Baseball owners extend commissioner Rob Manfred's contract  —  ATLANTA — Baseball owners have extended the contract of Commissioner Rob Manfred after two days of meetings in Atlanta.  —  The owners put off any decision Thursday on changes that might speed games.

Writer who didn't vote for deGrom hangs up on WFAN host … The one baseball writer who didn't make Jacob deGrom's Cy Young Award win unanimous also apparently wasn't in the mood to “Schmooze.”  —  Longtime WFAN host Steve Somers, who landed an interview with John Maffei …

Bryce Harper: Why the San Francisco Giants should sign the free agent  —  Bryce Harper, a National League MVP at 23, is a free agent at 26, peddling his services in an industry that's grown to nearly $11 billion in annual revenues.  His combination of skills, age and marketing cachet …

Japan beats MLB All-Stars 4-1 in final of exhibition series  —  NAGOYA, Japan — Sosuke Genda drove in three runs with a bases-clearing triple as Japan beat the MLB All-Stars 4-1 in the final of their six-game exhibition series on Thursday.  —  Genda tripled down the right field line off …

Alex Cora gets a new deal from the Red Sox  —  Alex Cora brought a new voice and culture to the Boston Red Sox that helped propel them to their latest World Series title.  —  The Red Sox rewarded him for bringing home a championship in his first year with the team by giving him a new contract …

Cubs bump season ticket prices 2.6 percent — but discount some upper-deck seats  —  Photos of the ongoing renovations at historic Wrigley Field in Chicago.  —  Chicago Tribune  —  Cubs season ticket-holders will see an average increase of 2.6 percent, the team announced Thursday.

Mets address reliever issues by signing lefty who hasn't pitched in big leagues since 2016  —  The Mets have signed 30-year-old lefty reliever Ryan O'Rourke to a minor league contract Thursday.  He also will receive an invite to major league spring training.

Report: Draymond Green plans to appeal Warriors' $120,000 fine for verbal altercation with Kevin Durant  —  Draymond Green plans to appeal the $120,000 fine levied by the Warriors after Green's altercation with teammate Kevin Durant, ESPN reported Thursday.  —  Green and Durant quarreled late …

Hal Steinbrenner Calls Manny Machado's October Comments on Hustling ‘Troubling’  —  Machado was criticized during Game 2 of the NLCS for not hustling to first base.  —  New York Yankees managing general partner Hal Steinbrenner finds free agent Manny Machado's October comments on hustling “troubling.”

Yasmani Grandal's ugly Octobers could scare away potential suitors  —  Yasmani Grandal finished second among catchers in WAR in 2018, behind only the player perhaps most coveted in the trade market, J.T. Realmuto.  Salvador Perez was the only catcher to hit more homers, 27, than Grandal's 24.

Miracle Met Ed Kranepool still hoping for miraculous donor kidney  —  Ed Kranepool is looking forward to the 50th anniversary reunion of the 1969 Miracle Mets next June while trying to remain optimistic about finding a donor kidney.  —  Ed Kranepool hopes that many of his 1969 Mets teammates …

Phillies should always have an eye on Mike Trout |  Extra Innings  —  The general manager meetings ended last Thursday and the winter meetings are less than a month away, but we could be waiting a while for players such as Bryce Harper and Manny Machado to make up their minds about what city they want to play in next season.

Bench coach Manny Acta defends Scott Servais, Mariners after allegations of racism by Lorena Martin  —  In a phone call from the Dominican Republic, Acta said during his three years on Servais' staff, he has never seen signs of the behavior alleged by former director of high performance Lorena Martin.