MLB

Time to bet on some baseball.

It's rare that a managerial move should serve as a mission statement for a team's entire offseason, but the Chicago Cubs seemed to throw down a gauntlet when they hired Craig Counsell.

If Cubs president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer and owner Tom Ricketts really want to prove they are serious about making the Cubs live up to their status as one of the marquee franchises in MLB, they need to go all-in with a pursuit of Shohei Ohtani.

The Cubs hired Counsell away from the division-rival Milwaukee Brewers by making him the highest-paid manager in Major League Baseball on a five-year deal worth more than $40 million.

San Francisco Giants president of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi told reporters Friday it has been frustrating to not talk much publicly about the situation with shortstop Carlos Correa, who agreed to a megadeal with the team before the Giants backed out, reportedly because of medical concerns.

Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle relayed some of Zaidi's remarks:

The Giants agreed to sign Correa to a 13-year, $350 million contract, but the deal fell through because of the team's concern over a medical issue.

ESPN's Jeff Passan reported the red flag was a broken right fibula Correa suffered during a minor league game in 2014. San Francisco was reportedly concerned about "the long-term stability of his leg—and the potential for Correa to quickly lose the mobility that won him a Platinum Glove in 2021."

According to Passan, Zaidi called Correa's agent, Scott Boras, with his concerns over the medical report the night before the team's planned introductory press conference. The Giants asked Boras for more time and postponed the press conference, and then they backed out of the 13-year deal.

Boras went public with his side.

"They said at that point in time they needed more information, they needed more discussion," the superagent told reporters. "They wanted to continue to talk, but at this time they couldn't go forward. And then I advised them that I had to pursue alternative measures on behalf of Carlos with other teams."

Correa then agreed to a 12-year, $315 million contract with the New York Mets, but the contract hasn't been finalized because they too have concerns following the physical, per Ken Rosenthal and Dan Hayes of The Athletic.

A source told Mike Puma of the New York Post on Monday that there was a 55 percent chance the deal would go through. The Post's Jon Heyman reported the contract "by all rights, should get done," noting both Correa and Mets owner Steve Cohen "badly" want to finalize it.

As for the Giants, it's been a frustrating offseason. They lost out on another superstar after pursuing American League MVP Aaron Judge, who decided to stay with the New York Yankees. San Francisco's 2022 ace, All-Star Carlos Rodón, is also a Yankee now after leaving in free agency.

San Francisco did strengthen its outfield, though, by signing Mitch Haniger, reportedly adding Michael Conforto and re-signing Joc Pederson. The Giants also added Sean Manaea to the starting rotation.

The Los Angeles Dodgers are reportedly unlikely to keep Trevor Bauer after an arbitrator upheld 194 games of his 324-game suspension for violating Major League Baseball's Joint Domestic Violence, Sexual Assault and Child Abuse Policy and reinstated him.

Per Jon Heyman of the New York Post, the Dodgers are "expected" to release the right-handed pitcher because people in their clubhouse "would prefer he'd be elsewhere."

The Dodgers have until Jan. 6 to make a decision on Bauer's future with the organization.

As part of the arbitrator's decision, Bauer was fined his salary for the first 50 games of the 2023 season.

MLB issued a 324-game suspension to Bauer in April 2022 that included the entire 2022 season and all of 2023. He had been on administrative leave since July 2, 2021, after a woman filed for a domestic violence restraining order against him for alleged assaults during sexual encounters.

The Pasadena Police Department confirmed the woman's allegations were being investigated.

Per Brittany Ghiroli and Katie Strang of The Athletic, the woman's request for a temporary restraining order said Bauer "assaulted her on two different occasions" during consensual sexual encounters.

During an August 2021 court appearance, the woman who made the allegations testified about her encounters with Bauer.

"I was scared of him," she said at another point in her testimony. "I was in so much pain."

Bauer has denied the allegations and filed a defamation lawsuit against the woman in April, saying she lied about details involving their sexual encounters and was trying to ruin his MLB career.

The woman filed a countersuit against Bauer's defamation claim in August.

Per Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times, a judge dismissed Bauer's defamation lawsuit against one of the woman's former attorneys and ruled her sexual assault case can continue.

The Dodgers signed Bauer to a three-year, $102 million contract in 2021. The deal included player opt-outs after each of the first two seasons.

Bauer's last appearance in an MLB game was June 28, 2021. He made 17 starts for the Dodgers before being placed on administrative leave.

New York Yankees slugger Aaron Judge was voted the Associated Press Male Athlete of the Year on Friday after he set the American League home run record during the 2022 season.

Judge beat out Los Angeles Angels two-way standout Shohei Ohtani and Golden State Warriors star Stephen Curry for the honor. Ohtani won the award in 2021 and Curry won it in 2015.

