Top News:
Mark Chiarelli / Baseball America:
2024 Top 100 Prospects — The Baseball America Top 100 Prospects rankings are our 35th edition of our flagship prospect ranking, which means the players included below are part of a fraternity of the best prospects in baseball that stretches from 1990 (which included Hall of Famer Frank Thomas) …
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Baseball Prospectus:
2024 Prospects: The Top 101 — Full access to this article is for Baseball Prospectus subscribers.
Brendan Coffey / Sportico:
Diamond Sports Agrees to Deal With Amazon, Sinclair, Debt Holders — Regional sports network Diamond Sports Group says it has agreed to a proposed restructuring that has approval from most of its debt holders and features an investment from Amazon. — In the Wednesday announcement …
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Josh Kosman / New York Post:
Amazon to help save bankrupt Diamond Sports with $100M deal to stream five MLB teams: sources — Amazon is poised to stream the games of five Major League Baseball teams this season after extending a roughly $100 million lifeline to help broadcaster Diamond Sports emerge from bankruptcy, The Post has learned.
Discussion:
Cubs Insider, Pounding The Rock, Plain Dealer, Barrett Media and Bleacher Nation
Derrick Goold / St. Louis Post-Dispatch:
Channel surfers: How RSN collapse has Cardinals prepping to get into the broadcast business — President Bill DeWitt III also discusses what changes could be ahead to how Cardinals fans watch their team on television... The Cardinals are preparing to go into the broadcast business …
Discussion:
The Athletic, MLB Trade Rumors and Barrett Media
Peter Abraham / The Boston Globe:
Craig Breslow acknowledges that 'it's been a challenge' to find starting pitching for the Red Sox — Craig Breslow knows what Red Sox fans are thinking. The team essentially promised there would be major upgrades to the roster after another last-place finish, and it has yet to happen.
Discussion:
masslive.com, Hartford Courant, MLB Trade Rumors and Yahoo Sports
Bruce Levine / audacy.com:
Adding to their bullpen remains an ‘area of focus’ for the Cubs — CHICAGO (670 The Score) - In what's been a slow-moving offseason for the Cubs, adding to their bullpen remains a focus. — The bullpen was a big part of the Cubs' success and their struggles in 2023, when they went 83-79 and missed the playoffs by one game.
Discussion:
NBC Sports Chicago, Bleacher Nation, Bleed Cubbie Blue, MLB Trade Rumors and The Athletic
Kelli Skye Fadroski / Orange County Register:
No Doubt hints at reunion just before Coachella announcement — The core four members of the band, including vocalist Gwen Stefani, jumped on a video call to tease a forthcoming live performance. — It's been nearly a decade since Anaheim rock band No Doubt played a proper show and now they're …
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Press Enterprise, Mercury News, New Jersey Online, KTLA, Forbes, New York Daily News and East Africa News Post
Ben Badler / Baseball America:
2024 MLB International Signings Tracker — Major League Baseball's international signings for 2024 have started. — While many of these players have agreed to sign years in advance, Jan. 15 is the official opening of the signing period, marking the first date players can sign contracts.
The Athletic:
Raptors, Pacers engaged in Pascal Siakam trade talks involving Bruce Brown Jr., draft picks: Sources — The Raptors and Pacers are actively engaged in trade talks centered around two-time All-Star forward Pascal Siakam that would send him to Indiana for a package that includes Bruce Brown Jr. …
Discussion:
Raptors HQ, masslive.com, Bleacher Nation, Hoops Rumors, Blazer's Edge, New York Post, DraftKings Network and Golden State Of Mind
Jim Bowden / The Athletic:
Where will the top 10 remaining MLB free agents land? Jim Bowden plays matchmaker — Don't let anyone tell you otherwise: This MLB free-agent market has been exciting. Yes, especially if you're a fan of the Dodgers, who pulled off the trifecta of landing the best overall free agent …
Discussion:
New Jersey Online, Chicago Tribune, Cubs Insider, Covering the Corner and Yahoo Sports
Dan Primack / Axios:
Scoop: Uber shutting down alcohol delivery service Drizly — Uber has decided to shutter Drizly, an alcohol delivery service it bought three years ago for $1.1 billion, Axios has learned. … Instead, Drizly provided backend tech that let local liquor stores provide their own deliveries.
Discussion:
CNN, New York Daily News, New York Post and Associated Press
Bob Nightengale / USA Today:
Why are there no Black catchers in MLB? Backstop prospects hoping to change perception — TEMPE, Ariz. — It's the most stunning, appalling and numbing statistic in all of baseball. — It has been 20 years since there was an African-American everyday catcher in Major League Baseball.
Discussion:
DraftKings Network, Bleacher Nation, The Good Phight, Empire Sports Media, New Jersey Online and MLB Trade Rumors
Ken Rosenthal / The Athletic:
The case for signing Blake Snell, plus more MLB offseason notes — The Baltimore Orioles' farm system is so well-regarded, perhaps no other team is as well-positioned to trade for a top starting pitcher. But if neither Chicago White Sox right-hander Dylan Cease nor Miami Marlins lefty Jesús Luzardo …
Discussion:
Bleacher Report, masslive.com, ClutchPoints, Dodgers Nation, True Blue LA, Camden Chat, Battery Power, MLB Trade Rumors and Los Angeles Times