Juan Soto has settled in just fine with the Yankees, marveling at the reach and intensity of the fan base, relishing New York's rich culture and, of course, hitting in a loaded lineup right in front of Aaron Judge.

He'll have a decision to make sooner than later on whether to re-up, with his first time as a free agent looming in the fall. But perhaps he won't make it to the open market at all. Soto said Thursday that he would give his blessing to contract talks during the season if the Yankees want to approach his agent, Scott Boras, about a long-term contract.

Yankees owner Hal Steinbrenner told the team's YES Network he'd consider such a tactic for the three-time All-Star and four-time Silver Slugger, who's still just 25 years old.

The San Diego Padres are 22-24 and 7.5 games back of the Los Angeles Dodgers in the National League West entering Thursday's action.

They have not been more than two games over .500 at any point this season.

"Our big guys, we're not swinging it too well. Let's be honest," Manny Machado said. "We're not playing at our highest level, and we're at .500. We're still playing some good baseball. We're winning games, we're beating tough teams, we're doing what we need to be doing, and we're not even going yet. Speaks volumes of this team."

The Athletics' relocation plan took a couple steps forward this week. 

On Monday, the Nevada Supreme Court upheld a November 2023 lower court ruling that stopped a petition to put public funding for the stadium up for a vote this year.

A Nevada teachers union had sought a referendum during this November's elections on the $380 million earmarked by the county and state for construction of the Vegas stadium. 

The New York Mets are enduring another disappointing season, but owner Steve Cohen insists that the club won't sell at the trade deadline.

In a since deleted tweet, Cohen replied Wednesday to a fan on social media who said the front office should blow it up and sell at the trade deadline.

"All in the future, not much we can do until the trade deadline," the owner tweeted.

On Thursday, Cohen clarified his since-deleted tweet to SNY, the team's regional network, saying he did not intend to signal the Mets are looking to sell. 

"I believe in this team," Cohen said. "I believe in the back of the baseball card. It's way too early to speculate on anything. It's May 16. I expect to make the playoffs. I know the fan base is frustrated, but it's still early. We're still very capable of making the playoffs. I fully expect to make the playoffs." 

The agency founded by recording artist Bad Bunny, Rimas Sports, has accused the Major League Baseball Players Association of "placing a death penalty" on the agency through "a discriminatory, biased, and pre-determined investigation" into Rimas' business practices, according to a federal lawsuit the company filed Thursday.

On April 10, the MLBPA decertified Rimas agent William Arroyo and prevented Rimas executives Noah Assad and Jonathan Miranda from seeking certification after accusing the agency of providing improper benefits to players. 

Additionally, Rimas' other MLBPA-certified agent, Michael Velasquez, was threatened with decertification and quit the company.

Rimas Sports, which was started in 2021 by Assad, Miranda and Benito Martínez Ocasio -- the international recording superstar known as Bad Bunny -- aimed to cater to players from Latin America.

Shohei Ohtani's first bobblehead giveaway with the Los Angeles Dodgers created quite a stir before Thursday's game against the Cincinnati Reds.

Cars snaked the roadways around Chavez Ravine and stadium parking lots were filling up quickly two hours before the game.

"Shohei creates a stir," Dave Roberts said. "I can't imagine what it's like outside. It's great for Shohei and it's good for the Dodgers."

Only the first 40,000 fans were to receive the bobblehead, which depicts a smiling Ohtani with his bat perched above his left shoulder. The box's design features Japanese anime.

The giveaway attracted a sellout crowd of 53,527 -- the largest in the majors this season and the most at Dodger Stadium since Sept. 20, 2019.

On eBay, the Ohtani giveaway was being offered for $150 and up with sellers advertising it as new in the box. As a surprise, 1,700 road gray jersey bobbleheads were randomly mixed in with the giveaway. One was listed for $2,300 on eBay.

The San Francisco Giants have signed veteran catcher Curt Casali to a one-year contract.

The club's starting catcher, Patrick Bailey, went back on the seven-day concussion injured list Tuesday after being activated three days earlier, and backup Tom Murphy was transferred to the 60-day IL on Wednesday with a sprained left knee.

Casali, 35, played for San Francisco from 2021-22 before getting traded to the Seattle Mariners.

The Texas Rangers have moved Max Scherzer to the 60-day injured list.

The club initially avoided making the move at the start of the season when there was some hope that Scherzer might return sooner than expected from offseason back surgery.

When Scherzer made his initial rehab appearance April 24, he appeared to be on track to possibly rejoin the rotation this month, but he was scratched from his next scheduled rehab start six days later because of right thumb soreness that team doctors later identified as a nerve issue that extended to his right triceps.

He had cortisone injections and Botox injections to the shoulder and neck area May 9 to alleviate pain associated with nerve issue.

"It's aggravating to deal with this, but we are talking about your nerves," Scherzer said. "You can be screwing up your arm for the rest of your life. We've got to figure out a way to manage it."

The earliest Scherzer can return to the Rangers active roster is now May 28.

Houston Astros pitcher Ronel Blanco has been suspended 10 games by Major League Baseball after was ejected from Tuesday's game when umpires found a foreign substance on his glove.

Blanco was also fined an undisclosed amount. He will not appeal.

Dana Brown said Blanco and his agent initially thought about appealing the suspension, but they determined that they want to "move forward" and "get back out there."

"Ronel Blanco is a good human being, a good dude and he's worked his butt off to get into the starting rotation," Brown said. "I think he sees it as, 'Look, I don't want to be out. I don't want to extend this any longer. I want to get back to the business of pitching.'"

Attorneys for MLB, the NBA and the NHL expressed strong concerns with Diamond Sports Group's ability to emerge from bankruptcy during a status conference on Wednesday.

The doubt stems largely from Diamond's inability to secure a new contract with its third-largest distributor, Comcast, which prompted the carrier to pull Bally Sports channels off the air at the start of May.

"I think it's important, from the perspective of Major League Baseball, to understand exactly how devastating it is to lose carriage on Comcast," MLB lawyer James Bromley said in bankruptcy court.

Diamond has secured multiyear agreements with three of its four other major distributors in Charter, DirecTV and Cox.