Baseball

1/5/2026 |  Houston Astros Bet $54 Million on Tatsuya Imai in Risky Move (DEADSPIN) Facing a deadline to return to his team in Japan, free-agent right-hander Tatsuya Imai reportedly agreed Thursday to a three-year, $54 million contract with the Houston Astros.
It's a shorter deal in length, by perhaps half, than many analysts predicted for Imai when free agency opened after the World Series. It could end up being much shorter, with Imai negotiating opt-outs after each of the first two seasons.

1/5/2026 |  Perfect Game Expands Asia-Pacific Operations (SportsTravel) Perfect Game will expand its presence across the Asia-Pacific Zone, with a strategic focus on the 10- to 15-year-old age group. The initiative from the youth baseball and softball organization will be led in partnership with longtime Japanese youth baseball executive and coach Takaharu Nasu, as Perfect Game aims to grow its global footprint and strengthen pathways for elite youth development.

12/31/2025 |  Why Félix Hernández Belongs in the Hall of Fame With Sandy Koufax (DEADSPIN) Among the candidates for baseball’s Hall of Fame on the current BBWAA ballot, you won't find the next Sandy Koufax.
But you will find right-hander Félix Hérnández, whose accomplishments rank somewhere between Koufax and Dizzy Dean, a pair of Hall of Famers who had short careers punctuated by dominant peaks. When they were good, Koufax and Dean were really, really good, even if neither were able to have much of a career after reaching age 30.

12/31/2025 |  USA: Rays closing in on decision over new ballpark. Opening in 2029? (SportsTravel) The Tampa Bay Rays’ front office says work on the new ballpark project is progressing according to plan, with the club actively analyzing potential sites across the Tampa Bay region. The goal remains to open a modern stadium before the start of the 2029 season. 

12/30/2025 |  Predicting landing spots for the top 10 remaining MLB free agents: Kyle Tucker, Alex Bregman and more (CBS Sports) Believe it or not, spring training is only about seven weeks away. Indeed, Major League Baseball's offseason is closer to the wind-down phase than not. That's something considering that, well, it hasn't yet achieved its full stride. More than half of the top 20 free agents in this class remain unsigned, with that count including each of the top four: outfielder Kyle Tucker, infielders Alex Bregman and Bo Bichette, and lefty Framber Valdez.