Baseball

Ryan Brasier is reportedly on the move after being designated for assignment last week by the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Per ESPN's Jeff Passan, Los Angeles traded the right-handed reliever to the Chicago Cubs. Brasier spent two seasons with the Dodgers.

The 37-year-old was drafted by the Los Angeles Angels in 2007 but didn't make his MLB debut until 2013. He appeared in just seven games that season before what would be an extended absence from the majors.

He spent several years in the minors before deciding to take his talents to Japan for a season in 2017. He found his way back to the majors in 2018, and he has been a solid reliever ever since.

He was with the Boston Red Sox from 2018 to 2023, winning a World Series with the team in his first season. He appeared in nine postseason games during their 2018 World Series run, recording a 1.04 ERA and notching seven strikeouts across 8.2 innings.

The Red Sox traded Brasier to the Dodgers halfway through the 2023 season, and he thrived with his new team. In the second half of the season, he made 39 appearances and posted a 0.70 ERA.

Last season, he made 29 appearances and recorded a 3.54 ERA and 0.96 WHIP. In the postseason, he appeared in eight games and started two for the Dodgers, collecting a 5.00 ERA across nine innings.

Though the Dodgers didn't have room for Brasier in their bullpen, he should be able to play a big role for the Cubs in the middle innings.

Legendary former MLB outfielder Ichiro Suzuki fell one vote shy of being a unanimous first-ballot Hall of Famer, and the voter who denied him that distinction remains unknown.

The Baseball Writers' Association of America published 321 of 394 Hall of Fame ballots for the 2025 class on Tuesday, and Suzuki appeared on all of them, per the Associated Press.

Suzuki headlines the Baseball Hall of Fame class of 2025 alongside former star pitcher CC Sabathia and former closer Billy Wagner. Legends Dave Parker and Dick Allen were also elected through the Contemporary Baseball Era Committee. They will be inducted into the Hall of Fame during a ceremony at Cooperstown on July 27.

When it was revealed that Suzuki appeared on 393 out of 394 ballots to earn an election to the Baseball Hall of Fame, the 51-year-old handled the moment with grace.

"There's one writer that I wasn't able to get a vote from," he said through a translator last month. "I would like to invite him over to my house, and we'll have a drink together, and we'll have a good chat."

Former New York Yankees closer Mariano Rivera remains the only player to receive 100 percent of the Hall of Fame vote from the BBWAA, appearing on all 425 ballots for the 2019 class. Fellow Yankees legend Derek Jeter appeared on 395 out of 396 ballots in 2020.

Still, Suzuki undoubtedly had a resume worthy of a unanimous selection. He earned American League Rookie of the Year and MVP honors in his first year with the Seattle Mariners and went on to become a 10-time All-Star, 10-time Gold Glove Award winner and two-time AL batting champion.

The Baseball Hall of Fame leaves the option up to the voters on whether or not to make their ballots public, so it remains to be seen if the lone voter who didn't include Suzuki will reveal themselves in the future.

The prolonged free agency for Pete Alonso and Alex Bregman is having ripple effects on the entire market right now.

Per The Athletic's Ken Rosenthal, Justin Turner and Yoán Moncada are among the notable free-agent position players "on hold" waiting for Alonso and Bregman to sign.

Trying to figure out the market for Alonso and Bregman is proving to be one of the most difficult tasks this offseason. Alonso reportedly rejected a three-year, $70 million offer from the New York Mets that has been described as a "last-ditch effort" by the club to bring him back to Queens.

There have been conflicting reports about a potential agreement between Alonso and the Toronto Blue Jays. MLB Network's Jon Heyman reported on Jan. 23 the Blue Jays were "still working hard [and] trying" to sign Alonso.

However, Shi Davidi and Ben Nicholson-Smith of SportsNet noted that same day talks between Alonso and the Blue Jays was "not gaining momentum."

Bregman's market has been all over the place. It seemed like a sure thing he was leaving the Houston Astros after they acquired Isaac Paredes to play third base as part of the trade with the Chicago Cubs for Kyle Tucker.

The Detroit Tigers have been hanging around the Bregman talks. The Chicago Cubs and Boston Red Sox were mentioned as potential landing spots for the two-time All-Star at points this offseason.

Given how long things have been dragging out, the Astros came back into the equation then seemingly fell out again with general manager Dana Brown saying on Tuesday they "lost' the star third baseman and spoke of him in the past tense during a media luncheon.

