Texas Rangers pitching coach Mike Maddux is leaving the organization.
Maddux, 64, helped guide the Rangers to a World Series title in 2023 and to a league-leading 3.41 ERA in 2025. But he chose to leave after the Rangers replaced fired manager Bruce Bochy with Skip Schumaker.
"The Texas Rangers are forever grateful to Mike for his contributions here," said Chris Young, the team's president of baseball operations.
Los Angeles Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said he will consider using Shohei Ohtani as a starter or even as an outfielder in a potential World Series Game 7 against the Toronto Blue Jays if the series extends beyond Game 6
The two-way star threw 93 pitches in Wednesday's 6-2 Game 4 loss and could be available in relief this weekend in Toronto. However, MLB's designated hitter rules would complicate how Ohtani could be deployed.
If Ohtani enters as a reliever after starting as the designated hitter, the Dodgers would lose the DH spot. He would need to play a defensive position to remain in the game after his mound appearance ends.
"I think we would consider everything," Roberts said Thursday. "It's more of just kind of doing whatever we can to get through tomorrow and then pick up the pieces and then see what's the best way to attack a potential Game 7."
Ohtani can remain in the game as a DH only if he also serves as the starting pitcher. The rule was changed in 2022 to allow starting pitchers to stay as the DH after being removed from the mound.
Roberts said he planned to discuss options with Ohtani later Thursday ahead of Friday's Game 6. Ohtani has never pitched in relief during his MLB career, though he made several relief appearances in Japan's Pacific League, mostly as a rookie in 2013.
Ohtani is batting .250 with eight home runs, 14 RBIs and 14 walks for a 1.109 OPS this postseason. On the mound, he has posted a 2-1 record with a 3.50 ERA and 25 strikeouts in 18 innings.
He made seven outfield appearances with the Angels in 2021, the year before the DH rule change. Ohtani closed out Japan's victory in the 2023 World Baseball Classic final, striking out then-teammate Mike Trout for the final out.
Federal law enforcement officials are investigating Players Way, a youth baseball company owned by the Major League Baseball Players Association that spent at least $3.9 million while holding few sparsely attended events since its 2019 founding, sources told ESPN.
The Florida-based business has generated barely six figures in revenue over five years. Two sources with knowledge of union finances told ESPN the actual investment is closer to $10 million, significantly higher than the MLBPA's stated $3.9 million figure.
Players Way was cited in an anonymous whistleblower complaint filed last November that triggered an ongoing criminal investigation by the U.S. Attorney's Office in Brooklyn. The complaint accused MLBPA executive director Tony Clark of self-dealing, misuse of resources and abuse of power at the union.
Former union officials said Players Way funds largely paid six-figure annual salaries to executives and consultants, including former major leaguers simultaneously working other full-time jobs. One former senior union official described Players Way finances as a "black box."
By its own accounting, the union spent more than $3 million on Players Way from 2019 until November 2024. During that time, the company held six baseball clinics, four mental skills webinars and several panel discussions.
"Players Way was a bad investment," a former union finance official said. "They just kept throwing money at it."
Clark, who has not been charged with any crime, defended the venture in a statement to ESPN.
"The goal -- informed by players themselves -- isn't to become just another cog in the youth sports machinery, putting profits over players," Clark said. "It aims higher: to meet players where they are, teach the game the right way, and to foster lifelong lessons creating lifelong fans."
Multiple former union officials said Players Way operated without standard accounting practices and with no annual budgets circulated among senior finance officials. The company lists its headquarters at a UPS Store mailbox in Windermere, Florida.
This year, Players Way has hosted events drawing fewer than 500 total attendees. The company website shows seven scheduled events through March 2026 with fewer than 25 kids signed up total.
Blake Butera will be hired as manager of the Washington Nationals. At 33 years old, Butera will become the youngest MLB manager since the Minnesota Twins hired Frank Quilici in 1972.
Butera has managed four minor league seasons beginning at the age of 25. Butera's combination of managerial and player-development experience appealed to the Nationals.
Butera was previously the senior player development director of the Tampa Bay Rays.
Rookie Trey Yesavage struck out a record 12 batters over seven innings in a dominant Game 5 performance, leading the Toronto Blue Jays to a 6-1 victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers and putting Toronto one win away from their first World Series championship since 1993.
Yesavage allowed only three hits without issuing a walk in his masterful outing at Dodger Stadium. The 22-year-old set the rookie record for strikeouts in a World Series game, surpassing Don Newcombe's 11 set in 1949.
The Blue Jays lead the best-of-seven series 3-2 with Game 6 scheduled for Friday in Toronto. Yesavage became the first rookie to record multiple postseason games with at least 11 strikeouts after striking out 11 against the New York Yankees in the American League Division Series.
"It's a crazy world. Hollywood couldn't have made it this good. So just being a part of this, I'm just very blessed," Yesavage said.
Yesavage induced 23 swings and misses, the most by any pitcher in a World Series game since pitch tracking began in 2008. He combined a lively fastball with a devastating splitter and slider to overwhelm Dodgers hitters.
Batters are 3-for-34 with 22 strikeouts in at-bats ending on his splitter this postseason. Yesavage struck out both Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman twice and retired Shohei Ohtani once on a nasty splitter.
