New York Yankees

Clint Frazier never quite lived up to expectations during his five seasons with the New York Yankees, and he recently opened up about some of the struggles he faced that stemmed from concussion symptoms that impacted his mental health.

Frazier appeared on the Short Porch podcast (h/t Kristie Ackert of the New York Daily News) and said he was "fighting for my life" at times with the Yankees.

He first started experiencing concussion symptoms after hitting the wall in spring 2018, a major reason he played just 15 games that year. 

"I was severely symptomatic with some of these past issues that I was having," he said. "I was like, 'We gotta pick the pace up. I need help. I need serious f--kin' help.'"

Frazier played 69 games in 2019, 39 games in 2020 and 66 games in 2021. 

"I showed up to spring training and started to feel better, and then it kind of, like, came back, because I had an instance where I bumped the wall again," he said while revealing the Yankees weren't always fully aware of the severity of his symptoms because he didn't tell them. "I went into the whole season feeling that exact way."

The 27-year-old last appeared in a game on June 30 when he exited with what were deemed to be vertigo-like symptoms. He underwent a number of tests and eventually ended his season when he exited a minor league game in August.

Frazier will look to bounce back with the Chicago Cubs after he agreed to a one-year contract with the National League Central club in November prior to the league's lockout.

He slashed just .186/.317/.317 with five home runs and 15 RBI in limited action last season and will suit up for a National League team for the first time in his career. Chicago also agreed to deals with Marcus Stroman and Yan Gomes while claiming Wade Miley off waivers as it turns its attention toward improving on a 71-91 season in 2021.

New York Yankees slugger Aaron Judge was married over the weekend to longtime girlfriend Samantha Bracksieck, according to Keith Griffith of the Daily Mail.

Per that report, "The small private ceremony was held in Maui on Saturday with only a handful of the couple's closest friends and family as invited guests."

It's not clear how long the two have been together, though Griffith noted Judge and Bracksieck have been dating since the outfielder attended Fresno State.

Judge, 29, has spent his entire MLB career with the Yankees, hitting .276 with 158 homers, 366 RBI and a .940 OPS. He was the 2017 American League Rookie of the Year and is a three-time All-Star.

Count former New York Yankees ace CC Sabathia among those who are tired of hearing about Clint Frazier. 

Frazier, who recently signed with the Chicago Cubs after being released by the Yankees, has drawn plenty of headlines lately, and Sabathia is sick of seeing his name pop up so frequently.

“If I see another Clint Frazier story, bro, I’m gonna punch somebody in the f--king face,” he said on his R2C2 podcast with Ryan Ruocco, per Audacy's John Healy. “S--t is ridiculous. That kid played 15 games in the f--king big leagues. Get the f--k out of here with all these stupid ass f--king stories.”

Frazier made headlines earlier this week after opening up about his experience with the Yankees on Twitter. The 27-year-old wrote that he was very excited to join the Cubs, and also took a jab at the Yankees' facial hair policy in the process. 

Frazier also noted he would continue to wear No. 77, seemingly rebutting Yankees radio broadcaster Suzyn Waldman's 2017 suggestion that the outfielder asked to wear Mickey Mantle's retired No. 7 after being traded to New York from Cleveland. 

In addition, someone responded to Frazier saying, "I'm so glad this dude isn't a Yankee anymore." Frazier responded, "so am I." 

Frazier, who was drafted fifth overall by Cleveland in 2013, largely underperformed in his five seasons with the Yankees. In 228 career games with the club, he slashed .239/.327/.434 with 29 home runs and 97 RBI. 

The Georgia native had his worst season in the majors in 2021, slashing .186/.317/.317 with just five home runs and 15 RBI in 66 games. However, Frazier has struggled with various health issues, including lingering concussion effects and unspecified ailments that the Yankees originally diagnosed as vertigo. 

Sabathia and Frazier spent three seasons together in the Bronx from 2017 to 2019. In that span, Sabathia compiled a 28-20 record with a 4.00 ERA, 1.32 WHIP and 367 strikeouts in 409 innings across 79 games. 