Players like Turner and Moncada, who are corner infielder/DH types, will struggle to get a lot of interest from potential playoff contenders that might be in the market for either or both of Alonso and Bregman.

All 30 teams are reporting for their first spring training workouts next week. It wouldn't be a surprise if there's no resolution to the situation for all of these players before then.

Houston Astros general manager Dana Brown gave a definitive indication that free-agent third baseman Alex Bregman won't be returning to the team this offseason.

Per Chandler Rome of The Athletic, Brown said during the Astros' annual media luncheon that the team "lost Bregman" and twice spoke about him in the past tense.

Brown added that Houston is still having "internal conversations" about Bregman, but he hasn't had any recent discussions with agent Scott Boras.

Bregman has spent his entire career with the Astros since making his major league debut in 2016. He became one of the faces of the franchise, earning back-to-back All-Star selections in 2018 and 2019 and helping lead Houston to two World Series titles in 2017 and 2022.

In 2024, Bregman played in 145 games and hit .260 with 26 home runs and 75 RBI. He earned his first career Gold Glove Award for his production at third base.

Evan Petzold of the Detroit Free Press reported that the Detroit Tigers "are still interested in Bregman after signing right-hander Jack Flaherty to a two-year, $35 million contract" on Monday.

Petzold named the Astros, Toronto Blue Jays, Boston Red Sox and Chicago Cubs as the other teams "involved in the Bregman sweepstakes," though he noted that the Tigers "have conducted their offseason moves around their interest in signing Bregman, as they declined to upgrade the offense with other notable right-handed hitters."

It appears that Houston will have a new third baseman for the first time in 10 years, as Bregman has multiple viable suitors who appear motivated to compete for his services.

Big expectations for the 2025 New York Mets require some adjustments to their traditional road uniforms.

The Mets are adding blue/orange/blue striping to the collar, sleeve and pant trim of their gray uniforms.

It's not a significant change from what the Mets' road uniforms have looked like. They had used blue piping that ran from the neck and down the middle of the jersey, with blue piping down the side of the pants. The sleeves had a blue stripe around them.

This new look will feature both of the Mets' primary colors, instead of focusing so heavily on just the blue.

Per the Ultimate Mets Database, the updated trim style is similar to what the Mets used to use for their road uniforms in 1982.

This marks the second notable uniform update for the Mets going into the 2025 season. The unveiled a new alternate road jersey during Amazin' Day on Jan. 25 that is primarily blue with orange trim.

This brings the Mets up to five different uniform combinations for the upcoming season. They have their traditional home whites and road grays, alternate home uniform with the black jersey, alternate road uniform with the blue jersey and City Connect uniform.

All of these new looks are contributing to what might be the most-anticipated Mets season in franchise history. They are coming an appearance in the NLCS after going 65-40 in 105 regular-season games starting on June 1.

The Mets followed that up by signing Juan Soto to a 15-year, $765 million contract in free agency that made him the highest-paid player in MLB history.

Soto and the Mets will get the opportunity to show off their new road gray uniform early in the season. Their first six games are on the road, starting with a three-game series against the Houston Astros at Daikin Park from March 27-29.

The Los Angeles Angels tried to make another free-agent splash in their quest to return to relevancy in the American League.

Per The Athletic's Ken Rosenthal, the Angels "made a run" for Anthony Santander by offering him different three- and four-year concepts before he wound up signing with the Toronto Blue Jays.

The Blue Jays were able to land Santander on a five-year, $92.5 million deal with an opt out after the 2027 season. His contract also includes $61.8 million in deferred money, bringing the present-day value down to $68.6 million.

It doesn't seem like it would have been hard for the Angels to beat that structure, but there's also the possibility that Santander felt like he would have a better chance to compete for a playoff spot with the Blue Jays.

The Angels have prioritized short-term thinking over long-term perspective for years. They've done it again this offseason by signing free agents like 33-year-old Yusei Kikuchi, 35-year-old Kyle Hendricks and 36-year-old Travis d'Arnaud.

On the one hand, it's admirable Angels ownership is still trying to spend money to build around Mike Trout. On the other hand, though, they're starting from such a low point coming off a 63-99 record in 2024 that it's hard to envision them making up enough ground to challenge for the postseason in 2025.

Santander is a flawed player, but he likely would have been the second-best outfielder behind Trout—assuming he can stay healthy—on the Angels next season if a deal would have been worked out.

