Giants To Sign Harrison Bader  —  The Giants have a notable upgrade to their outfield defense in place, reportedly agreeing to a two-year, $20.5MM contract with free agent outfielder Harrison Bader.  The Vayner Sports client can earn an additional $500K via incentives, bringing the deal's maximum value to $21MM.

2026 Top 100 MLB prospects from Keith Law: Pirates' Konnor Griffin tops the list  —  Welcome to this year's ranking of the top 100 prospects in baseball.  I've been compiling and writing such rankings for 19 (!) years now, and those of you who've read them before will find the format here similar to those from the recent past.

Sources: Royals to sign former All-Star Aaron Sanchez to minor-league contract  —  The Royals may have cashed in on a bargain buy. … Right-hander Aaron Sanchez and the Kansas City Royals are in agreement on a minor-league contract, sources say.  The deal includes an invitation to spring training.

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.

Top 100 MLB prospects for 2026: Griffin, McGonigle, more  —  With spring training just a few weeks away, it's time to rank the top prospects in Major League Baseball for the 2026 season, with some who will be in the majors to begin the year and others primed to rise through the minors in the years ahead.

Dodgers manager Dave Roberts makes his case to lead Team USA at 2028 Olympics  —  There's a very real chance that major league players could participate in the Olympics for the first time.  If they do, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts has strong feelings about who should lead Team USA at the 2028 Summer Games.

From the Dodgers to the White Sox, these teams have won the winter  —  The pop of the mitt.  The crack of the bat.  Players talking about being in the best shape of their lives.  —  Even as many of us work to dig out from beneath the latest snowfall that disrupted the weekend, the sounds of spring will be here before we know it.

‘Phillies Extra’ Q&A: Rob Thomson on managing the Bo Bichette aftermath, Nick Castellanos, and more  —  Later this week, Rob Thomson will gas up his truck near his home in Ontario and begin the drive to Clearwater, Fla., for spring training.  —  “As you go further south, it gets warmer and warmer …

Breaking down the prospect cost to land All-Star pitcher Gore  —  This story was excerpted from Kennedi Landry's Rangers Beat newsletter.  To read the full newsletter, click here.  And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.  —  ARLINGTON — Before an ice storm swept through North Texas this weekend …

Tomoyuki Sugano Intends To Stay In MLB  —  Free agent Tomoyuki Sugano is not planning to return to Nippon Professional Baseball, per a report from Yahoo Japan (hat tip here for the translation).  The report cited a recent television interview from Sugano in which he said he's “not considering” coming back to NPB.

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.