Red Sox acquire veteran Sonny Gray in trade with Cardinals  —  The Boston Red Sox acquired veteran right-hander Sonny Gray in a trade with the St. Louis Cardinals on Tuesday.  —  In return, St. Louis receives left-handed prospect Brandon Clarke and right-hander Richard Fitts.

Sources: Blue Jays, Dylan Cease reach 7-year, $210M deal  —  Free agent starting pitcher Dylan Cease, who has made at least 32 starts in each of the past five seasons, reached a seven-year, $210 million deal with the Toronto Blue Jays, sources told ESPN's Jeff Passan on Wednesday.

Source: Angels, Anthony Rendon in talks to buy out final year of deal  —  Open Extended Reactions  —  The Los Angeles Angels and third baseman Anthony Rendon are in talks about buying out the final year of his contract, potentially bringing a resolution to the seven-year …

Yankees are in for an offseason battle royale with their biggest rivals  —  The Yankees are targeting Cody Bellinger and eying Japanese right-hander Tatsuya Imai and other free agent stars, and despite owner Hal Steinbrenner's obvious ongoing concern about the bottom line …

Paul Skenes gets record $3.4M from pre-arbitration bonus pool  —  Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Paul Skenes received a record $3,436,343 from this year's pre-arbitration bonus pool, raising his two-year total to $5,588,400 under the initiative to direct more money to top younger players.

Cardinals finalize Oli Marmol's staff with two new additions, all field staff returning  —  Post-Dispatch baseball writer Derrick Goold talke with editor Nathan Mills about the Cardinals trading their ace to the Red Sox, their return and the next dominoes to fall this offseason.  —  kAm~?

MLB 2025-26 offseason survey: Execs predict free agency, trades  —  The hot stove started simmering early this MLB offseason — and shows no signs of slowing down.  —  The Seattle Mariners kicked the winter off by re-signing Josh Naylor, followed by the Los Angeles Angels and Baltimore Orioles pulling off an early trade.

Orioles hire Shildt for player development role, Vega changing titles  —  In the latest unexpected development in the offseason, former Padres manager Mike Shildt is joining the Orioles to work in player development.  —  According to a source, Shildt has been hired as upper-level minor league coordinator of instruction.

What I'm hearing about J.J. McCarthy, Jerry Jones' trade steal and more  —  There's a colorful children's book on my kitchen table right now called “Turkey Trouble.”  It's about a turkey trying to avoid becoming Thanksgiving dinner by throwing on disguises.  A pig.  A horse.

Breaking down the top Japanese free agents coming to MLB  —  The 2025-26 offseason has yet another strong crop of Japanese players that are available in free agency — after having been posted by their respective Nippon Professional Baseball clubs — and are set to play in Major League Baseball next season.

George Altman, who played in Negro Leagues, Majors and Japan, dies at 92  —  George Altman, counted among the best-traveled players in baseball history, has passed away, Negro Leagues Baseball Museum president Bob Kendrick announced Tuesday.  He was 92.  —  One of just three people ever …