"He located every pitch he wanted to today," Dodgers third baseman Max Muncy said. "I don't think he missed a single spot."
Toronto jumped ahead when Davis Schneider homered on the first pitch and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. followed with another blast two pitches later off Blake Snell. The Blue Jays extended their lead with runs in the fourth, seventh and eighth innings.
The victory marked the first time all series the Dodgers never held a lead.
The 18-inning World Series Game 3 between the Toronto Blue Jays and Los Angeles Dodgers averaged 17.6 million viewers across the United States and Canada, representing a 27 percent increase from last year's comparable Yankees-Dodgers matchup despite the marathon contest's late finish.
Fox averaged 11.4 million U.S. viewers for Monday's game, down 16 percent from the comparable contest last year. However, Canada's Sportsnet delivered 5.8 million viewers despite the game ending near 3 a.m. Tuesday for Toronto-area fans, while TVA Sports added approximately 400,000 French-language viewers.
The combined viewership represents a 25 percent cumulative increase through three games compared to last year's high-profile Yankees-Dodgers World Series. The massive Canadian audience has emerged as a major storyline throughout the postseason.
Sportsnet's Game 3 figure follows record-setting Canadian audiences of 7 million for Game 1 and 6.6 million for Game 2. The Game 3 total approached the 6 million viewers who watched Game 7 of the American League Championship Series, previously Sportsnet's Blue Jays record.
The Game 3 average represented approximately 14 percent of Canada's population. Rogers Communications owns both Sportsnet and the Blue Jays.
The surge in Canadian interest has prompted MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred to identify multiple Canadian cities as potential expansion candidates. The NHL has experienced similar dynamics with the Edmonton Oilers competing in recent Stanley Cup Finals.
Game 3 lasted 6 hours and 39 minutes, making it the second-longest postseason game by time in MLB history. Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani reached base a record nine times during the 6-5 Los Angeles victory.
Derek Shelton has been hired by the Minnesota Twins as manager to replace Rocco Baldelli. Shelton was the bench coach for the Twins in 2018 and 2019 before becoming manager of the Pittsburgh Pirates.
Pittsburgh won less than 40% of its games in Shelton's first three seasons before taking a step forward in 2023 when it won 76 games.
The Twins were expected to contend for the AL Central, but struggled in June before reducing payroll with 10 players traded at the deadline.
Executive chair Joe Pohlad and his family members put the franchise up for sale in 2024, but decided in August to keep control and bring on two new investment groups for an infusion of cash to help pay down debt.
With his offense struggling through the first four games of this World Series -- not to mention the better part of these entire playoffs -- Los Angeles Dodgers manager Dave Roberts made relatively drastic changes to his lineup ahead of Wednesday's Game 5.
Will Smith moved into the No. 2 spot, prompting Mookie Betts to hit third for the first time in four years, and Alex Call replaced the struggling Andy Pages at the bottom of the batting order. Those moves, Roberts hopes, will provide Ohtani with both more RBI opportunities and more protection if the Toronto Blue Jays continue to pitch around him.
"In the postseason, you've got to be a little more reactive than in the regular season," Roberts said. "When I netted out the value of what I feel gives us the best chance to win today, that was a decision I made."
Nationals interim manager Miguel Cairo, who replaced the fired Dave Martinez in July, will not get the job on a permanent basis, and members of his coaching staff are being let go, too, a person with knowledge of the moves told The Associated Press on Wednesday.
The person spoke on condition of anonymity because nothing had been announced about Washington's plans for its on-field leadership next season.
Shohei Ohtani went hitless at the plate and surrendered the loss on the mound as the Los Angeles Dodgers fell 6-2 to the Toronto Blue Jays in World Series Game 4, one night after his record-setting nine-time on-base performance in an 18-inning marathon.
The two-way star told Dodgers manager Dave Roberts he could pitch three more innings after mowing through Toronto's lineup in the sixth. He lasted just two more batters into the seventh before Roberts turned to the bullpen.
Ohtani received IV fluids for leg cramps immediately after Monday's Game 3 victory and got to bed around 2 a.m. PT. He said he was "able to get on the mound in pretty good condition" with quality sleep.
After drawing a walk to start Game 4, reaching base for the 11th consecutive time, Ohtani struck out twice and grounded out in his remaining plate appearances. Roberts attributed the hitless performance to quality pitching rather than fatigue from the previous night.
Through six innings on the mound, Ohtani struck out six batters and allowed only Vladimir Guerrero Jr.'s two-run homer on what he called "a regrettable pitch." His fastball sat at 96-97 mph but reached 98-99 mph on key two-strike counts.
"I wanted to go seven," Ohtani said through an interpreter, "and it was regrettable that I wasn't able to finish that inning."
The seventh inning began with Los Angeles trailing by one run and Ohtani having thrown 90 pitches. After allowing a single and a 101.7-mph double by Ernie Clement, Roberts removed him. The Blue Jays scored four runs against the bullpen.
Ohtani's first postseason as a starting pitcher concluded with a 2-1 record, 3.50 ERA and 25 strikeouts against five walks in 18 innings. He told Japanese reporters he would pitch in relief for Game 6 or Game 7 if needed.
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