Chelsea Janes

Analysis | The Orioles land Pete Alonso, and maybe they’re finally ready to flex Baltimore is signing the slugging first baseman to a five-year, $155 million deal, showing a willingness to spend after years of a more conservative approach.

Even as big free agent deals go, the Pete Alonso signing is a hugely significant development for the Orioles. www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2025/...

Alonso might not be the most hyped clubhouse guy in this free agent class, but he cares, he’s earnest, and he’s been there before. All of which will help.

The Baltimore Orioles finally get the proven offensive guy they’ve been chasing: Pete Alonso agrees to 5 yrs, $155M, as @JeffPassan said, per person familiar with deal. Biggest free agent move of Elias’s tenure by a wide mile. And given state of the rotation, they’re not done.

Analysis | At MLB’s winter meetings, Kyle Schwarber is the first big domino to fall The power-hitting DH is staying with the Phillies on a new five-year, $150 million deal that sends the handful of teams pursuing him scrambling to contingency plans.

Kyle Schwarber tipped the first domino. Edwin Diaz toppled another. Time for everyone who wanted them to pivot — meaning the chaos can begin: www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2025/...

Ryan Helsley said possibility of starting was "definitely real" and that he told his agent to listen if teams asked about it. Said Tigers were "in on me heavy" as SP.

"Weighed the options and the risks and they just didn't seem to line up with where I am in my career."

I feel obligated to report that Paul Toboni let slip today that people in Boston called him “T-Bone,” which I can confirm from having spoken to Boston people. Unfortunately, this means my shorthand idea — “POBOni” (President of Baseball Operations) — might not stick.

Seidler family announces they are exploring “strategic options” for the Padres, including a potential sale.

The GM Meetings are overlapping with BravoCon in Vegas this week. This is the exact geographic center of my Venn diagram.

A ‘Moneyball’ architect is back in MLB to turn around another franchise After a decade away from baseball, Paul DePodesta takes over the Colorado Rockies. Can he save a struggling team in a dramatically changed sport?

There was a time when Paul DePodesta had the reputation as the kind of front office wunderkind who might, say, figure out how to win at Coors Field someday. But that was many jobs and an NFL jaunt ago. Can he really pull this off? www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2025/...

MLB announces that all authorized betting partners will now cap wagers on pitch-level bets at $200 and exclude them from parlays. Pitch-level bets, you may remember, are the kind Clase, Ortiz, and their co-conspirators allegedly exploited.

Emmanuel Clase’s attorney Michael Ferrara said the following:

“Emmanuel Clase has devoted his life to baseball and doing everything in his power to help his team win. Emmanuel is innocent of all charges and looks forward to clearing his name in court.”

Guardians pitchers charged with taking bribes to rig pitches Emmanuel Clase and Luis Ortiz are alleged to have thrown certain pitches in exchange for money from bettors. Each could face up to 65 years in prison.

News regarding Cleveland Guardians pitchers Emmanuel Clase, Luis Ortiz and the crazy, brazen pitch-rigging scheme alleged against them: www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2025/...

Luis Ortiz’s attorney, Chris Georgalis, says Ortiz is innocent and that payments to the DR that DOJ alleges were related to betting were for “lawful activities”

Good morning from Craig Albernaz’s introductory press conference. The man sitting in the front row, back of head to the camera in the beige suit, is Guardians manager Stephen Vogt, here to support his friend.

Max Scherzer gave the Blue Jays all he had. They helped keep him going. The future Hall of Famer wasn’t sure he could continue pitching at his lowest points this spring. He ended up starting Game 7 of the World Series.

Now that the dust has settled on that crazy World Series, it still strikes me how unlikely it was that Max Scherzer got one (last?) October run. www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2025/...

After a classic World Series Game 7, the Dodgers remain on top Los Angeles tied the deciding game against the Toronto Blue Jays in the ninth inning and went on to win in the 11th, becoming baseball’s first repeat champion since 2000.

The Dodgers became baseball’s first repeat champions in 25 years. It took everything they had. www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2025/...

The Dodgers forced Game 7 of the World Series. It nearly didn’t happen. Los Angeles survived a chaotic ninth inning of Game 6 that featured two unforgettable plays, and the Fall Classic will come down to a winner-take-all finale Saturday night.

After all these months and days and hours of baseball, the World Series is headed to Game 7 because of what happened after a ball got stuck under a wall. www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2025/...

The Dodgers stopped hitting, and the World Series suddenly flipped The mighty defending champions are slumping at the worst possible time, and Toronto is one win from a championship after a 6-1 win Wednesday night in Game 5.

The Dodgers know they won’t win the World Series hitting like this. But even they don’t have an easy on switch: www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2025/...

The Blue Jays could have folded after 18 brutal innings. Instead they got even. Toronto bounced back from Game 3′s marathon loss with an impressive 6-2 victory in Game 4, and the World Series is tied at two games apiece.

So anyway, after all that, turns out the Blue Jays were completely fine

www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2025/...

The Blue Jays lose one of the most grueling games in World Series history, learn one of their best hitters will be out of the lineup… then beat the Dodgers 6-2 to even the series as if it were nothing. World Series is tied, and it’s going back to Toronto one way or the other.

An unforgettable night at the World Series lasted 18 incredible innings Freddie Freeman hit a walk-off home run in the 18th inning of Game 3, but that was only the final step of a remarkable baseball odyssey.

That was incredible: www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2025/...

A rarely seen performance helped the Dodgers even the World Series Yoshinobu Yamamoto pitched the first World Series complete game since 2015, and Los Angeles answered Toronto with a 5-1 win in Game 2.

Put Yoshinobu Yamamoto on the list of all-time October greats (already). This is something we don’t see often from a pitcher the likes of which we haven’t seen before. www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2025/...

The Blue Jays keep on hitting, and the World Series started with a bang Toronto’s contact-heavy approach contributed to a staggering 11-4 win over the favored Los Angeles Dodgers in Game 1 on Friday night.

In the three true outcomes era, might contact be king? The Blue Jays thought so. And they’re leading the World Series 1-0 because of it. www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2025/...

Blue Jays fans chanting to Ohtani: “We don’t need you.”

Blue Jays announced their World Series roster. Bo Bichette is on it.

The Blue Jays tried to sign Shohei Ohtani. Now they face him in the World Series. After Toronto’s failed courtships of Ohtani and Roki Sasaki, it will have to go through them for the title.

Can the Blue Jays, runners up to the Dodgers in some key free agent moments, find a way to beat them now? www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2025/...

John Schneider said he hopes Ohtani brought back the Blue Jays hat and jacket for Decoy they gave him when courting him in free agency two years ago.

George Springer conjured October magic to send the Blue Jays to the World Series Springer hit a three-run home run late in Game 7 of the American League Championship Series, lifting Toronto to its first Fall Classic since 1993.

George Springer. What a moment. www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2025/...

A young pitcher’s stunning rise helps the Blue Jays force a Game 7 After a meteoric rise from the lowest levels of the minor leagues, the Blue Jays right-hander beat the Mariners to extend the ALCS to a winner-take-all final game.

In six months, Trey Yesavage went from A-ball to Game 6. And Sunday night, he went from impressive rookie to Toronto legend: the Blue Jays are one win from the World Series.

www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2025/...

The Dodgers are winning — again. That just adds fuel to next year’s labor fight. In this year’s NLCS between the Dodgers and Brewers, much more than a pennant was at stake.

If that Dodgers/Brewers series was a referendum on baseball economics, well…

www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2025/...