"Wow. That's incredible," Judge said of his selection. "All these other great athletes that not only impacted the game and their sport, but also impacted their communities and the culture in the sports world and outside the sports world. So getting a chance to be amongst that list is an incredible honor."

The 30-year-old joins a group of winners that includes former Yankees Joe DiMaggio (1941), Mickey Mantle (1956) and Roger Maris (1961). Other MLB players to win the honor this millennium include Jose Altuve (2017), Madison Bumgarner (2014) and Barry Bonds (2001).

Judge had a phenomenal 2022 campaign, slashing .311/.425/.686 with 62 home runs and 131 RBI in 157 games. He earned his fourth All-Star selection, third Silver Slugger award and first AL MVP award.

Judge also led MLB in runs (133), on-base percentage (.425), slugging percentage (.686), OPS (1.111), extra-base hits (90) and total bases (391). He tied for No. 1 in the majors with 131 RBI.

The California native became a free agent this winter, and there were questions about whether he would re-sign with the Yankees. After offers from several teams, including his hometown San Francisco Giants, Judge agreed to a nine-year, $360 million deal with the Pinstripes.

The Yankees went on to name him the 16th captain in franchise history and the first since Derek Jeter, who served as the club's captain from 1995 to 2014.

Judge has spent his entire seven-year career with the Yankees. While he has plenty of individual honors, his goal entering the 2023 campaign remains to win a World Series. With the Yankees' offseason additions, they'll be one of the teams to beat this season.

The Carlos Correa saga remains in flux, but one insider believes it will eventually end with the shortstop suiting up for the New York Mets.

"I'd be surprised if he's not [a Met]," a person close to the situation told Jon Heyman of the New York Post.

While headline players such as Aaron Judge and Justin Verlander signed new deals, the Correa story has become the most memorable one of the offseason.

It seemed to have a straightforward ending when he agreed to a 13-year, $350 million deal with the San Francisco Giants, but that fell apart when the team grew concerned with an old leg injury after a physical examination.

The Mets jumped at the chance to add the star shortstop, agreeing to a 12-year, $315 million contract. However, that deal is in a holding pattern after similar concerns arose following a physical examination.

Given the events with the Giants and the demand Correa figures to draw as such an impact player, it would be understandable if fans assumed he won't sign with the Mets either. Yet Heyman listed a number of reasons that the shortstop will remain in New York, including a desire for both the player and team owner Steve Cohen to make it happen.

What's more, Scott Boras, who is Correa's agent, has "grown close" with Cohen while negotiating deals for Max Scherzer and Brandon Nimmo, and ending this potential pairing could jeopardize that relationship.

"A few teams have been calling, but even a week after the Mets agreement, they are being told it's only a Mets game—for now," Heyman wrote.

While Correa has dealt with injury concerns in the past and appeared in just 75 games in 2019 after playing 109 in 2017 and 110 in 2018, he has been fairly durable of late. He missed just two games during the shortened 2020 campaign, appeared in 148 in 2021 and played 136 in 2022.

Whichever team ends up with him will land a player with a World Series crown, Gold Glove, Platinum Glove and two All-Star selections on his resume. He can impact the game with his bat and glove and is just 28 years old.

It seems like he will be in the middle of the Mets' lineup in 2023, but the process still hasn't fully played out.

Former Boston Red Sox right hander Tyler Danish is joining the club's biggest rival—the New York Yankees.

Danish and the Yankees agreed to a minor league deal on Thursday, according to MLB Network's Jon Heyman. He's getting an invite to the team's spring training camp, Heyman added.

A once-promising prospect, Danish was selected by the Chicago White Sox in the second round of the 2013 MLB draft. He made his MLB debut in 2016 and spent three seasons with the the White Sox as a reliever.

In his 11 appearances for the White Sox between 2016-2018, Danish posted a 4.85 ERA, 2.31 WHIP and 11 strikeouts in 13 innings. He spent much of his time with the organization in the minor leagues.

Following the 2018 season, Danish signed a minor league deal with the Seattle Mariners. He was released in May 2019 after making just six appearances and posting a horrific 21.26 ERA with the Triple-A Tacoma Rainiers.

Following his release from the Mariners organization, Danish spent time with multiple teams across various independent leagues between 2019 and 2021 before finding his way back into MLB's minor league system with the Los Angeles Angels in May 2021.

Danish received another opportunity in the big leagues in 2022, signing a minor league deal with the Red Sox that included an invitation to spring training. He cracked the 40-man roster before Opening Day and went on to make 32 appearances for Boston last season, posting a 5.13 ERA, 1.29 WHIP and 32 strikeouts in 40.1 innings.

Now with the Yankees, Danish will get the opportunity to make the club's 2023 roster as a reliever out of spring training. He'd join a bullpen that includes Clay Holmes, Jonathan Loáisiga, Tommy Kahnle and Michael King, though it's unclear how much he'd be used.