Greetings, Panthers fans. Welcome to the weekend.
Feel free to use this thread to chat about (almost) anything you want: video games, food, movies, non-football sports, you name it. As long as it’s allowed by the site’s ToS, it’s fair game here.
You know the drill.
This is now an open thread
Veteran catcher J.T. Realmuto agreed to a $45 million, three-year contract to stay with the Philadelphia Phillies, a person familiar with the negotiations told The Associated Press on Friday.
The person spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity because the deal had not been announced.
Realmuto can earn an additional $5 million annually in bonuses, the person said.
A three-time All-Star and two-time Gold Glove winner, Realmuto made his decision a month after designated hitter Kyle Schwarber also chose to remain with the Phillies, agreeing to a $150 million, five-year deal.
Realmuto, who turns 35 in March, hit .257 with 12 homers and 52 RBIs in 134 games last year, when he tied for the major league lead with 132 games at catcher. He was in the final season of a $115.5 million, five-year contract.
Realmuto has a .270 career batting average with 180 homers and 677 RBIs in 12 seasons with the Miami Marlins (2014-18) and Phillies.
Philadelphia also reached deals this offseason with right-hander Brad Keller ($22 million for two years) and outfielder Adolis García ($10 million for one year).
Edwin Arroyo returned to the playing field for the 2025 season with AA Chattanooga after his 2024 season was lost to a shoulder injury (and subsequent surgery), and the results were more or less what you’d expect to see from a talented player with that kind of rust. On the whole, he hit .284/.345/.371 with only a trio dingers on the season, but it wasn’t until the 44th game he played (on June 11th) when he finally launched one.
From that point until season’s end, he hit .296/.356/.402 with an 8.0% walk rate and minuscule 13.0% strikeout rate, and all that came from a guy whose work defensively has long been lauded as MLB-ready at the most important spot on the diamond. That’s precisely the kind of player who found himself all over Top 100 overall prospect lists prior to his injury, and it’s worth pointing out that he just did all that in his age-21 season at the AA level.
There’s still a ton to love about Arroyo, and clearly you all thought the same. He takes home the #5 spot in this year’s Community Prospect Rankings because of it, as you voted him there with nearly 35% of the vote despite a crowded six-person ballot.
I doubt Arroyo ever morphs into a 20 homer kind of offensive player, but if he keeps that K-rate so tiny you can barely see it, he’s got a hit tool and patience at the plate that could see him hit .280 with a .340 OBP at the big league level. That paired with pretty elite defense at shortstop is a very, very valuable player.
It’s hard not to look at the current state of the big league Reds roster and not think they’ve got Arroyo firmly in mind in the near term, too. He’s got the glove to rotate in at both 2B and SS, and his ability to switch-hit means he can provide another lefty bat in the lineup when needed. Given that they a) cut Santiago Espinal to leave the short a middle-infield defender and b) traded away Gavin Lux to remove a lefty bat from the 2B mix, Arroyo hitting his way from AAA Louisville into the regular Reds rotation at some point in early 2026 sure does sound like a feasible proposition.
That’s your #5 prospect!
ST. PAUL, Minn - After a tough homestand that included no wins in three games, the Wild are set to begin a roadtrip against the red-hot Buffalo Sabres, who is 15-2-0 in its last 17 games.
Then a back-to-back against the Toronto Maple Leafs and the Montreal Canadiens, before returning home.
A bunch of moves were made by the Wild on Friday.
Matt Boldy will miss the next four games at least, after he was put on the Injured Reserve (IR) list.
He will join Jonas Brodin, Joel Eriksson Ek and Zach Bogosian on the IR. Neither of the four players will travel with the Wild for this trip.
After making his NHL Debut on Thursday, David Spacek will stay with the team. Carson Lambos was recalled before the game but did not play. He has now been sent down.
David Jiricek has been recalled by the Wild.
Jiricek, 22, has played in 18 NHL games this season and has zero points, 11 shots and five hits.
Lambos, 23, has played in one NHL game this season, which was his NHL debut. He has one shot on goal, one blocked shot and is a plus-one in 10 minutes and 16 seconds of ice time.
He will go back down to the American Hockey League (AHL).
For action-packed issues, access to the entire magazine archive and a free issue, subscribe to The Hockey News at THN.com/free. Get the latest news and trending stories by subscribing to our newsletter here. And share your thoughts by commenting below the article on THN.com.
