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 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.

The Chicago White Sox are moving Michael Soroka to the bullpen.

Brad Keller will move from the bullpen and into Soroka's slot in the starting rotation. Soroka is expected to remain stretched out and work multiple innings in relief.

Soroka has a 6.39 ERA through nine starts and 43 2/3 innings.

The Lerner family announced in February that they are no longer interested in selling the Washington Nationals despite announcing in April 2022 that they intended to sell the franchise.

Ted Leonsis had been in talks with the Lerner family to purchase the Nationals, but talks fizzled out -- in part because of uncertainty regarding the club's television rights deal.

Leonsis said Tuesday that he plans to make another proposal to purchase the Nationals at some point.

"I've told employees; I've told the Lerner family: 'We are very interested. And we will figure out the right time and place to come with a thoughtful, dignified, real offer,'" Leonsis said. "And they can say yes, they can say no. They can say, 'We want to keep the team.'"

According to a report, the Lerners may be willing to again entertain offers for the franchise after the 2024 season.

Houston Astros right-hander Ronel Blanco was ejected from Tuesday night's start against the Oakland Athletics following a foreign substance inspection.

Umpires confiscated Blanco's glove when he came out for the fourth inning.

Players thrown out of a game for foreign substance usage are subject to an automatic 10-game suspension. Blanco told reporters that he plans to appeal if Major League Baseball imposes a suspension.

Blanco has a 2.09 ERA and 45 strikeouts in 47 1/3 innings this season.

Juan Soto made Major League history on Tuesday night when he drew a walk during the New York Yankees' 5-1 win over the Minnesota Twins.

Soto broke a tie with Yankees legend Mickey Mantle for the most walks drawn by a batter before turning 26.

He will not celebrate his 26th birthday until Oct. 25. 

Soto entered Tuesday night hitting .314/.414/.541 with nine home runs and 34 runs batted in on the season.