World Series champs!  How Dodgers validated their dominance  —  NEW YORK — Two days before the Los Angeles Dodgers' postseason began, Freddie Freeman felt a twinge in his rib cage when he took a swing during a simulated game.  He vowed to ignore it.  It's not as if he wasn't already in pain.

Yankee Stadium fans ejected for prying ball from Mookie Betts' glove  —  NEW YORK — Two fans at Yankee Stadium were ejected from Game 4 of the World Series after one pried a foul ball out of the glove of Los Angeles Dodgers right fielder Mookie Betts on Tuesday night.

Giants' Zack Minasian joins Angels' Perry as brothers GMs  —  SAN FRANCISCO — Zack Minasian and was promoted to general manager of the San Francisco Giants on Friday, joining the Los Angeles Angels' Perry Minasian to make the brothers both big league GMs.  —  The 41-year-old Zack Minasian …

White Sox officially make Will Venable new manager  —  Will Venable agreed to terms on a multiyear contract to serve as the manager of the Chicago White Sox, the team announced Thursday.  —  Specific terms of the deal were not disclosed for Venable, who spent the past two seasons with the Texas Rangers as an associate manager.

Bob Costas retires from MLB play-by-play duties after 4-plus decades  —  Bob Costas is retiring as a Major League Baseball play-by-play caller, marking the end of a legendary run in which he became synonymous with the game over four decades and earned a place in the broadcasting wing of the Baseball Hall of Fame.

Angels land slugger Jorge Soler from Braves for RHP Griffin Canning  —  The Atlanta Braves traded outfielder Jorge Soler to the Los Angeles Angels for right-hander Griffin Canning on Thursday, kicking off the hot stove season with a deal that sends a power bat to Los Angeles and adds pitching depth …

Juan Soto eyeing a historic $700 million MLB free agency contract  —  Top free agent hitter Juan Soto's new magic number is thought to be $700M (or more) — and that's a solid $700M, not the record $700M contract that's 97 percent deferred that Japanese superstar Shohei Ohtani received from the Dodgers.

Cubs planning to add Quintin Berry to Craig Counsell's coaching staff: Sources  —  The Chicago Cubs are planning to hire Quintin Berry as their new third-base coach, team and league sources told The Athletic, adding a base-running expert who previously worked with Craig Counsell and the Milwaukee Brewers.

Cardinals decline 2025 options for Kyle Gibson and Lance Lynn, seek ‘maximum flexibility’  —  (Video by Ethan Erickson, Post-Dispatch)  —  In the opening hours of the offseason, the Cardinals offered the first direct glimpse of how they intend to trim down and reshape their roster as part of the organizational “reset.”

John Middleton expects the Phillies to spend more in 2025.  And they have options beyond Juan Soto.  —  It wasn't about only LA vs. NYC, or Hollywood vs. Broadway, or even Ohtani vs. Judge.  And certainly not Ice Cube vs. Fat Joe, a mismatch of pregame rap performances if ever there was one.At its core …

Fisher offers $1B for Vegas stadium; A's post night-heavy '25 plan  —  Athletics owner John Fisher and his family will invest $1 billion into the construction of a stadium in Las Vegas while U.S. Bank and Goldman Sachs will offer a $300 million loan, club executive Sandy Dean said Thursday.