MLB

On BNNY, the crew discusses whether the question marks surrounding Trevor Bauer both on and off the field are tolerable enough for the Mets to sign the Cy Young pitcher. Plus, Anthony Recker explains how signing Bauer could impact Jacob deGrom.

Ron Johnson, who worked 25 seasons as a minor league manager, most recently for the Triple-A Norfolk Tides in the Baltimore Orioles system, died on Tuesday. He was 64.

The baseball Hall of Fame won't have any new players in the class of 2021 after voters decided no one had the merits - on-the-field or off - for enshrinement in Cooperstown on this year's ballot. Curt Schilling, Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens were the closest in voting by members of the Baseball Writers' Association of America released Tuesday, and the trio will have one more chance at election next year. It's the first time the BBWAA didn't choose anyone since 2013.

Brian Snitker choked back tears as he remembered Hank Aaron's affection for those who didn't possess his unparalleled talent on the baseball field. During his post-playing career running the Atlanta Braves farm system, the Hammer had a penchant for looking beyond the can't-miss prospects. ''He always wanted to move a player up, and he preferred that it wasn't the so-called bonus babies,'' said Snitker, who has managed the Braves since 2016 and got his start in the dugout thanks to Aaron.

The Orioles filled a hole in their infield by agreeing Tuesday with free agent Freddy Galvis to a one-year, $1.5 million contract. Galvis broke into the big leagues with Philadelphia in 2012 and spent the last two years with Cincinnati. The 31-year-old hit .220 with seven homers and 16 RBIs during the pandemic-shortened 2020 season.

There will be no new members selected to baseball's Hall of Fame this year.

TORONTO (AP) -- Shortstop Marcus Semien agreed to an $18 million, one-year contract with the Toronto Blue Jays, a person familiar with the negotiations told The Associated Press.

Freddy Galvis played 47 games for the Reds last season.

Curt Schilling, Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens fell short again in Hall of Fame voting. An induction ceremony will take place in July for 2020 inductees.

Curt Schilling was close. Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens, less so. The result? For the third time in 25 years, no player was voted into the Hall of Fame.

The end of an era.

As the Detroit Tigers construct their roster for spring training, it's easy to see where upgrades would be beneficial for success in 2021.

The ''Sign J.T.'' chants from fans gathered outside the ballpark during the pandemic-altered season and echoed by Bryce Harper and many players on the Philadelphia Phillies were loud and clear. The Philadelphia Phillies and two-time All-Star catcher J.T. Realmuto agreed Tuesday on a $115.5 million, five-year contract, two people familiar with the deal told The Associated Press. Both people spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity because Realmuto's deal was pending a successful physical.

Andrelton Simmons is one of the very best defensive shortstops in the game and sources say he has become the teams top target at the position. By Jim Salisbury

If the Mets ink Trevor Bauer to a massive deal in the coming days, it will be due in large part to the dream scenario that Bauer's signing could help make a reality.

On the day the Phillies brought back J.T. Realmuto, they also brought in a veteran starting pitcher. By Jim Salisbury

The Indians traded their All-Star shortstop. Free agent Cesar Hernandez, who had a strong 2020 season with Cleveland, has agreed to return on a one-year contract, a person familiar with the deal told The Associated Press on Tuesday. The team and Hernandez have an agreement, which includes a club option for 2022, in place and it will become official once medical tests have been completed.

The Mets are interested in signing free agent center fielder Jackie Bradley Jr. Here's the latest...

The Phillies got their guy.

Tim Anderson excited about the White Sox offseason additions of Lance Lynn, Liam Hendriks and Adam Eaton is being blunt about the team's expectations for 2021: "Its always the goal to win a World Series, not going to shy away from that."

Brett Baty has once again made it on to MLB Pipeline's list of the Top 10 third basemen prospects for the 2021 season.

The Detroit Tigers have a catch-22 situation at third base, and a move from Isaac Paredes could solve the problem.

Brad Hand knows his fastball's speed declined more than 2 mph over the past two seasons. The lefty finalized a $10.5 million, one-year contract with the Nationals on Tuesday, giving the team more strength and flexibility in the back end of its bullpen.