Despite Sabathia's comments, the former Cy Young winner noted he hopes Frazier does well in Chicago, saying, "I hope so," in response to Ruocco mentioning the veteran could prove everyone wrong during his tenure with the Cubs.  

If you were a sports fan scrolling Twitter this year and thought you were seeing a lot of posts about the Los Angeles Lakers, Los Angeles Dodgers and New York Yankees, there's a good reason for it. 

Per data released by Front Office Sports, the Lakers, Dodgers, Yankees, Green Bay Packers and New York Knicks were the most-tweeted about sports teams in 2021:

It's worth noting that these rankings only encompass data from the United States. A worldwide list would almost certainly include soccer and cricket teams. 

The Lakers are arguably the most prestigious franchise in the United States. Though their 2020-21 playoff run was cut surprisingly short with a first-round loss to the Phoenix Suns, they attempted to boost their roster during the offseason by acquiring Russell Westbrook to play alongside LeBron James and Anthony Davis. 

The Dodgers are a juggernaut that won at least 100 games for the third time in the past five seasons, a run that included the 2020 World Series title. 

While it's not a surprise to see the top 10 list with five teams that play in New York or Los Angeles—the two largest media markets in the United States—one thing that does stand out is there are only two NFL teams featured. 

The NFL is, by far, the most popular league in the U.S. Television ratings for a regular-season football game will often do bigger numbers than a World Series game when the two go head-to-head. 

It's also unusual that the two NFL teams on the list aren't the clubs that played in Super Bowl LV on Feb. 7—Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Kansas City Chiefs.

There have certainly been plenty of off-field things to talk about with the Packers. 

ESPN's Adam Schefter reported in April that Aaron Rodgers told some members of the Packers he didn't want to return to the organization. The sides were eventually able to work out a deal for him to come back this season.

Rodgers also had to miss a game against the Kansas City Chiefs after being placed on the reserve/COVID list last month.

He previously told reporters he had been "immunized" but went on The Pat McAfee Show in an attempt to clarify that comment by talking about a "woke mob" trying to put him in a "cancel-culture casket," attempting to quote Martin Luther King Jr. and consulting Joe Rogan for health advice. 

In MLB, the Mets had high-volume drama, with owner Steve Cohen regularly tweeting through his frustration with everything ranging from the team's on-field performance to getting spurned by Steven Matz in free agency. 

Of course, the Mets also made plenty of noise without Cohen helping out. They acquired Javier Baez from the Chicago Cubs at the trade deadline. Baez, Francisco Lindor and Kevin Pillar took a swipe at their home fans by doing a thumbs-down gesture during a game. 

Before the MLB lockout began, the Mets also had an active free-agent period by signing Starling Marte, Mark Canha, Eduardo Escobar and Max Scherzer. 

The Houston Astros and Atlanta Braves haven't made a lot of marquee moves this offseason, but they cracked the top 10 most likely by being the two teams that played in the World Series.     

The Boston Red Sox, New York Yankees and Toronto Blue Jays have reportedly "been the most aggressive in pursuit" of Japanese outfielder Seiya Suzuki, according to Sean McAdam of the Boston Sports Journal. 

McAdam added that Boston's trade for Jackie Bradley Jr. "has more than a few people in the game believing that the Sox are intent on landing Suzuki, whose posting process was frozen when the lockout went in effect. The thinking: Suzuki could play right field for the Sox, replacing Hunter Renfroe both defensively and as a productive right-handed bat. The Sox could then keep Kike Hernandez in center and Alex Verdugo in left."

Yankees general manager Brian Cashman didn't confirm or deny the team's potential interest in the Japanese outfielder, however.

"I can't speak to even that. If he comes over here, it would be a major-league situation," he told reporters Sunday, referring to the lockout that prevents team officials from publicly speaking about rostered players and free agents. "So I can't speak to that."