The Angels are entering the year with Trout, Taylor Ward and Jo Adell as their starting outfielders. Santander made his first All-Star team with the Baltimore Orioles in 2024, hitting a career-high 44 homers in 665 plate appearances.

Los Angeles has made the playoffs just once since the 2010 season. The team hasn't won a playoff game since Game 5 of the 2009 ALCS against the New York Yankees.

Spring training is drawing nearer, and the league provided fans with a taste of excitement on Monday by unveiling the official spring training hats for all 30 teams:

The Chicago Cubs will kick off spring training when pitchers and catchers report on Feb. 9. Every other team will have their pitchers and catchers in place by Feb. 13, and full squad first workouts will begin on Feb. 15 through Feb. 18.

The reigning World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers will be under the spotlight once again as they gear up to defend their title. The Dodgers had another strong offseason, headlined by the acquisition of two-time Cy Young Award winner Blake Snell and Japanese pitching sensation Roki Sasaki.

Fans can get a head start on preparing for the 2025 campaign by purchasing their favorite team's spring training hat.

After spending the second half of the 2024 season with the Los Angeles Dodgers, starting pitcher Jack Flaherty is heading back to his former team.

According to ESPN's Jeff Passan, Flaherty agreed to a two-year, $35 million contract with the Detroit Tigers on Sunday.

Tarik Skubal, the reigning American League Cy Young award winner, took to social media to welcome Flaherty back to Detroit:

This will be the fifth time Flaherty has changed teams in the last three years, as he was sent from the St. Louis Cardinals to the Baltimore Orioles at the 2023 trade deadline before signing with the Tigers last offseason and being sent to the Dodgers at the 2024 deadline.

Between the Tigers and Dodgers this past season, Flaherty had a collective 13-7 record with a 3.17 ERA, a 1.04 WHIP and 194 strikeouts. His 2.95 ERA in 18 starts in Detroit made him one of the most coveted players in the league as the trade deadline approached. He then went 6-2 in Los Angeles during the regular season before going 1-2 in the playoffs as the team won the World Series by defeating the New York Yankees in five games.

Flaherty began his major league career with the Cardinals in 2017 and developed into a key member of their rotation. He was named St. Louis' Opening-Day starter for the 2020 and 2021 seasons. He recorded a sub-3.35 ERA in three out of his six-plus seasons in St. Louis.

Flaherty is joining a Tigers rotation that also includes Skubal and Reese Olson. He will be a key member of the team's push for the postseason in 2025.

Former MLB commissioner Fay Vincent has died at the age of 86.

MLB commissioner Rob Manfred issued a statement about Vincent in the wake of his death:

Christina Watkins, Vincent's wife, told George Vecsey of the New York Times her husband died from complications due to bladder cancer.

Vincent was elected by the owners as MLB's eighth commissioner in September 1989 after Bart Giamatti's sudden death from a heart attack at the age of 51. He had been named the first-ever deputy commissioner five months earlier.

There was a lot of tumult throughout MLB during Vincent's tenure. He helped navigate the sport through the 1989 World Series between the Oakland Athletics and San Francisco Giants that was disrupted by the Loma Prieta earthquake shortly before Game 3 was set to begin.

The series was postponed for 10 days before resuming on Oct. 27. Four months later, the owners initiated a lockout that lasted for more than five weeks. He also banned then-New York Yankees owner George Steinbrenner from day-to-day management of the club for paying a gambler to find any unflattering information he could about Dave Winfield when the two sides were in the midst of a contract dispute.

Vincent also oversaw MLB's expansion in the early 1990s when the league added the Florida Marlins and Colorado Rockies to the NL. Even though both teams were joining the NL, he split the expansion revenue by giving the NL clubs $190 million and AL clubs $42 million.

Given his tendency to lean more toward the players' side in disputes, Vincent wasn't especially popular with the owners. The owners gave him a vote of "no confidence" in September 1992 and he resigned his post.

The Athletic's Tyler Kepner noted in a November 2024 interview that Vincent recalled thinking he didn't want to work for the owners anymore given their tendency to try breaking the union during collective bargaining negotiations.

"I don't want to work for these guys,'" Vincent said. "I know that there's going to be cheating, and I don't want to be the policeman without community support. I mean, it's hopeless."

After Vincent's resignation, MLB didn't appoint an official commissioner for another six years. Bud Selig served as acting commissioner from 1992 to '98 before being appointed officially.