Los Angeles is interested in Giants closer Will Smith, according to MLB.com. And while it would be odd to see San Francisco deal a player to help out its rival in Southern California, it apparently isn’t out of the question. According to MLB.com, the Giants are not ruling out the possibility of making a deal with the Dodgers for Smith. Deals between the Dodgers and Giants are exceedingly rare as the last time the teams hooked up on a trade was more than a decade ago when the Giants sent Mark Sweeney to the Dodgers for Travis Denker in 2007....

The Red Sox have finished last in the AL East in back-to-back seasons, the first consecutive cellar-dweller finishes since 1929 and 1930. MORE: Top 25 free agents this offseason These former beasts of the East have been mostly afterthoughts when the playoffs have arrived. Sure, the Yankees limped into an AL wild-card spot with 87 wins in 2015, but nobody expected them to do anything in October. And they didn’t — they were shut out at home by Astros’ ace Dallas Keuchel in the least surprising result of the entire postseason....

The Dodgers, Rays, Astros, Braves, Padres and Yankees have all been mentioned as having interest in the 28-year-old, but no one has gotten a deal done yet. If the Tigers do trade Boyd he will likely fetch a hefty price because of a couple of things: for one, the Tigers don’t have to trade him because he could help the team over the next few years, but secondly, he has three years of team control left which is always worth more at the July 31 trade deadline....

"Mr. Stanton is not available," general manager Dan Jennings said Sunday on SiriusXM's "The Front Office" radio show. "He is going to be in right field at Marlins Park, and [we're] looking forward to having a big year with him. We're excited. We think it's going to be a lot of fun building around him, and what he can mean to this ballclub and that city." That will disappoint teams looking for a young slugger with power in his bat....

The Padres have put together a package that includes multiple MLB players for the big right-hander also known as “Thor,” according to MLB Network’s Jon Heyman. Despite that, there is no indication a deal is close between the two organizations. It has been repeatedly reported New York is not going to trade players at the expense of competing in 2020. In turn, the Mets have been asking teams for other MLB players that would help fill out the roster after Syndergaard’s departure....

Should a team like the Braves hold onto Christian Pache? Should the Yankees keep Deivi García because of what he might become at the cost of a championship? The answer is a resounding no. Now, it might hurt, and teams aren’t going to want to do it, but the Yankees, Braves, Astros and Dodgers all have those prospects they don’t want to give up, just like every team in baseball....

Tampa Bay acquired first baseman Jesus Aguilar from the Brewers for pitcher Jake Faria, according to multiple reports. The deal is straight up, per the New York Post. Aguilar, 29, has struggled this year, batting .225 with eight home runs and 34 RBIs. Just last season he was was on fire, batting .274 with 35 home runs and 108 RBIs. Faria, 26, is 0-0 with a 2.70 ERA in 10 innings pitched with Tampa Bay this year....

They’re looking at three pitchers: Giants lefty Madison Bumgarner, Diamondbacks lefty Robbie Ray and Mets righty Zack Wheeler, according to multiple reports. There are several intriguing things about the teams’ pursuits. For one, both were interested in Ray in 2017, so they have done groundwork on him. In addition to that, Ray has one more year of team control so he could cost more on the market. So while it would be a win to add a year of control, it could be a loss for whichever team gives up more....

Fifty years ago, Emmett Ashford became the first African-American to umpire a regular-season game, making his debut April 11, 1966, as the third base umpire in the Senators-Indians season opener in Washington. All MLB umpires will wear a patch bearing the initials “EA” on Monday as a tribute. MORE: 42 classic images of Jackie Robinson Ashford was born in Los Angeles in 1914 and began umpiring on the side while working a day job at the post office in the 1930s, according to a biography by the Society for American Baseball Research....

The Los Angeles Times cited a source with “direct knowledge of the situation” when the information leaked, while CBS Sports and the New York Daily News also cited anonymous sources. The only sources that would have information from Hamilton’s confession would be the commissioner’s office, the Angels, Hamilton and his agents and lawyers. MORE: MLB issues pace-of-play warnings | LA sluggers make history | Capellan dies at 34 The Angels caught most of the blame for leaking the information to the media in hopes of a way out from the $25 million Hamilton is owed this season, but commissioner Rob Manfred said MLB will not investigate the club for any indiscretions against the Joint Drug Agreement....

The two Braves youngsters were integral parts of Atlanta’s 4-0 win over the Cardinals and it all started with Soroka. The 21-year-old Canadian tossed seven scoreless innings, allowing three hits and three walks while striking out three. St. Louis came into the game with the third-most runs in MLB and it scored 14 in a victory Tuesday over Atlanta. But Soroka was wonderful throughout the night, keeping the Cardinals off-balance with a great mix of sinkers and change-ups....

St. Louis dropped the Pirates 14-8 on Wednesday to win its fourth game in a row and seven of its last eight. All of that is great, but it’s not nearly as impressive as what the team did in the second inning. During that frame, the Cardinals scored nine runs while collecting eight extra-base hits (three home runs, five doubles) tying an MLB record. Only five teams have ever tallied eight extra-base hits in a single frame, according to ESPN Stats and Info....

The Brewers trailed down the stretch but jumped into the lead after Ryan Braun notched a ninth-inning grand slam. Braun’s home run was the most important hit in the game, but Milwaukee also got a home run from Cory Spangenberg in the seventh inning. The Brewers totaled 12 hits to the Cardinals’ five. Two of St. Louis’ five hits came from Harrison Bader, who had two home runs and two RBIs....

Out of the Park Baseball is all about team building and management. Gamers get total control over a franchise with an impressive slate of features and unparalleled depth. Free agency, trades, drafts, minor leagues, international scouting and a whole lot more is involved in that. Of course there are the actual in-game management decisions to take on during the season as well. Since its inception however “OOTP” has lacked the official licensing of Major League Baseball....

The union said Weiner died at his home in Mansfield Township, N.J. Weiner was diagnosed with an inoperable tumor 15 months ago. Weiner was a plain-speaking labor lawyer known for his casual dress and easygoing manner. He helped maintain labor peace in the sport after succeeding Donald Fehr as executive director in 2009. He joined the union as a staff attorney in 1988. "Here you had an individual who came to me as a kid for his first private sector job," Fehr told The Associated Press in a telephone interview....

Led by former Barcelona and Argentina coach Gerardo Martino, in-form Atlanta made sure of a postseason berth with four regular-season fixtures remaining via a 3-0 victory on Wednesday. Julian Gressel, red-hot Venezuela international Josef Martinez and Jacob Peterson were on target as Atlanta — which became the first expansion side since 2009 to reach the playoffs — extended its unbeaten streak to seven games, a run that has resulted in five clean sheets and 24 goals scored....

Back on the pitch following a hamstring injury suffered on the opening weekend of the season, Kaka made an immediate impact as high-flying Orlando accounted for the Colorado Rapids 2-0 on Saturday. Portland stays potent without Valeri After Carlos Rivas broke the deadlock in the 70th minute, former AC Milan and Real Madrid star Kaka came off the bench to seal Orlando’s fifth successive home victory in the first minute of stoppage time....

Sebastian Le Toux scored the only goal of the game for the Rapids in the 63rd minute at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park following good work by Marlon Hairston. Colorado is now assured of a first playoff appearance since 2013, with rival Sporting Kansas City having lost 3-1 at New England. That result, sealed by strikes from Kei Kamara and Juan Agudelo in the first and second half respectively, together with a Kevin Ellis own-goal, kept the Revolution’s slim postseason hopes alive....