Sources: Aaron Judge declines $19M settlement offer from New York Yankees, seeks arbitration victory  —  Aaron Judge is betting big on himself, again — this time by going to an arbitration hearing with the New York Yankees that starts at noon Friday rather than agreeing to a settlement.

Yankees, Dodgers et al are obvious buyers, but mid-tier sellers have decisions to make  —  With the trade deadline on the horizon, how do the Dodgers know exactly what they need to do?  They don't know if they'll have Walker Buehler or Dustin May at even 80 percent on Labor Day.

Revisiting the Slap Heard 'Round Baseball as Tommy Pham, Reds head to San Francisco  —  It was nearly a month ago when Tommy Pham delivered the slap heard ‘round baseball during batting practice and was suspended for all three of the Cincinnati Reds’ games against the San Francisco Giants.

Los Angeles Dodgers lose right-handed reliever Daniel Hudson for rest of season, and 'it's a big loss'  —  MLB, Atlanta Braves, Los Angeles Dodgers  —  ATLANTA — Los Angeles Dodgers right-hander Daniel Hudson was placed on the injured list Saturday because of a season-ending torn left ACL.

Adley Rutschman homers, catches shutout as outfield defense dazzles in Orioles' 4-0 win over White Sox  —  ExpandAutoplay  —  1 of 7  —  CHICAGO — Adley Rutschman has arrived.  —  Sure, the top prospect in baseball and the Orioles' farm system reached the majors more than a month ago.

Former No. 1 pick Mark Appel, 30, gets big league call-up from Philadelphia Phillies  —  Mark Appel, the 2013 No. 1 overall pick whose baseball career included a three-season absence from the sport, is getting his first major league call-up Saturday at the age of 30.

Former Poly star Justin Lewis reportedly agrees to two-way deal with Chicago Bulls  —  Former Poly and Marquette forward Justin Lewis has agreed to a two-way deal with the Chicago Bulls, according to The Athletic, after going unselected in the 2022 NBA draft on Thursday night.

How a Wilmington-based company developed a chemical coating for baseballs that improves grip and can be applied uniformly  —  New baseballs pop out of the box so white and shiny that they're called pearls.  —  Shiny also means slippery, and for years now baseballs have been prepared for games …

Kansas City Royals C Salvador Perez to have surgery to repair thumb ligament  —  Kansas City Royals catcher Salvador Perez needs surgery on his left thumb and has been placed on the 10-day injured list.  —  The surgery will be to repair the ulnar collateral ligament in the thumb, and his IL move is retroactive to Tuesday.

Magic choose Michigan's Caleb Houstan in 2nd round of NBA draft  —  Columnist Mike Bianchi on the Orlando Magic drafting Paolo Banchero with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2022 NBA Draft.  (Orlando Sentinel)  —  The Orlando Magic once again dipped into the University of Michigan pipeline …