MLB competition committee tinkers with pitch time, basepaths  —  Major League Baseball's competition committee approved several rule changes for the 2024 season, including subtracting two seconds from the pitch timer with men on base — from 20 to 18 seconds — while also widening the runner's lane to first.

Pirates bring back Andrew McCutchen with one-year deal  —  Andrew McCutchen, who needs just one home run to reach 300 for his career, will return to the Pittsburgh Pirates on a one-year contract, the team announced Wednesday.  —  The deal is worth $5 million deal, a source confirmed to ESPN on Tuesday.

Billie Eilish's bizarre jersey choice gives Peavy ‘huge street cred’  —  The latest episode of Saturday Night Live had just ended.  —  The crew got together on stage to say their thank yous and goodbyes to the audience watching both inside the NBC studio and on TVs around the world.

Yoshinobu Yamamoto's free agency: The latest on each team still in the mix  —  As the MLB offseason rolls on, 25-year-old Japanese pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto remains a free agent.  While his timeline for making a decision remains unclear — he has until Jan. 4 to do so based on his posting window …

Yoshinobu Yamamoto's free agency pits Yankees against Mets  —  In the more than six decades they have shared New York, the relationship between the Yankees and Mets has been mostly polite — strangely polite — with the notable exception of that jagged bat barrel Roger Clemens bounced across …

Honoring the best MLB pitches of 2023: The good, the sweepy and the nasty  —  It's nearing the end of the year, which means it's time for us to look back on the good and the bad we saw this season.  Between the last-minute gift shopping and travel planning, productivity at work has probably not been the highest this week, right?

Sources: C.J. Stroud dealing with concussion symptoms, set to miss Browns game, with Case Keenum to start again  —  Texans add former Jets quarterback Tim Boyle to practice squad  —  HOUSTON - Texans starting quarterback C.J. Stroud is still dealing with concussion symptoms and is expected …

Counsell, Cubs to finalize staff with addition of bullpen, catching coaches: Sources  —  Sources confirmed to The Athletic that Chicago Cubs manager Craig Counsell has added bullpen coach Darren Holmes and catching coach Mark Strittmatter to his coaching staff.

$1 billion boon?  How Shohei Ohtani's contract could make Dodgers MLB financial kings  —  There is an old saying in business that you need to have money to make money.  —  The Dodgers are one of baseball's richest teams, and thanks to the highly unusual structure of their contract with Shohei Ohtani …

Which teams could land top slugger Cody Bellinger?  —  When agent Scott Boras has multiple puns ready about a free agent of his, it usually means he has a good one.  That certainly is the case for 28-year-old Cody Bellinger, who possesses the best left-handed production of any player left available.

Red Sox hire former Yankees hitting coach as coordinator  —  Dillon Lawson, the New York Yankees' former big-league hitting coach, has joined the Boston Red Sox as a hitting coordinator, Lawson told The Athletic.  His focus will be on working with the club's upper-level minor leaguers.

2023 MLB Pre-Arbitration Bonus Pool  —  The allocation of the 2023 Major League Baseball pre-arbitration bonus pool, as determined by the collective bargaining agreement.  An eligible player gets $2.5 million for winning a MVP or Cy Young Award, $1.75 million for second in the voting …