Braves first baseman Freddie Freeman wins NL MVP  —  Freddie Freeman of the Atlanta Braves won the NL MVP, becoming the 16th first baseman to win the award in the NL.  —  The list includes three-time winner Albert Pujols (2005, 2008, 2009), Frank McCormick in 1940, Dolph Camilli in 1941 …

Former Rookie of the Year José Abreu adds the AL MVP  —  Chicago White Sox first baseman José Abreu is the 10th former AL Rookie of the Year Award winner (2014) to go on to win an MVP Award.  —  The others were Fred Lynn in 1975 and Ichiro Suzuki in 2001, the only players to win both awards in the same season.

Phillies front-office search shifting to interview stage  —  In the six weeks since the Phillies “reassigned” general manager Matt Klentak, the Angels hired a new GM (Perry Minasian).  So did the Marlins (Kim Ng).  And right across the street in South Philadelphia, even the 76ers hired …

Baseball still in his heart, Tebow preps for '21  —  NEW YORK — Even now, Tim Tebow is unwilling to put an expiration date on his big league pursuit.  At an age when many players begin to consider retirement, Tebow is preparing to embark upon a fourth Minor League season.

The only Met to receive 2020 MVP votes is excited for the Steve Cohen era  —  Count Dom Smith among Steve Cohen's growing fanbase.  —  Smith didn't watch the whole press conference — he's in Los Angeles, busy organizing his organization's Baseball Generations charity tournament.

NL Cy Young winner Trevor Bauer honored by Mets' interest; Jacob deGrom third in voting  —  Jacob deGrom did not win the National League Cy Young Award this year, but the Mets have the attention of the guy who did.  —  Trevor Bauer, a free agent who helped the Reds to the playoffs …

Yankees open to Gary Sanchez trade as they mull other options  —  This time the Yankees are at least contemplating a trade of Gary Sanchez.  —  Sanchez endured a terrible 2020 season, getting replaced as the starting catcher in the playoffs by Kyle Higashioka.

Russell Westbrook wants a trade and that's just the start — An inside look at the Rockets  —  The Houston Rockets' offseason has become quite raucous — again.  —  Nearly two months after the bumpy departure of former coach Mike D'Antoni and a month after former general manager Daryl Morey's …

As NL East rivals improve, ‘small-minded’ Philadelphia Phillies are adrift  —  The Phandemics stood out from all of the baseball aficionados shut out of ballparks this year, and to fully understand why, you need to understand where Citizens Bank Park is located.

Lindor likely to be dealt in offseason (sources)  —  Francisco Lindor probably won't be a member of the Cleveland Indians by Opening Day.  —  But it could take several weeks — or longer — to learn which uniform he'll wear in 2021.  —  Multiple industry sources said this week that the Indians …

Boston Celtics' Vincent Poirier clarifies comments on role, future: 'I don't want to leave'  —  When Boston Celtics big man Vincent Poirier sat down for a Zoom interview with MassLive on Wednesday evening, he was sporting an enormous beard and a green Celtics hoodie — appropriate attire …