Check out Mini-Ballbug for simple mobiles or Ballbug Mobile for modern smartphones.
4:35 PM ET, December 17, 2025

Ballbug

 Top News: 
Ken Rosenthal / The Athletic:
What I'm hearing about the Royals' interest in Jarren Duran and more MLB notes  —  Even after signing free agent Lane Thomas and trading for Isaac Collins, the Kansas City Royals are open to adding another outfielder - most notably Jarren Duran, if the Boston Red Sox lower their asking price.
RELATED:
Ken Rosenthal / The Athletic:
What I'm hearing about the DBacks' interest in Alex Bregman, plus more MLB offseason notes  —  On Monday, a rival executive summed up the Arizona Diamondbacks' offseason messaging thusly:  —  “We have no money, we have no money, we have no money . . . oh, Ken got aggressive.”
Nick Piecoro / Arizona Republic:
Diamondbacks showing interest in big-name free-agent Alex Bregman … The Arizona Diamondbacks have shown interest in free-agent third baseman Alex Bregman, sources confirmed, a surprising development for a club that has been hyper-focused on adding pitchers, not position players, for the first few months of the offseason.
Tim Healey / The Boston Globe:
Maybe Craig Breslow actually won't trade an outfielder, and other Red Sox thoughts  —  Publicly, Craig Breslow has been steady in saying the Red Sox do not need to trade an outfielder, and that even though they have four players for three spots, they can make it work in 2026 in the same …
Jorge Castillo / ESPN:
How David Stearns is remaking Mets after historic collapse  —  The New York Mets arrived in Orlando, Florida, for the winter meetings last week with a chance to re-sign closer Edwin Diaz and first baseman Pete Alonso.  —  Díaz had already received two contract offers …
RELATED:
Jesse Rogers / ESPN:
Updated contract projections for top four free agent hitters  —  The market for free agent hitters got a jolt last week at the winter meetings when 32-year-old designated hitter Kyle Schwarber agreed to a five-year, $150 million contract with the Philadelphia Phillies, and that was followed …
Discussion: NESN.com and FanSided
David Schoenfield / ESPN:
MLB free agency reset: Predictions for top remaining targets  —  We've started to see some top free agents come off the board as the MLB offseason has gotten rolling: Kyle Schwarber back to the Philadelphia Phillies, Pete Alonso to the Baltimore Orioles and Dylan Cease to the Toronto Blue Jays.
Discussion: NESN.com, FanSided and sports.yahoo.com
MLB.com:
Giants adding Houser to rotation on 2-year deal (report)  —  The Giants are adding a veteran arm to their rotation, agreeing with right-hander Adrian Houser on a two-year, $22 million deal, according to a report by ESPN's Jeff Passan on Tuesday.  The team has not confirmed the deal, which reportedly includes a club option for 2028.
RELATED:
Steve Gilbert / MLB.com:
D-backs bringing back Merrill Kelly on 2-year deal (sources)
The Athletic:
Merrill Kelly, Diamondbacks finalizing two-year, $40 million deal: Source
Dan Hayes / The Athletic:
Partial team sale will significantly clear Twins' finances, may set table for future sale  —  The Minnesota Twins have completed a partial sale of the team, a move that will clean up the club's finances in what was described as a “significant” manner and could set the stage for a more lucrative deal in the future.
Pat Ragazzo / Sports Illustrated:
Source: Mets sign outfielder Cristian Pache to minor league deal  —  The Mets have added a versatile outfielder to the mix in Cristian Pache. … The New York Mets have added major league experience to their outfield depth.  —  The Mets are in agreement on a minor league contract …
Todd Zolecki / MLB.com:
Reliever Brad Keller, Phillies agree to 2-year deal (source)  —  PHILADELPHIA - President of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski indicated on Tuesday that the Phillies would pursue a reliever or two before Spring Training.  —  He got one less than 24 hours later.
Jessica Camerato / MLB.com:
Red Sox, Nationals exchange pitching prospects  —  Paul Toboni spoke of “creating a scouting and player development monster” when he was hired as the Nationals' president of baseball operations.  —  Toboni addressed the Nats' Minor League system on Monday by swapping pitching prospects with the Red Sox …
 
 Archived Page Info: 
This is a snapshot of Ballbug at 4:35 PM ET, December 17, 2025.

View the current page or another snapshot:


 
 See Also: 
Ballbug: site main
Ballbug River: reverse chronological Ballbug
Ballbug Mobile: for phones
Ballbug Leaderboard: Ballbug's top sources
 
 Subscribe: 
Ballbug RSS feed
 
 
 More News: 
Andrea Adelson / ESPN:
Texas QB Arch Manning will return to school for 2026 season
Thomas Harding / MLB.com:
Rockies hire former Mets exec Levin as assistant GM
 Earlier Picks: 
Adam J. Morris / Lone Star Ball:
Adolis Garcia to the Phillies, per report
Discussion: Phillies Nation
Anne Rogers / MLB.com:
Royals add Collins, Mears in trade with Brewers, part with Zerpa (sources)
 

 
From WeSmirch:

TMZ.com:
Reiner Family Breaks Silence Following Double Murder

TMZ.com:
Riley Keough Is Biological Mother of One of John Travolta's Sons, Lawsuit Claims

TMZ.com:
OnlyFans Star Lane V Rogers Killed in Motorcycle Accident

 
Sister Sites:

Techmeme
 Top news and commentary for technology's leaders, from all around the web
Mediagazer
 Top news and commentary for media professionals from all around the web
memeorandum
 What US political commentators are discussing online right now
WeSmirch
 The top celebrity news from all around the web on a single page