Top News:
Brittany Ghiroli / The Athletic:
Zack Britton, former Yankee, Oriole All-Star reliever, retires — Zack Britton is officially retiring from baseball after a 12-year big-league career, the 35-year-old pitcher told The Athletic in an exclusive interview earlier this month. Britton was a two-time All-Star with three 30-save seasons under …
Jeff Passan / ESPN:
Sources: Phillies, pitcher Aaron Nola agree to $172M deal — Right-hander Aaron Nola and the Phillies agreed to a seven-year contract on Sunday, the team announced, as Philadelphia locked up its longtime rotation stalwart after nearly three weeks of inactivity in the MLB free agent market.
Bob Nightengale / USA Today:
Nightengale's Notebook: What made late Padres owner Peter Seidler beloved by his MLB peers — ARLINGTON, Texas — Major League Baseball owners arrived at their meetings this week, holding back tears, still trying to grasp that beloved San Diego Padres owner Peter Seidler is gone.
Luca Evans / Orange County Register:
UCLA football pummels USC in lopsided rivalry matchup — LOS ANGELES — Seconds after the end of a beatdown at the Coliseum, USC quarterback Caleb Williams hugged his mother, leaning down over the guardrail of the family section. He hugged his father, standing on the dirt track around the grass.
Discussion:
San Bernardino Sun, Daily News, SGV Tribune, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin, Los Angeles Times and The Athletic
Jeff Fletcher / BBWAA:
Twelve newcomers join 2024 Hall of Fame ballot — A former Most Valuable Player Award winner and three-time batting champion, another batting titlist, three MVP runners-up, a Cy Young Award winner, a World Series home-run record holder and the only pitcher to total double-digit complete games …
Discussion:
ESPN, MLB.com, San Diego Union-Tribune, Dallas Morning News, FanGraphs Baseball, Baseball-Reference.com, The Athletic, AZ Snake Pit, Amazin' Avenue, Bluebird Banter, Newsday, Phillies Nation, Bleed Cubbie Blue, Boston Herald, NESN.com, Lone Star Ball, ClutchPoints, Gaslamp Ball, Yahoo Sports, DraftKings Network, Bleacher Nation, Pinstripe Alley and masslive.com
Ken Rosenthal / The Athletic:
What is Shohei Ohtani's free-agent value? Teams calculating worth without answers on pitching future — Occasionally after one of his rare poor pitching performances, Shohei Ohtani would enter the Los Angeles Angels' dugout and joke, “Maybe just hit.” As in, maybe just give up pitching altogether …
Discussion:
MLB.com, Bleacher Report, ClutchPoints, Bleacher Nation and NESN.com
Brady MacDonald / Orange County Register:
Disneyland lamppost falls and injures 3 visitors during high winds — Emergency personnel transported an elderly woman by stretcher who was struck on the head by the lamp post while another visitor sat on a park bench with a bandaged head, according to eyewitnesses.
Discussion:
New York Post, Associated Press, Mercury News, New York Daily News and Inland Valley Daily Bulletin
Mona Darwish / Orange County Register:
High wind warnings in effect throughout Southern California — High wind warnings across Southern California were issued Sunday and will remain in effect until Tuesday morning, along with warmer, drier weather. — Drivers were urged to take caution during Monday morning commutes along …
Discussion:
Mercury News and Press Enterprise
Jordan McPherson / Miami Herald:
What Peter Bendix is looking for at catcher and the options available to the Marlins — Peter Bendix knows one of the Miami Marlins' biggest needs starts behind home plate. — After the Marlins opted not to tender a contract to Jacob Stallings, Miami has just one catcher on its 40-man roster in Nick Fortes.
Discussion:
MLB Trade Rumors and Associated Press
Steve Adams / MLB Trade Rumors:
Braves Sign Reynaldo Lopez — The Braves announced Monday morning that they've signed right-hander Reynaldo Lopez to a three-year contract that will guarantee him $30MM. The CAA client will be paid $4MM in 2024 and $11MM in both 2025 and 2026. There's an $8MM club option for the 2027 season with a $4MM buyout.
Discussion:
Battery Power, New York Post, ClutchPoints, Bleacher Nation, Lone Star Ball and Covering the Corner
James L. Edwards III / The Athletic:
'We're bad': Pistons lose 11th straight, and it's time to do something about it — TORONTO — What's worse than a 10-game losing skid? An 11-game losing skid that came served up with a biscuit and a 29-point loss. — The Detroit Pistons were fortunate to walk away from Scotiabank Arena on Sunday night with that margin of defeat.
Discussion:
UPROXX, Hoops Rumors, SBNation.com and Associated Press
Maddie Lee / Chicago Sun Times:
Coaches Johnny Washington, Andy Green leave Cubs to join Angels, Mets — The Angels hired Washington as hitting coach, and sources confirmed Green is set to join the Mets front office. — New Cubs manager Craig Counsell said the process of filling out his coaching staff would be slow.
Discussion:
Cubs Insider, Bleed Cubbie Blue, MLB Trade Rumors, Bleacher Nation, Orange County Register and Associated Press