Suzuki's deadline to sign with an MLB team is Monday, Dec. 22 at 5 p.m. ET. Per the Associated Press, his posting fee to that will go to his current club, Central League's Hiroshima Toyo Carp, will be "20 percent of the first $25 million of a major league contract, including earned bonuses and options."

That will then drop to 17.5 percent of the next $25 million on the deal, 15 percent over $50 million and a "supplemental fee of 15 percent of any earned bonuses, salary escalators and exercised options."

Suzuki, 27, hit .319 with 38 homers and 88 RBI for Hiroshima this past season. He's a four-time All-Star, three-time Gold Glover and won the 2019 batting title. He has a .315 career batting average with 182 homers.

With the biggest names in free agency at shortstop and starting pitcher—at least before the league's owners locked out the players after the collective bargaining agreement expired—Suzuki would be an excellent addition for teams in need of bolstering in the outfield. 

Other players to watch for outfield-needy teams include Nick Castellanos, Kyle Schwarber and Michael Conforto.  

Free-agent shortstop Carlos Correa has received interest from the Chicago Cubs, New York Yankees, Boston Red Sox, Atlanta Braves and Los Angeles Dodgers in free agency.

Mark Berman of Fox 26 noted Correa previously received a five-year, $160 million offer from the Houston Astros.

Major League Baseball is preparing for a lockout to begin Thursday at midnight ET, meaning Correa would have to get a deal done by 11:59 p.m. ET. No contracts will be able to be agreed upon once the lockout begins, which would leave Correa and the other remaining free agents at a standstill with no obvious end date.

Fellow shortstops Corey Seager (10 years, $325 million) and Javier Baez (six years, $140 million) agreed to megadeals late last month as agents and teams scrambled to get deals done. While MLB free agency has regularly been a waiting game in years past, legitimate concern over CBA negotiations has led to urgency around the league.

Correa is coming off the best season of his career, which saw him hit .279/.366/.485 with 26 home runs and 92 runs batted in while playing Gold Glove defense at shortstop. He finished fifth in the AL MVP voting and made his second All-Star team.

Matthew Roberson of the New York Daily News previously reported Correa was looking for a deal that approaches the $341 million pact signed by Francisco Lindor with the New York Mets during last season. 

It doesn't appear likely that any team will match that price, which may explain why Correa is still on the market while other high-profile shortstops have already signed.  

Free-agent first baseman Freddie Freeman has spent all 12 of his MLB seasons with the Atlanta Braves, and he's expected back for more despite the New York Yankees' interest, per Jon Heyman of MLB Network and Audacy.

The five-time All-Star recently capped his World Series-winning 2021 season by hitting .300 (.896 OPS) with 31 home runs and 83 RBI. He also led MLB with 120 runs.

The 32-year-old's resume includes the 2020 National League MVP award, five top-10 NL MVP finishes, three Silver Slugger awards and a Gold Glove.

Heyman has previously reported that the Los Angeles Dodgers, who lost shortstop Corey Seager in free agency and can move Max Muncy (who is recovering from a torn UCL) from first to second base, "may have best hope" for Freeman. The first baseman was also born and raised in Southern California, so it'd be a return home of sorts.

The MLB Network reporter also said that the Yankees and Toronto Blue Jays reached out.

Freeman is reportedly seeking a deal in the neighborhood of six years and $180 million, per Heyman.

That seems reasonable for Atlanta to pay for the heart and soul of its team over the past decade.

Freeman has been an instrumental part of the team's rebuild after the franchise missed the playoffs from 2014-2017, leading the team to four straight NL East titles.

He'd be 38 years old by the time his contract expired, but Freeman definitely has a lot of good baseball left in him.

Plus, it'd be wise for Atlanta to keep its core together, especially with a young 20-something group featuring Ronald Acuna Jr., Ozzie Albies, Austin Riley, Dansby Swanson and more.

That team won the World Series even with Acuna sidelined after mid-June with a torn ACL, and Atlanta is in position to have a multi-year championship window. That's assuming Freeman is retained, of course.

