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.

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 …

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.

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.

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 …

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 …

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.

Source: Cardinals finalizing deal for starter Lance Lynn's return to help rotation  —  The Cardinals' first move to restock their rotation is a retro one.  —  Right-hander Lance Lynn, a fixture in the rotation for years, is finalizing a one-year deal to return to the Cardinals …

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 …

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.

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.