarber not returning to the Philadelphia Phillies or Pete Alonso not returning to the New York Mets -- will create chaos. As always, a lot of money will be spent -- not all of it wisely. Last year's top-10 domestic free agents did pretty well, historically speaking, going from a combined 34.2 WAR in 2024 to 28.2 in 2025 to retain 82% of their value. In 2023-24, that figure was just 57% and in 2022-23, just 54%. Let's dig into the…...

17+ hour, 40+ min ago (389+ words) Freddy Peralta is in his walk year with the Milwaukee Brewers. It's fair to wonder if they'll end up moving him the way they did with Corbin Burnes in 2024. If they do, the New York Yankees could be a landing spot for Milwaukee's ace. The Athletic's Jim Bowden named the Yankees, as well as the Atlanta Braves, Boston Red Sox, San Francisco Giants, and Toronto Blue Jays, as potential suitors. When it comes down to it, an ace earning $8,000,000 should be a hot commodity this winter, and any team looking to contend is likely to check in. In the case of the Yankees, who will be down their own ace to start 2026, Gerrit Cole, as well as Carlos Rodon, Peralta would be more than enough to step in for the two veterans. According to Bowden, for a deal to get…...

19+ hour, 45+ min ago (647+ words) The New York Yankees are expected to pursue some pitching help this offseason, and the rotation will be a focus. The Yankees will begin the 2026 MLB season with Gerrit Cole and Carlos Rodon injured, so New York will likely look to add a starter or two. MLB insider Jim Bowden of The Athletic proposed a blockbuster deal that would see the Yankees acquire Freddy Peralta from the Milwaukee Brewers. The three-player deal would be a blockbuster and one that makes sense for both teams. The Yankees upgrade their rotation while the Brewers get some cost-controllable players. New York would acquire Peralta, who had his club option picked up for $8 million, and will be a free agent at the end of the year, which is why his name has come up in trade rumors. Peralta is a solid No. 3 starter who…...

20+ hour, 53+ min ago (251+ words) The New York Yankees may be a strange source for worries about payrolls being too high in Major League Baseball, but owner Hal Steinbrenner expressed "concern" about the Los Angeles Dodgers winning back-to-back titles. Los Angeles had the highest active payroll in the league last season and have certainly turned heads with moves such as deferring significant money to pay for stars such as Shoehei Ohtani. But that doesn't make it any less strange to hear such concern coming from the Yankees. After all, they were fourth in the league in active payroll in 2025 after they led the league in the category in 2024. And they have built up the reputation as being one of the sport's biggest spenders for decades, especially when Hal's father, George, was the team owner. There is a reason the Yankees were known as the Evil…...

23+ hour, 48+ min ago (1850+ words) The paper fliers went up early one morning in April, an advertisement of hope in the cell blocks of California's most notorious prison: Baseball tryout, Saturday, 9 a.m. Richard Williams couldn't have been more excited. He had been incarcerated in San Quentin for over three decades, and for the next six months, he would not be just Richard Williams, inmate H-07618. He would be Coach Will, the leader of the San Quentin Giants, the country's best baseball team behind bars. When Saturday morning came, dozens of men gathered on the edge of the infield dirt, still in their prison blue work clothes. They were as young as 24 and as old as 60; some had played college baseball, while others were picking up a bat for the first time since Little League. They would open their season on the day before Easter, and Williams began…...

1+ day, 41+ min ago (589+ words) On the flip side, the Brewers kept shortstop Willy Adames for his walk season. He eventually signed with the San Francisco Giants in free agency, and they received only a draft pick between the first round and Competitive Balance Round A as compensation (they selected high school shortstop Brady Ebel with the pick). That seems to be the position that two-time Executive of the Year Matt Arnold is taking, and it makes sense. Peralta will earn just a quarter of what he'd be worth on the open market this season, and with the Brewers coming off 97 wins, why not try to give this team one more shot at a title? There is a caveat to the existing plan, however. If some contending team steps up with a trade offer that allows the Brewers to not only maintain their competitiveness for…...

1+ day, 3+ hour ago (1019+ words) The free agent market is heating up, with increased rumors and speculation about the potential landing spots for the top options available, including Pete Alonso, Edwin Diaz, Kyle Tucker, Devin Williams, and Framber Valdez. All are among the best at their respective positions and figure to have plenty of suitors, if they have not already heard from them. What is the latest on them from trusted insiders and where might they ultimately end up? Find out in this preview, including predictions for each. Williams has been an elite reliever in his career but his first year with the Yankees saw him as anything but. His ERA ballooned to a career-high .479, he allowed the most hits of his career (45), and his four blown saves tied for his most ever. Still, the 31-year-old righty is a talented pitcher who the Yankees believe…...