Major League Baseball

Major League Baseball

Roki Sasaki came back into the game after a scoreless eighth inning, but quickly found himself in a hole. He plunked Alejandro Kirk and allowed a controversial ground rule double to give the Blue Jays men on second and third with no outs. Tyler Glasnow relieved Sasaki afterwards and got a huge out, forcing Ernie Clement to pop out to first baseman Freddie Freeman and keep the runners in place.

The 29-year-old Okamoto is coming off a season where he appeared in just 69 Central League games for NPB's Yomiuri Giants. The infielder hit .327/.416/.598 in 293 trips to the plate for Yomiuri last year. That was good for an otherworldly 210 wRC+, as he slugged 15 homers with 21 doubles while posting identical 11.3% strikeout and walk rates. That scorching hot half-season isn't reflective of Okamoto's overall body of work, but his numbers are still impressive even over a larger sample.

The Reds have designated right-hander Lyon Richardson for assignment. Gordon Wittenmyer of the Cincinnati Enquirer was among the first to report the move, which will make room for on the 40-man roster. Myers was acquired from Miami via trade earlier today. It's the second DFA of the day for Cincinnati, after Keegan Thompson met the same fate to free up a spot for free agent addition.

1919 - One day after working out a deal to sell Babe Ruth to the Yankees, Red Sox owner Harry Frazee says his team will deal any player except Harry Hooper. They will then deal Hooper to the White Sox following the 1920 season. 1967 - Red Sox pitcher Jim Lonborg undergoes surgery on his left knee, four days after a skiing accident. Lonborg will struggle to regain his form following the injury.

Los Angeles Dodgers superstar Shohei Ohtani outdid himself in Game 4 of the NLCS against the Milwaukee Brewers, producing one of the most impressive single-game performances of all time. Ohtani made his second start of the postseason in Game 4, throwing six shutout innings against Milwaukee while notching 10 strikeouts. He threw 100 pitches in the outing, his highest total since returning from Tommy John surgery in June.

Song never appeared in the outfield during his time in the KBO, but manager Craig Stammen mentioned the position as a possibility. " Wherever we can get his bat in the lineup, that's what we're going to try to do. And we want to find a spot for him where he can be productive for the Padres, and there's a lot of different places that I think he can fit," Stammen told reporters, including Jeeho Yoo of Yonhap News.

Take this one with a grain of salt, but for what it's worth, one reporter has thrown out the Toronto Blue Jays as being among the teams having interest in a guy who was, at one time, the top prospect in baseball. Reporter Francys Romero has tweeted that third baseman Yoan Moncada is someone the Blue Jays have been interested in.

After a handful of decent outings to open his career, the righty was slowed by an arm issue that ended up being an aneurysm in his throwing shoulder. Surgery knocked him out until the final month of the 2021 season. He was hammered for nine earned runs over 12 innings once he returned to the mound. Arihara made it back up with the Rangers the following year, but posted a 9.45 ERA across 20 innings.

With my elbow, I couldn't hit in between series. The first time I was able to swing was two days before the World Series, when we flew into Toronto and had an optional workout. You do what you need to do. I was like, well I didn't get live ABs, so I need to get on Trajekt. I faced Gausman for a little bit, but I've faced Gausman a lot. So even if my timing is not right, at least I know what it feels like. So I was like, I want to face Yesavage because we thought Yesavage was starting Game 1. We started moving the Trajekt, and sure enough, the Trajekt doesn't even get as high as his release point.

I remember very clearly within the first month of us having Shohei, there was a play where he was running the bases and he didn't necessarily get as good of a secondary lead and he wasn't able to score on a certain play. After the game, it was Freddie, Mookie, our first base coach Clayton, several of us grabbed him and just said,

When a team designates a player for assignment, he is removed from that club's 40-man roster. The team then has a period of time with some ability to impact what is next for that player. This is colloquially referred to as "DFA limbo". The team can trade the player to another club, unless the trade deadline has passed and the new offseason has not yet begun. The team can also place the player on outright or release waivers.

"They love it. They've dedicated their lives to it, and they recognize the window for them to play it is remarkably small. So they want the game to be the best version of itself. "When you represent that as a part of the committee, even if you have less votes, and it's either considered ... it tells players that their value, their voice, isn't being valued.

The A's added to their infield with this week's acquisition of Jeff McNeil from the Mets. The A's sent a lottery ticket pitching prospect (Yordan Rodriguez) while taking on $10MM of the $17.75MM remaining on the veteran's contract. Adding help at one of second or third base had been on the A's checklist since the beginning of the offseason. It seems they're content with one outside pickup.

The Reds have overlooked that small-sample disappointment and brought him aboard via a non-roster pact. Chavis was once a notable prospect, getting selected by the Red Sox in the first round of the 2014 draft. He had a breakout season in 2017 when he launched 31 home runs in the minors. Baseball America ranked him as the #85 prospect in the league going into the 2018 season.

The 31-year-old made one appearance for the Dodgers in MLB, logging a single at-bat in September. Robinson came up to the roster during the Dodgers' minor injury crisis at catcher last season, during which Will Smith and Dalton Rushing both landed on the injured list within a week of each other. He served as Ben Rortvedt's backup during that time.

Kershaw shared a post with his new daughter, Chloe Peach Kershaw, alongside his wife and four children -- Cali Ann, Charley, Cooper and Chance. Noted Dodgers fan and tennis legend Billie Jean King was among those to congratulate Kershaw in the post's comments. "She's perfect and her brothers and sister are obsessed with her. We are grateful for the gift of her life!" Kershaw wrote in the Instagram post.

The Dodgers originally acquired Gary Sheffield, along with Manuel Barrios, Bobby Bonilla, Jim Eisenreich and Charles Johnson, in the blockbuster trade that sent Mike Piazza and Todd Zeile to the Florida Marlins on May 14, 1998. Sheffield helped mitigate some of the sting that came with the Dodgers trading a fan-favorite in Piazza as he immediately became one of the team's most productive bats.

As someone with tantalizing potential, but a limited track record and the uncertainty that comes after Tommy John surgery, Ryan could be an interesting trade chip for the Dodgers,

Dodgers free agent Evan Phillips had been one of the stalwarts within the bullpen for Los Angeles over the last handful of seasons. Operating in virtually any role the team asked of him, he quickly developed into an indispensable member of the team. Unfortunately, Phillips suffered an arm injury which prevented him from participating in the 2024 World Series versus the New York Yankees. With rest and treatment, he came back in 2025 hoping to regain the form he once demonstrated.

Heuer resurfaced in the majors this year for the first time since 2021. The righty was on a minor league deal with Texas that got selected onto the MLB roster in June. He pitched once before being optioned back to Triple-A. That was his only appearance with the Rangers, but they managed to find a taker for him at the trade deadline. They flipped him to the Tigers for cash. Heuer made two appearances with Detroit before being released in September.

Another star player is joining an already stacked American League East division. On Sunday evening (Dec. 21) the Boston Red Sox reportedly acquired Willson Contreras from the St. Louis Cardinals. The 33-year-old right hander is the latest in a series of moves by Blue Jays division rivals over the weekend that have strengthened a couple of teams heading into 2026.