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.

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.

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.

‘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 …

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.

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.

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.

Hanser Alberto Announces Retirement  —  Veteran infielder Hanser Alberto announced his retirement via Instagram earlier this week, bringing a career that saw him spend parts of eight seasons in the majors to a close.  He played for the Rangers, Orioles, Dodgers, Royals, and White Sox throughout his time in the big leagues.

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.

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) …