The baseball world spends several months each winter monitoring the free-agent market, waiting to see which teams will spend what is necessary to improve their rosters with the best talent available. Some signings work out splendidly, while others backfire due to a variety of circumstances, injury and underperformance chief among

The first month and change of the 2024 season brought its share of surprises -- some of which you'll see reflected below. With a better sense of this year's crop of young talent, a panel of voters at MLB.com was asked once again to rank their top five Rookie of

LOS ANGELES -- A lot has changed for Walker Buehler in the last 22 months. Nearly two years ago, Buehler was the ace of the Dodgers’ staff and one of the best pitchers in the National League. But despite all that success, Buehler described himself as “angry all the time.”

The most valuable pitch in baseball in 2024 is a 92 mph fastball. That seems impossible. But Shota Imanaga is showing the Major Leagues that velocity is just a number. The start to Imanaga's MLB career has been incredible. Entering his seventh start of the season Tuesday against the Padres,

CHICAGO -- Despite being more than three years removed from his last season with the Cubs, Yu Darvish entered Monday with just one start at his former ballpark since he was traded to the Padres in December 2020. But fans on the North Side haven’t forgotten about their former ace.

CLEVELAND -- If the Guardians are hoping that José Ramírez can bust out of his slump, there’s no better opponent to have in town than the Tigers. Ramírez’s dominance against Detroit continued on Monday, as he hit a deciding solo shot in the sixth inning to lift Cleveland to a

OAKLAND -- Corey Seager, a man of few words, was frank at the end of the Rangers’ most recent homestand when asked about his early season struggles: “I just think I’m not getting enough hits.” Simple, but effective. Rangers manager Bruce Bochy has allowed Seager to work through those struggles

ST. LOUIS -- Late last week after a potential go-ahead blast died on the Citi Field warning track, Brandon Nimmo stood in front of his locker and spoke at length about his season-opening slump. Outside of a spate of rotten luck, Nimmo had little explanation. He was hitting the ball

Konnor Pilkington knew it was coming. The Mississippi State pitcher had seen all the viral video clips. He'd been warned by his coaches and teammates. He'd heard horror stories. He'd hoped, he'd prayed, that it wouldn't happen to him. "Oh yeah, they're known for that," Pilkington, now in the D-backs

MINNEAPOLIS -- Simeon Woods Richardson wasn’t the first young pitcher given the chance to stick in the final spot in the Minnesota starting rotation this season, and it took Louie Varland struggling mightily to open the campaign for Woods Richardson to finally get an extended look in the Major Leagues.

PHILADELPHIA -- If any team is equipped to handle the extended absence of a superstar, it is the Phillies. They played weeks without Bryce Harper in each of the past two seasons, and they survived. They have the manpower to handle Trea Turner’s loss, too. They have a long way

KANSAS CITY -- Bryse Wilson provided a nearly-spotless start for a rotation in need, and Gary Sánchez flashed the power the Brewers want him to produce against left-handed pitching. All that was missing was the clean finish. The Brewers’ reliable bullpen yielded three runs in the seventh inning in relief

ST. PETERSBURG -- The Rays weren’t supposed to wear their City Connect uniforms on Monday night. They debuted the jerseys over the weekend, and according to the plan they announced upon revealing these new threads, they weren’t supposed to break them out again until Saturday. Then, on the heels of

DETROIT -- The Tigers shied away from baseball’s trend of myriad alternate jerseys for years, sticking with their traditional home whites and road grays with the Olde English D. Fittingly, their jump into baseball’s City Connect series is both a tribute to Detroit’s rich history and a nod to the

PITTSBURGH -- Edward Olivares knew off the bat that he had it. Angels starter Tyler Anderson was effective for most of Monday night at PNC Park, but his cutter was left out over the plate and Olivares didn’t miss, launching a 424-foot grand slam. “Dream come true, for sure,” said

Last week, the Braves were No. 1 in the MLB.com Power Rankings, and the Dodgers were No. 3. Quite conveniently, these top teams in the NL played each other over the weekend … and it’s fair to say the Dodgers left little doubt that their early-season struggles are behind them.

KANSAS CITY -- The Royals keep finding a way. Held to one hit in six innings against Brewers starter Bryse Wilson on Monday night, questions swirled about the Royals’ offense and missed chances in the middle of the order. But the Royals flipped the game with a three-run seventh inning

CHICAGO – When Justin Steele dropped to the grass in Globe Life Field on Opening Day, grabbing at his left leg, it was easy to think through worst-case scenarios for the Cubs’ rotation. A little more than a month later, the lefty rejoined a group that has more than held

CHICAGO -- Mike Shildt sorted through a few adjectives to describe closer Robert Suarez’s performance Monday night against the Cubs. “Colossal. Is that big enough? Huge, epic. I don’t know,” the Padres' manager said. "... I mean, that was tremendous.” Suarez came up clutch in San Diego’s series opener on

This story was excerpted from Ian Browne’s Red Sox Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.

BRIDGEWATER, N.J. – Spencer Jones spent a good chunk of his offseason working out with and talking to pitchers, particularly his fellow Vanderbilt alums in Nashville. One night, he chatted with good friend and former Commodores teammate Jack Leiter over dinner, and he got a little jealous. “He said, ‘Man,

There are things that definitively increase a hitter’s likelihood of success -- we've defined the term "hard-hit rate" for a reason -- but even the Aaron Judges and Shohei Ohtanis among us eventually have to deal with the brutal reality of being a baseball player: You can hit that ball

MINNEAPOLIS -- Up to this point in his career, Byron Buxton would push through anything, play through anything, spend however long he’d need to in the trainer’s room and just do whatever he needed to do to be on the field for his teammates, no matter how he felt. “His

This story was excerpted from Mark Bowman’s Braves Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.