Top News:
Bill Madden / New York Daily News:
Frank Robinson, MLB's first black manager and civil rights leader, dead at 83 — Prolific slugger. Quintessential hard-ass player and manager. Baseball trailblazer. — Frank Robinson, who died in Los Angeles after a battle with bone cancer, was all of those things in a 60-year Hall …
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Tyler Carey / KHOU-TV:
Baseball legend, Beaumont native Frank Robinson dies at 83 — Robinson was one of the best all-around players in the game's history and also its first African American manager. — Frank Robinson, who made his mark as one of the greatest players in the history of baseball, has died at the age of 83.
Bob Nightengale / USA Today:
Phillies get All-Star catcher J.T. Realmuto in trade with Marlins — It took longer than expected, but the Miami Marlins finally traded J.T. Realmuto, sending the All-Star catcher to the Philadelphia Phillies and setting his new team up for a blockbuster winter haul.
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Jeff PassanESPN / ESPN:
Phillies acquire catcher J.T. Realmuto from Marlins — The Phillies and Marlins agreed to a trade that will send All-Star catcher J.T. Realmuto to Philadelphia for catcher Jorge Alfaro, pitching prospects Sixto Sanchez and Will Stewart, and an international bonus slot, league sources familiar with the deal tell ESPN.
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Jeff Todd / MLB Trade Rumors:
Phillies, Marlins Working Out Details Of Prospective J.T. Realmuto Swap — Reports emerged this morning that momentum was growing between the Phillies and Marlins on a deal to send star catcher J.T. Realmuto to Philadelphia. Now, it seems, the sides have made yet further strides …
Discussion:
MLB Baseball News …, Last Word on Baseball, Fish Stripes, The Sports Daily and Lone Star Ball
Jeff PassanESPN / ESPN:
The broken winter: Why baseball must fix free agency ASAP — On this, the 97th day of free agency, four days before the first pitchers and catchers report to spring training, less than six weeks ahead of Major League Baseball opening its regular season, the two best free agents in more than a decade remain unemployed.
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Jesse Dougherty / Chicago Tribune:
Giants join the Bryce Harper sweepstakes, which grow stranger by the day — The Washington Post — Add another team to the list of those pursuing Bryce Harper — a list that could be as big as 10 franchises, or actually as small as one or two, and now includes the San Francisco Giants …
John Romano / Tampa Bay Times:
Changes baseball should and shouldn't make — Some of the proposed changes are bureaucratic; others seismic — Baseball's career home run record was set by Babe Ruth in 1935. It stood until 1974 before Henry Aaron broke it, and then again until 2007 when Barry Bonds broke it.
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Coley Harvey / ESPN:
'Don't run from the fire. Run toward it': Inside Clint Frazier's long, rockin' road to recovery — MARIETTA, Ga. — Clint Frazier's ears have been ringing a lot lately. — In recent months, they've been bombarded with booming bass beats, decibel-deafening melodies and sudden, piercing shrieks from excited music fans.
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Gabriel Burns / The Charlotte Observer:
Are Braves favorites in competitive NL East? — BY GABRIEL BURNS THE ATLANTA JOURNAL-CONSTITUTION — The more I look at it, the more I'm convinced there isn't a more competitive division top-to-bottom than the National League East. That isn't exactly a hot take, but a week away from spring training …
Discussion:
Federal Baseball and Talking Chop
Derrick Goold / St. Louis Post-Dispatch:
Goldschmidt, clad in Cardinals red, and Ozuna join early 'Birds already in Jupiter — New Cardinal first baseman Paul Goldschmidt has arrived in Jupiter early and was getting started with a workout Thursday morning. (Photo by Derrick Goold) — New Cardinal Paul Goldschmidt has arrived early …
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Jacob Bogage / Chicago Tribune:
After 1968's ‘Year of the Pitcher,’ MLB lowered the mound. Now, the league could do it again. — The Washington Post — During Bob Gibson's record-setting 1968 season, he hung a sign above his locker that read, “Here comes the judge.” He felt untouchable, he said.
Daily Record:
Mets sign catcher Devin Mesoraco to minor-league contract — Devin Mesoraco will get his chance to stay with the New York Mets this upcoming season. — The Mets signed the catcher to a minor-league contract and invited him to spring training, the team announced Thursday.
Arizona Republic:
Arizona Diamondbacks 2019 promotional schedule: Haboob Globe highlights special giveaways — Sometimes its hard deciding which baseball games to attend. — Each MLB team does have 81 home games in a season. — The Arizona Diamondbacks have helped make the task easier for 2019 with the release of their promotional schedule.
Mark Gonzales / Chicago Tribune:
Cubs have struck out with homegrown pitchers in recent years, but they're working to change that — Chicago Tribune — Dylan Cease didn't advance very far in the Cubs organization before they traded him to the White Sox. But he hasn't forgotten the special care the Cubs gave …
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MLB Baseball News …
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Paul Sullivan / Chicago Tribune:
Column: Cubs' last hurrah on WGN-TV could be a tearjerker