Welcome to our first week of Top News! This segment covers the top news from its respective week, with only the top story from each sport. Sports that will be covered are NHL, NBA, MLB, UFC, NFL, and NCAA. First up, we’ve got the return of the MLB.
MLB
The MLB is back, with teams reporting for spring training this week. Pitchers and catchers reported last week on February 14th and 15th, and position players reported this Monday, the 19th. I believe the biggest news coming out of the league is not a specific story, rather the first look of a number of players with their new teams.
First and foremost we have Shohei Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto reporting in Los Angeles with their new team the Dodgers. The photos of Shohei in a Dodgers uniform are still a bit foreign to look at and as a Yankees fan it is still somewhat painful to see Yamamoto in a Dodgers uniform (unless they somehow sign Blake Snell).
I could probably make an entire post about the Dodgers offseason signings and trades, including others such as Teoscar Hernandez, Tyler Glasnow, and the re-signing of long time Dodger Klayton Kershaw. But I won’t because they’ll still lose to the Diamondbacks who have the power of friendship.
Now obviously as a Yankees fan, my favorite of the players on new teams is Juan José Soto Pacheco, better known as just Juan Soto. Soto came to New York in a blockbuster trade along with Trent Grisham, as the Padres received Michael King, Drew Thorpe and fan favorite Kyle Higashioka.
The Yankees also added former Blue Jays, Mets, and Cubs pitcher Marcus Stroman, who I feel will have another dominate year in New York.
Other big signings include Jung Hoo Lee to the San Francisco Giants, Sonny Gray to the St. Louis Cardinals, Alex Verdugo to the Yankees, and Aaron Nola re-signing with the Phillies.