Wild Place Star Winger Matt Boldy On The Injured ReserveStar winger Matt Boldy sidelined. The Wild face a tough road trip missing their goal-scoring leader, impacting their offense significantly.- Immediate Impact: Quinn Hughes' Start With The Wild Has Been Historically Fast.
- 'You Want To Get Out Of Your Zone': Why Quinn Hughes Changes The Game For The Wild.
- Wild's Jonas Brodin, Joel Eriksson Ek Named To Sweden's Olympic Roster.
- 'We Want To Compete For The Stanley Cup': Why Bill Guerin Went All In.
- When The Ice Shrinks, The Wild's Game Is Built To Hold Up.
Goals, saves, and wins have not altered Justus Annunen's focus this season.
Through the first two months of the season, Annunen had a .859 save percentage, a 3.43 goals against average and a 1-5-1 record, a stat line that was one of the worst in the NHL.
In a similar sense, the Predators weren't playing well, sitting as the worst team in the NHL with a 6-12-4 record in mid-November. Head coach Andrew Brunette has said before that Annunen hadn't been put in "fair" situations earlier in the season.
"We have to be really fair when we evaluate him (Annunen). We put him in some hard places, and we put him when he's a little bit rusty," Brunette said following a 2-1 win over the New York Rangers on Dec. 21.
Annunen's role in the early season was to relieve Juuse Saros, whether that meant giving the starting goalie a break or coming in after Saros was yanked.
In the early season, the Predators went as far as Saros went. At one point, the Finn was in the top two in the league in shots faced and saves made, not getting much support from the defense in front of him.
In a time where things seemed grim, Annunen didn't change anything. He muted all the noise around him and did the only thing that he could do: work hard.
"You have to focus on what you can do," Annunen said. "There's gonna be goals. That's hockey. Sometimes you've got to look beyond the results. You can't just look at the numbers and be like 'oh I had a bad game' or 'I had a good game.' You have to look at the whole picture."
The confidence in his own game has led to results: Annunen has won his last three starts and posted a .900 save percentage in his previous four.
His latest victories have been against the Vegas Golden Knights (4-2), the Washington Capitals (3-2), and the New York Rangers (2-1). Despite losing to the Colorado Avalanche, 4-2, Annunen made an impressive 37 saves on 40 shots.
"I feel like my game is being the same whole year and that it's hockey sometimes," Annunen said. "I've been putting in the work all summer, all last year and all my life, but sometimes the puck just goes in. Winning games, of course, helps."
Saros's efforts came in clutch in the victory over the Capitals, as he prevented Alexander Ovechkin and company from forcing overtime. He was perfect in 5-on-5 play and made 30 saves on 32 shots, which was his second 30+ save performance of the season.
"You got a little bit of grace for him (Annunen) in the first couple starts, and now he's gotten a little bit better rhythm," Brunette said following the win over the Capitals.
"You could tell he's feeling a lot better, especially in his last five starts. He's been exceptional."
The confidence and belief in Annunen's game and that it'd eventually come around were shared by Predators management, as he signed a two-year, $2.5 million contract beginning in the 2026-27 season.
"I like it here a lot. They (management) want me to stay here, and I want to stay here, so that's pretty easy," Annuen said. "It's pretty good for the next couple of years to be able to work with Juice (Saros), Benny (Ben Vanderklok), Mitch (Korn) and just try to improve every day and try to get to the next level."
NEW YORK (AP) — New York Rangers general manager Chris Drury shared a letter with fans saying the franchise feels their disappointment.
Drury wrote on Friday that he plans to “retool” by possibly trading established players.
Coming off an underachieving this season and missing the playoffs last year, the Rangers are the only team with a losing record in the Eastern Conference past the midway mark of the NHL season.
New York has lost a season-high five games, entering its next game Saturday at Philadelphia.
The Rangers were booed off the ice at the first intermission of their latest loss, an 8-4 loss to Ottawa that was the team's 17th setback in 22 games at Madison Square Garden.
Winger Artemi Panarin, New York’s leading scorer every season since signing as a free agent in 2019, does not have a contract beyond June 30, turns 35 on Oct. 31 and could be dealt before the March 6 trade deadline.
___
AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/nhl
BARCELONA, Spain (AP) — Vladyslav Vanat scored penalties in stoppage time of each half as Girona beat Espanyol 2-0 in a fiercely contested Catalan derby in La Liga on Friday.