Newly signed Nationals reliever Brad Hand lives in West Palm Beach, where hes worked out with several of his now-teammates in Washington.

Free agent second baseman Cesar Hernandez has agreed to return to the Indians on a one-year contract, according to a report.

Chytil, who returned to the city on Monday to be evaluated by doctors, suffered the injury on Sunday against the Pittsburgh Penguins.

SNY MLB Insider Andy Martino reports that the Mets have made free agent pitcher Trevor Bauer a contract offer. Martino also reports the value does not seem to break Yankees pitcher Gerrit Cole's record-setting $36 million per year.

Wanting to slash salary to avoid paying luxury tax, the New York Yankees opted to make a rare trade with the Boston Red Sox. Boston acquired struggling reliever Adam Ottavino along with minor league right-hander Frank German from the Yankees on Monday for a player to be named or cash. As part of the trade, the Yankees agreed to send Boston $850,000 on July 1 to cover part of the $8 million owed to Ottavino, a 35-year-old right-hander entering the final season of a $27 million, three-year contract.

The Mets have been connected to free agent starting pitcher Trevor Bauer. Here's the latest...

The Phillies added a former Yankees pitcher with lots of experience under Joe Girardi.

It's starting to feel like that time...

Adam Ottavino was the headliner of Monday's Red Sox-Yankees trade, but don't sleep on pitching prospect Frank German, writes John Tomase.

The ball-doctoring case that included Gerrit Cole's name has been thrown out by an Orange County judge.

After signing Brad Hand and Ryan Zimmerman over the weekend, the Nationals 2021 roster is nearly complete.

Everyone will again be watching the vote totals for Curt Schilling, Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens, but the math says no candidate is likely to be voted in.

The Hall might like to believe character is a factor, but a scan of plaques proves otherwise. There is no shortage of racists, misogynists, liars, cheaters and various other miscreants.

An erroneous report saying Michael Brantley had agreed to a contract with the Toronto Blue Jays had the outfielder fielding goodbye texts from his Houston Astros teammates most of Wednesday morning. ''There were a lot of a lot of mixed emotions, obviously, in a small timeframe,'' Brantley said Monday. While Brantley never had a deal in place with Toronto, he admitted he was in discussions with the team.

The Cactus League and Arizona community leaders have asked Major League Baseball to delay the start of spring training due to coronavirus concerns just over three weeks before pitchers and catchers are supposed to report. The Cactus League made the request in a letter to Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred obtained by The Associated Press on Monday.

Brad Hand reportedly agrees to a one-year deal with the Nationals, plus the Yankees make a pair of trades on this edition of FastCast

What the guy does after hes done playing and the fool he chooses to play off the field has nothing to do with whether he deserves a vote for a baseball's Hall of Fame.

A judge dismissed a lawsuit against the Angels and MLB brought by Bubba Harkins, who was fired by the team for providing sticky substances to pitchers.

The BNNY crew examines the reasons why the New York Mets have started to strongly consider signing free agent starting pitcher Trevor Bauer, and asks if signing the outspoken Cy Young award winner would be "good for business."

Spoiler alert: Since baseball's two Central divisions sent seven of their 10 teams to the playoffs in 2020, the White Sox are having the best winter of the group. As for where the Cubs' winter ranks ...

If the Mets are serious about trying to sign Trevor Bauer, they’re going to blow past the luxury-tax threshold, which makes you wonder if this isn’t at least partly a reaction to pulling up short in negotiations with George Springer. All of which had baseball people speculating on Monday about why the apparent change of direction.

Chaim Bloom portrayed Monday's trade thatbrought reliever Adam Ottavino to Boston as business as usual, even though it's just the third deal between the two clubs in more than 30 years.

Cristian Hernandez is a top prospect in this years international class.

Cue the adrenaline, because this rotation could bloom into a glorious collection of arms primed to dethrone the Dodgers. Or it might morph into a mess, the failure that destroys a hungry organization’s World Series dream.

The Cactus League and Arizona community leaders have asked Major League Baseball to delay the start of spring training due to COVID-19 concerns.

The Yankees made a rare trade with the rival Red Sox, sending struggling reliever Adam Ottavino to Boston along with minor league right-hander Frank German for a player to be named or cash.