The New York Yankees tendered a contract to Gary Sanchez, according to ESPN's Jeff Passan.

The deadline for the team to do so was Tuesday at 8 p.m. ET.

Spotrac estimated Sanchez would earn $7.5 million in 2022, the final year he's eligible for arbitration before hitting free agency.

While his performance represented an improvement over the pandemic-shortened 2020 season, the veteran catcher struggled at the plate in 2021. He had 23 home runs but slugged .423 and had a 99 OPS+, per Baseball Reference. 

Sanchez's value on defense was limited as well. He sat 55th on Baseball Savant's catcher framing leaderboard.

At least for now, committing to the 28-year-old was the sensible move for the Yankees.

Kyle Higashioka is under team control through 2024, but starting a catcher with a .619 career OPS, per Baseball Reference, is less than ideal.

The Bronx Bombers don't have a younger backstop waiting in the wings, either. Austin Wells (No. 6) is the highest-ranked catcher in their system on MLB.com, and he isn't expected to hit the majors until 2023. Wells didn't get above High-A this past season.

Speaking with reporters at a charity event for the team on Nov. 19, Yankees general manager Brian Cashman acknowledged the team was exploring all avenues behind the plate but that it wasn't exactly a buyer's market:

As of right now, Gary Sanchez and Kyle Higashioka are our (catchers) unless we run into something that we feel can upgrade that and make it better. We are obviously having conversations to see if there's options. Catching is a very thin market. It was last year, and I can say it looks like it’s that way this year again. But it doesn't preclude us from exploring potential options that exists out there. And if not, we'll go back with what we have.

Sanchez probably won't replicate his first two years again. Across 2016 and 2017, he had 53 home runs and 132 RBI in 175 games and boasted a .384/.354/.568 slash line. But the two-time All-Star offers a solid baseline in terms of power.

Maybe the right trade materializes for the Yankees to land an upgrade over Sanchez, but one isn't forthcoming in free agency.

Yan Gomes and Roberto Perez were two of the best catchers available, and they're already off the board. The Miami Herald's Craig Mish reported Gomes agreed to a two-year, $13 million deal with the Chicago Cubs, and Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported Perez struck a deal with the Pittsburgh Pirates for $5 million over one year.

Retaining Sanchez buys New York more time to identify a long-term solution at catcher.

Longtime Atlanta Braves star Freddie Freeman is a free agent, and it's hard to imagine him in another uniform. But one team is reportedly hoping to pry the first baseman away from Atlanta.

MLB Network's Jon Heyman reported Tuesday that the New York Yankees are "definitely interested" in Freeman, though they acknowledge it's likely the Braves won't let him get away. Heyman added that Freeman is seeking a deal in the range of $180 million over six years.

Heyman also speculated that if Freeman were to leave Atlanta, it would be to play for his hometown Los Angeles Dodgers.

Freeman has spent his entire 12-year career with the Braves. He helped lead the team to its first World Series title since 1995 this past season, so it wouldn't be a surprise if he wanted to finish his career where he started.

The 32-year-old veteran has shown no signs of slowing down. He followed up his 2020 NL MVP season with 31 home runs and 83 RBI while batting .300 this past year.

Freeman's lefty power bat would be a good fit in a Yankees lineup full of right-handers. New York tried to add balance by acquiring first baseman Anthony Rizzo from the Chicago Cubs and outfielder Joey Gallo from the Texas Rangers at July's trade deadline. 

Rizzo batted .249 and hit eight homers in 49 games for the Yankees. But the team chose not to lock him up with a contract extension before the offseason, and he's currently a free agent. Gallo, on the other hand, was a disappointment with a .160 average and 13 home runs in 58 games.

The Yankees have multiple holes to fill in free agency, and a lot of big names are already off the board, including shortstop options Corey Seager and Marcus Semien. Adding a star like Freeman would surely make a splash for a fanbase hoping to see New York's first World Series appearance since 2009.