It was the first time Girona has won three on the trot since November 2024.
The result lifted it into ninth place in the table. Espanyol remained fifth.
Girona had the better of the first half and went ahead on the stroke of halftime when Omar El Hilali was adjudged to have pulled Hugo Rincón in the box.
Espanyol goalkeeper Marko Dmitrović saved Vanat’s initial effort but the referee said he moved from his line before the kick and ordered a retake. Vanat made no mistake a second time, firing a perfect effort to the keeper’s right.
Both sides had chances in a busy second half but Girona took advantage of spaces in the Espanyol defense as the home side pushed for an equalizer.
With seconds remaining, Yáser Asprilla was felled by Rubén Sánchez and Ukrainian striker Vanat scored his second of the night to seal all three points.
“The decision to give the first penalty was very harsh,” veteran Espanyol defender Leandro Cabrera said. “There are a thousand similar situations that never get called back. We lost our patience. In the final minutes there was another penalty decision that killed the game. It’s a pity because the match was pretty tight. A draw would have been a fair result.”
___
AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
The Sacramento Kings could see the return of their All-Star power forward Jan. 16 in their Friday night game against the Washington Wizards.
Kings forward Domantas Sabonis is officially listed as questionable on the NBA's Injury Report, but the team expects that he will suit up and play against the Wizards, according to ESPN.
Sabonis, a three-time All-Star, has missed the previous 27 games for the Kings with a partially torn meniscus.
He only appeared in 11 games so far this season, averaging 17.2 points and 12.3 rebounds.
In recent days, Sabonis was seen participating in shootaround during practices. Signs indicate he'll rejoin the court with the Kings soon. And at a good time, too.
Sacramento has been rolling on a three-game winning streak at home, knocking off the Houston Rockets, Los Angeles Lakers and New York Knicks.
They'll also get back Dennis Schroder, who missed that three-game stretch of wins after being suspended by the league for an altercation with Lakers' star Luka Doncic after a Dec. 28 game at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles.
Sabonis, in his 10th NBA season and year five in Sacramento, could be on the trade market.
According to ESPN, Kings general manager Scott Perry has been "open to discussing trades for all their veterans with high-priced deals" as the team shifts its focus towards a rebuild.
Sabonis' remaining contract includes three years and $136.3 million.
He signed a four-year, $186 million contract extension with Sacramento as part of a renegotiation-and-extend on July 6, 2023.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Is Domantas Sabonis playing tonight? Kings F could return vs Wizards
SHEFFIELD, England (AP) — Niina Petrokina completed one of figure skating's great comeback performances to retain her European championship title on Friday, three months after Achilles tendon surgery.
Petrokina landed seven triple jumps in a clean, personal-best free skate to music from the movie “Dune” to score 216.14 points, a score which ranks the Estonian among some of the world's best ahead of next month's Winter Olympics.
“I don't know how I do it,” Petrokina said when asked about her recovery. “I needed everything that happened for this moment.”
Petrokina had competed only in second-tier events and her national championships since surgery in October. She'd struggled with pain for much of 2025 since her breakthrough European championship win on home ice a year ago.
Petrokina is the first skater to win back-to-back European women’s titles since Evgenia Medvedeva of Russia in 2017.
As other skaters made mistakes, 2024 champion Loena Hendrickx of Belgium managed her own comeback statement. Hendrickx had been fifth after Wednesday's short program but took the silver medal on 191.26 after struggling throughout last year with the return of a years-old ankle injury.
As Petrokina's score was announced, Hendrickx made a gesture of bowing to the champion.
Lara Naki Gutmann won bronze for Italy on 186.87 after two top contenders from the short program missed the podium with erratic free skates. Nina Pinzarrone of Belgium dropped from second to fourth overall and Anna Pezzetta of Italy from third to eighth.
Ice danceFrance's Laurence Fournier Beaudry and Guillaume Cizeron took the lead in the ice dance despite a dispute between Cizeron and his ex-partner overshadowing the event.
Cizeron won the Olympic gold medal in 2022 with Gabriella Papadakis, who has published a book describing him as controlling and their partnership as unequal.
Cizeron has contested her claims and called the comments part of a “smear campaign." Papadakis said on Friday she lost a commentary role with NBC for the upcoming Winter Olympics.
Fournier Beaudry and Cizeron scored 86.93 points to lead the dance event ahead of the free dance on Saturday, leading Britain's Lilah Fear and Lewis Gibson on 85.47 and Italy's Charlene Guignard and Marco Fabbri on 84.48.
___
AP Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/winter-olympics
PARIS (AP) — Ousmane Dembélé put transfer talk behind him and scored a crucial brace for Paris Saint-Germain in a 3-0 win over Lille that returned it to the top of Ligue 1 on Friday.
French media last week reported that the 2025 Ballon d’Or winner rejected a new contract offer.
His coach Luis Enrique called the speculation fake news and Dembélé’s focus was razor sharp in a game between two of the league’s top four.
His 12th-minute strike from more than 20 meters out gave the Lille goalkeeper no chance and his second 18 minutes into the second half was a reminder of why he picked up that Ballon d’Or.
With four defenders in front of him, Dembélé somehow found space to chip the most audacious of shots that bamboozled keeper Berke Ozer and dropped in just under the crossbar.
Substitute Bradley Barcola, another whose future has been subject to speculation, rounded off the scoring in injury time when he pounced on slack defending and slammed home the third.
The win settled nerves at the defending champion just days after city rival Paris FC knocked it out of the French Cup.
Friday’s win lifted PSG back atop the league table, two points clear of Lens which has a game in hand on Saturday against second-to-last Auxerre.
Lille remained fourth, 10 points back.
Monaco lose againMonaco fell to its seventh defeat in eight games after another poor performance, this time at home to Lorient 3-1.
Lorient’s Bamba Dieng had a goal disallowed in the first half but he got one that counted midway through the second period. The Senegalese forward seized on a mistake by the Monaco defense.
Ansu Fati equalized eight minutes later but goals from Jean-Victor Makengo in the 85th minute and Dermane Karim three minutes from time gave visiting Lorient all three points and extended its unbeaten run to nine games in all competitions.
Lorient was one point behind ninth-placed Monaco.
It was another unhappy start to the weekend for Monaco, whose record in Friday night games fell to won two, drawn five, lost nine.
___
AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
ATLANTA — The Celtics (25-15) could be without Payton Pritchard when they face the Atlanta Hawks (20—23) on Saturday night.
Pritchard is doubtful to play as he deals with left ankle soreness; if he’s sidelined, it will be his first missed game of the season. Josh Minott, meanwhile, will miss his 7th consecutive game with a left ankle sprain, and Jayson Tatum continues to be sidelined as he recovers from a ruptured Achilles tendon.
Pritchard scored just 2 points in Thursday’s comeback win over the Miami Heat and sat out for the entire fourth quarter, while his backup, Anfernee Simons, exploded for a season-best 39 points, 18 of which came in the fourth quarter. It’s possible Pritchard’s reduced minutes were related to some ankle soreness, though it’s also likely Joe Mazzulla opted to go with the hot hand.
For the Hawks, former Celtic Kristaps Porzingis is out with left Achilles tendonitis, Zaccharie Risacher is out with a left knee bone contusion, and N’Faly Dante is out with a right knee ACL tear. Dyson Daniels is questionable with a right ankle sprain.
The Atlanta Hawks haven’t quite had the year they were hoping for. By all accounts, Atlanta has been a below-average team; they’ve had the NBA’s 19th-best offensive rating, 16th-best defensive rating, and 18th-best overall net rating. They have a 20-23 record, which is good for the 10th-best record in the conference.
Last week, they parted ways with longtime franchise cornerstone Trae Young, acquiring CJ McCollum and Corey Krispert from the Washington Wizards in exchange. And, they’ve dealt with a myriad of injuries, with Porzingis only appearing in 17 of the Hawks’ 43 games this season, as he’s dealt with POTS and various other injuries.
One bright spot has been the superb play of Jalen Johnson; the likely first-time All-Star has put up monster numbers, averaging 23.1 points, 10.1 rebounds, and 8.1 assists per game. Offseason addition Nickeil Alexander-Walker is tallying 20.5 points and 3.5 assists. And Porzingis has been effective when he has played, averaging 17.1 points and 5.1 rebounds per game.
One weird quirk is that the Hawks have been better on the road than at home this season; they’re 7-11 at State Farm Arena, but 13-12 at away games. (The Celtics, meanwhile, are 15-4 at home and 13-6 on the road).
After their win over the Heat, the Celtics now have the second-best net rating in the NBA (+7.1), the second-best offensive rating (121.5), and the 15th-best defensive rating. They hold the second-best record in the Eastern Conference at 25-15.
Celtics-Hawks will tip off on Saturday at 7:30pm ET.
The Hawks are looking to address their lack of big man depth in the wake of Kristaps Porzingis’ ongoing health issues and the season-ending ACL tear to N’Faly Dante.
Lauren L. Williams of the AJC reports that the Hawks are signing Cameroonian big man Christian Koloko to their open two-way slot:
The 6-foot-11, 225-pound Koloko has played for the Toronto Raptors, Los Angeles Lakers, and Memphis Grizzlies since being drafted in the second round of the 2022 NBA Draft. For his NBA career, he averages 8.1 points, 8.2 rebounds, and 2.3 blocks per 36 minutes.
Largely a defensive specialist, his raw numbers aren’t too eyepopping, but over his 1,345-minute NBA career, his teams are 5.4 points per 100 possessions better with him on the floor compared to off the floor according to basketball-reference.
He joins guard RayJ Dennis and forward Caleb Houstan as the third and final two-way player at this moment.
President of Baseball Operations Chaim Bloom has said that he wants to add a veteran arm to the St. Louis Cardinals pitching staff. According to a new report, that might be free agent pitcher Griffin Canning who the Cardinals have been in contact with.
MLB Trade Rumors just dropped the word that the St. Louis Cardinals, the Chicago White Sox and the New York Mets are interested in Griffin Canning. That’s apparently based on a report by John Heyman of the New York Post. He spent several seasons in the Los Angeles Angels organization before signing a one-year deal with the New York Mets last season. He suffered a a torn Achilles tendon which cut his season short. Before that setback, he had greater than 55% groundball rate and decent strikeout and walk rates, too.
Griffin Canning was drafted by the Colorado Rockies in the 38th round of the 2014 MLB June Amateur Draft from Santa Margarita Catholic High School and later by the Los Angeles Angels in the 2nd round of the 2017 MLB June Amateur Draft from University of California, Los Angeles. He has a major league record of 32-37 for his career with an ERA of 4.65.
Assuming that Griffin is fully recovered from his Achilles injury, you’d have to think he would be a prime bounce-back candidate and/or trade deadline arm. He might just be the affordable veteran arm that Chaim Bloom said he would welcome.
PISA, Italy (AP) — Second-to-last Pisa scored only its second home goal of the season with three minutes left to tie high-flying Atalanta 1-1 and record a Serie A-high 11th draw on Friday.
Pisa had the better of a dour match but it had scored only once in eight home matches this season and rarely threatened to increase that meager tally.
It went behind with seven minutes left when Nikola Krstovic pounced on a lose ball close to goal and fired into the roof of the net from a tight angle.
But soon after Rafiu Durosinmi met a cross from Mehdi Léris and gave Pisa a vital point in its fight against relegation.
It was one point above Verona and equal with Fiorentina. Both clubs have a game in hand.
Atalanta was in seventh place.
___
AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
Using a playbook familiar to their front office, the Dodgers waited until the market for slugging outfielder Kyle Tucker dwindled before making him an offer short on duration but generous in dollars.
The result is the defending two-time World Series champion plugged the only hole in its lineup with another superstar — one regarded by many analysts as the prize of this free agency class. The contract Tucker agreed to Thursday night is for $240 million over four years, with a $64-million signing bonus and $30 million deferred. He also will be able to opt out of the deal after the 2027 and 2028 seasons.
It's a major development that caused immediate consternation throughout baseball. The Dodgers are in a league of their own when it comes to spending on payroll.
Or as ESPN analyst Jeff Passan put it: "Fans feel like this game is unfair."
To which Times columnist Bill Plaschke wrote, "So what? Who cares? If three consecutive titles blows up the game, so be it. The Dodgers’ only responsibility is to their fans, and they have more than fulfilled their civic duty, and that’s all that matters."
Projections early in the offseason put offers for Tucker at around $400 million over 10 years, but the only team that reportedly entertained a deal that long was the Toronto Blue Jays. The New York Mets made an offer close to that of the Dodgers, but Tucker opted for L.A.
The Dodgers employed similar strategy in snaring first baseman Freddie Freeman and starting pitcher Blake Snell in recent years and closer Edwin Díaz last month, patiently allowing media hype to dissipate and waiting out the market before pouncing with short-term offers at astronomical yearly salaries.
The average annual value (AAV) of Tucker's contract as calculated by Major League Baseball will be a record $57.1 million, blowing past the previous highs set by the Mets' Juan Soto ($51 million) and the Dodgers' Shohei Ohtani ($46.06 million) the last two offseasons.
Ohtani is now Tucker’s teammate, as are amply paid stars Mookie Betts, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Will Smith, Tyler Glasnow, Roki Sasaki, Freeman and Snell. And on and on. The Dodgers' estimated competitive tax payroll of $402.5 million is more than the combined spending of the A’s, Tampa Bay Rays, Cleveland Guardians and Miami Marlins.
Read more:Plaschke: Dodgers' ruination of baseball continues with Kyle Tucker, and it’s a beautiful thing
Who do the Dodgers have to thank for such largess?
Start with Ohtani. When the two-way star signed a record 10-year, $700-million deal two years ago, he agreed to take home a paltry $2 million a year and defer the remaining $68 million. That covers Tucker's salary and then some.
Don't forget the $8.35-billion, 25-year TV deal with Time Warner Cable (now Spectrum) in 2013 that created the Dodgers' SportsNet LA channel. Meanwhile, many teams have seen their TV revenue drastically reduced.
The settlement also approved the sale of the Dodgers from Frank McCourt to Guggenheim Baseball Management, the group fronted by Magic Johnson and run by Mark Walter that has greenlighted the lavish payroll spending.
And be sure to thank the fans who pack Dodger Stadium at each of the 81 home games, spending on parking, concessions and merchandise in addition to increasingly expensive tickets. Attendance last year was 4,012,470, a Dodgers record, the highest in MLB and nearly 600,000 more than the next-highest attendance, that of the San Diego Padres. The Dodgers averaged 49,537 fans per home game.
The response around baseball to Tucker's contract was as shrill as it was predictable. Cries for a salary cap when negotiations begin for a new collective bargaining agreement at season's end peppered social media. Some even advocated owners locking out the players if they don't agree to level the hot-stove playing field.
Anything to stem the spending of a franchise enjoying a revenue model that enables it to spend on salaries unchecked while breaking no rules.
"The Dodgers theoretically aren't doing anything wrong," ESPN analyst Chris "Mad Dog" Russo said Friday on "The Dan Patrick Show". "But the rules have to change. This is getting to be a joke."
Russo then proceeded to list the reasons players gravitate to Chavez Ravine: "Play in L.A. Winning team. Great organization. Good weather. Have a chance to be in the World Series every year."
Under baseball's rules, the Dodgers are punished financially for their gleeful spending. Competitive balance taxes — also known as luxury taxes — are imposed when payrolls reach certain thresholds. The Dodgers have blown past the highest level and must pay 110% of every dollar they spend above $304 million, meaning their commitment to Tucker will cost them $500 million — $240 million to the player and roughly $264 million to MLB in taxes.
By any measure that is a lot to pay a player who batted a ho-hum .266 with 22 home runs, 73 runs batted in and 25 stolen bases in an injury-marred 2025, his lone season with the Chicago Cubs. Tucker was a three-time All-Star during seven seasons with the Houston Astros.
What does MLB do with the luxury tax revenue? Half is distributed to small-market teams, ostensibly to increase their spending on salaries.
Tony Clark, executive director of the players union, concedes that the system might need tinkering but is adamantly opposed to a salary cap.
"We just completed one of the greatest seasons in MLB history, with unprecedented fan interest and revenues," he told The Times' Bill Shaikin. "While the free agent market is far from over, it is gratifying to see players at all levels being rewarded for their incredible accomplishments by those clubs that are trying to win without excuses."
Commissioner Rob Manfred, who will sit across the negotiating table from Clark when a new CBA is hammered out a year from now, is careful not to cast blame on the Dodgers while acknowledging that other teams and their fans are frustrated.
“The Dodgers are a really well-run, successful organization,” Manfred said during the team's spending frenzy a year ago. “Everything that they do and have done is consistent with our rules. They’re trying to give their fans the best possible product. Those are all positives.
“I recognize, however — and my email certainly reflects it — there are fans in other markets concerned about their team’s ability to compete. We always have to be concerned when our fans are concerned about something. But pinning it on the Dodgers? I’m not in that camp.”
And if CBA negotiations reach an impasse and players indeed are locked out and go unpaid until they return, Tucker's contract provides a hedge for that as well — $54 million of his signing bonus is payable now.
This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.