The most accomplished free agent reliever available this past winter and the only big-name bullpen arm still on the market as baseball’s regular season commenced finally found a home on Wednesday night, as Craig Kimbrel reached a three-year, $43 million pact with the Chicago Cubs.

The New York Mets selected Lake Travis High School standout Brett Baty with the 12th overall pick in the 2019 MLB Draft, a player many analysts pegged as the best prep bat available. When asked if there were any big leaguers he modeled himself after or compares himself to, the Texas native pulled out the big guns by naming the reigning National League Most Valuable Player and a former NL MVP.

A select group of ballplayers will hear their names called on Monday night as the 2019 MLB Draft kicks off at MLB Network’s studios in Secaucus, New Jersey, a life-changing moment for each one good enough to make the cut.

NEW YORK (AP) — Lorenzo Cain is building quite a collection of spectacular plays in center field. This one, he said, was particularly good.

Those Yankee fans among the staff at New York Presbyterian have had a wealth of autograph opportunities over the past few weeks, as members of their beloved Bombers have visited the hospital more often than the 1-800-Flowers delivery truck. ($)

It’s been quite a free fall for the young southpaw, from receiving 23 percent of the NL Cy Young Award vote last year to suiting up with the Isotopes to start the month of June. Freeland’s sophomore year in the bigs was excellent, finishing 17-7 with a 2.85 ERA, 3.89 DRA and 3.3 WARP in 33 starts.

The headache wasn’t supposed to last this long, and a bacon cheeseburger with a Pedialyte chaser can’t remedy this brand of hangover. Coming off what was arguably the best season in franchise history featuring 108 regular season wins and their fourth World Series title in 15 years, the Red Sox took a conservative approach to spring training with the understanding that it might take the pitchers in particular a little longer to hit their stride come April. They didn’t expect things to be this bad

This year marks the 50th anniversary of the 1969 New York Mets, a worst-to-first club that shocked baseball by defeating the dangerous Baltimore Orioles in just five games to capture the franchise’s first World Series title. The man at the helm was already a legendary New York sports figure from his playing days with the Brooklyn Dodgers, but the late Gil Hodges further cemented that status by guiding the Amazins to the promised land in their eighth season in the league. A master tactician with

NEW YORK (AP) — Starting for the third time in his club’s first eight games, Washington ace Max Scherzer earned his first win in the least effective outing of the three.

Manager Aaron Boone sees even more motivation in this year’s New York Yankees. “They’ve had a couple of really good teams here that have been close, and the disappointment of an ending when you feel like you have a team capable of greatness I think does add a log to the fire."

The deck was shuffled quite a bit this winter, and the big league landscape looks much different than it did when Chris Sale punched out Manny Machado for the final out of the World Series back in October. With a lot of new faces in new places as well as old stalwarts returning to familiar stomping grounds, speculation on who will end up on top this season varies greatly depending on who you ask.

Right or wrong, subpar living conditions for minor league players have long been looked upon as an accepted part of life in professional baseball. Grinding it out at the lower levels has traditionally been considered a required rite of passage, sleeping on the floor while surviving on a diet of PB&J sandwiches all part of chasing the dream.

NEW YORK (AP) — New York Yankees third baseman Miguel Andujar was expected to make a decision soon on fixing his injured right shoulder, a plan that could involve missing the rest of the season.

With Bryce Harper and Manny Machado reportedly seeking deals in the eight to ten-year range, much of the discussion around baseball in recent weeks has centered around how long is too long when it comes to free agent contracts. Although things have picked up a bit of late, the market as a whole continues to move at a snail's pace while the world waits to see where these two megastars will sign.

The Yankees inked right-hander Adam Ottavino to a three-year, $27 million deal last week, adding a key component to what appears on paper to be one of the deepest bullpens ever assembled. For the second year in a row, New York looks poised to dominate the late innings with a group known for high strikeout rates and putting zeros on the board.

The lion's share of the off-season news cycle has been dominated by two of the top three picks in MLB's 2010 first-year player draft, with the duo inking deals worth a combined $630 million in the past two-and-a-half weeks. Bryce Harper and Manny Machado were the first and third picks that year, with Pirates right-hander Jameson Taillon sandwiched in between.

As the Nationals look to rebound from a disappointing 82-80 campaign and prepare for their first season without Bryce Harper since 2011, Dave Martinez's club has plenty to be optimistic about.

Bryce Harper agreed to a 13-year, $330 million deal with Philadelphia on Thursday, putting an end to one of the most high-profile free agent courtships in recent memory and sending shockwaves throughout the National League East. The addition of the former MVP on what becomes the largest contract in MLB history caused a seismic shift in the division's power structure, instantly vaulting the team towards the head of the pack in the eyes of many prognosticators, pundits and press box wags.

Everything changes over time, even baseball. It’s no surprise that the role of the starting pitcher has morphed during the past two dozen years. From stricter pitch counts and heavier reliance on bullpens for strikeout purposes to dramatic changes in strategy like bullpen games, openers, and piggyback starts, starters must be more flexible and adaptable than ever. Considering the intense physical and mental exertion that goes into a game for a starting pitcher, some hurlers have famously fastidious pre-game routines that help them align mind and body for the arduous task ahead.

There is no shortage of popular baseball-centric accounts on social media, many which have created their own niche and serve a specific purpose. Whether it be sharing the latest trade rumors or posting player-related memes, it's often a single person or a small team behind many of these heavily-followed handles.