Top News:
Kevin Acee / San Diego Union-Tribune:
Padres pitcher Yu Darvish poised to walk away from his contract — Yu Darvish does not plan to pitch again in the major leagues. — The 39-year-old right-hander, who has been one of the best starting pitchers of his era, has told the Padres he intends to walk away with three years and $43 million remaining on his contract.
Discussion:
Gaslamp Ball, Yahoo Sports, Dallas Morning News, Bleacher Report and Sportsnet.ca
RELATED:
Sonja Chen / MLB.com:
Darvish ‘leaning towards’ voiding contract, but report of retirement premature — While Yu Darvish said he is “leaning towards” voiding his current contract with the Padres, both he and his agent refuted a report on Saturday that indicated the Japanese right-hander is retiring from baseball.
Discussion:
Yahoo Sports
AJ Eustace / MLB Trade Rumors:
Padres Sign Samad Taylor To Minors Contract — The Padres have signed infielder Samad Taylor to a minor-league deal with an invitation to Spring Training, according to Chris Cotillo of MassLive. Taylor was designated for assignment by the Mariners last week and elected free agency prior to signing this new deal.
Discussion:
Lookout Landing
Ian Casselberry / Yahoo Sports:
Padres pitcher Yu Darvish says he has not decided to retire, despite reports — Pitcher Yu Darvish has reportedly told the San Diego Padres that he intends to retire with three years remaining on his contract, according to the San Diego Union-Tribune. — However, Darvish's agent, Joel Wolfe …
Discussion:
San Diego Union-Tribune, Metsmerized Online, The Athletic and MLB Trade Rumors
Manny Randhawa / MLB.com:
Can Yankees take AL East back in '26? Here's what they need — The American League East, already a tough division from which three clubs reached the postseason last year, has gotten better even with the departures of Bo Bichette (Blue Jays to Mets) and Alex Bregman (Red Sox to Cubs) in free agency.
Discussion:
New York Post, New York Daily News, MLB Trade Rumors and Pinstripe Alley
Jake Rill / MLB.com:
As a newbie, Alonso embraces ‘New Oriole Way’ — BALTIMORE — This week, Pete Alonso has become better acquainted with Baltimore, a city whose people have given the slugging first baseman a hero's welcome for a month-plus now. — On Thursday night, Alonso joined new Orioles manager Craig Albernaz …
Discussion:
MASNsports.com, The Banner, BaltimoreBaseball.com, Yahoo Sports and Baltimore Sun
Mark Polishuk / MLB Trade Rumors:
Guardians Agree To Extension With Jose Ramirez — Longtime Guardians star Jose Ramirez has agreed to another extension with the team, keeping the star third baseman in Cleveland through his age-39 season in 2032. The new deal (which will be official pending a physical) …
Discussion:
ESPN, Yahoo Sports, New York Post, Plain Dealer, Bleacher Report and Sportsnet.ca
Nick Piecoro / Arizona Republic:
Why the Diamondbacks haven't added a late-inning reliever this winter … Not having added a back-end reliever so far this winter has been a choice, of sorts, for the Diamondbacks and general manager Mike Hazen. — He would have liked to have signed one off the free-agent market.
Discussion:
Yahoo Sports, Plain Dealer and Sports Illustrated
Pat Ragazzo / Sports Illustrated:
Source: Freddy Peralta open to signing extension with Mets — The Mets' new ace is open to signing a contract extension with the team. … The New York Mets acquired ace starter Freddy Peralta and pitcher Tobias Myers from the Milwaukee Brewers on Wednesday night in exchange for top prospects Jett Williams and Brandon Sproat.
Discussion:
Forbes and MLB Trade Rumors
Andrew Baggarly / The Athletic:
Giants rebuffed after making aggressive pitch for Nationals' CJ Abrams: Source — With their options thinning out and just two weeks remaining before players report to spring training, the San Francisco Giants recently turned up the aggression to get something done on the trade market.
Discussion:
Baseball America, Federal Baseball, MLB Trade Rumors, NBC Sports Bay Area …, New York Post and Bleacher Report
USA Today:
José Ramírez contract extension being finalized with Cleveland Guardians … Gannett may earn revenue from sports betting operators for audience referrals to betting services. Sports betting operators have no influence over nor are any such revenues in any way dependent on or linked to the newsrooms or news coverage.
David Schoenfield / ESPN:
After offseason additions, are 2026 Mets better than 2025 team? — No MLB team has had as interesting an offseason as the New York Mets. Gone are longtime lineup anchors Pete Alonso, Brandon Nimmo and Jeff McNeil, plus closer Edwin Diaz and designated hitter Starling Marte, a group that played a combined 36 seasons with the Mets.
Discussion:
Yahoo Sports, Metsmerized Online, CBS Sports and New York Daily News
Bryan Hoch / MLB.com:
With Bellinger back, are the Yankees done making moves? — NEW YORK — The dance between Cody Bellinger's representatives and the Yankees was deep into a second month, the club having offered five years and the player's side holding out for more, as Aaron Boone held out hope for a speedy resolution.
Discussion:
Forbes, New York Post, Yahoo Sports and MLB Trade Rumors
RELATED:
