Yeah, no. Don’t expect a quickie divorce. The agent, Joe Longo, tried to negotiate a split through the media when he told ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick on Tuesday, “The relationship between player and team is irretrievably broken. It’s soured.” MORE: Marlins’ Castro wants out, too That may be true from the player’s side, at least: Yelich is the last major league outfielder standing in Miami after the offseason trades of Giancarlo Stanton and Marcell Ozuna....

REPORTED BY: Pete Kerzel, MASN Sports MORE: Six landing spots for CarGo | Winter Meetings winners and losers THE DETAILS: Colorado is seeking a left-handed hitting outfielder and a consistent bat to soften the loss of Denard Span and provide depth behind the oft-injured and aging Jayson Werth. We might as well add Corey Dickerson’s name to the list as all three of the Rockies projected starters are lefties. Rockies manager Walt Weiss said at the winter meetings it would take a “bold move” by the front office to stay competitive in the NL West after the Diamondbacks landed Zack Greinke and Shelby Miller....

The Nats boast baseball’s best record since May 24 (36-16), but the bullpen is overworked. That fact was underlined Thursday, when 42-year-old reliever Fernando Rodney blew a ninth-inning lead against the Rockies. Rodney had pitched both games of Wednesday’s doubleheader. Either Giles, who has 14 saves, a 1.59 ERA and 1.08 WHIP in 34 games, or Hudson (2.80 ERA, 1.24 WHIP in 42 appearances) could make a difference as the Nats battle for a playoff spot....

Teams typically won’t give up top prospects, but at the same time, organizations won’t usually deal a key player at the deadline for just one player. But on paper, this agreement made a lot of sense. The Indians absolutely needed an arm for the back of their bullpen and the Padres wanted a top-flight backstop prospect. Now, in the short run it appears the Indians have won out on this agreement, but Mejia still has time to be the prospect many thought he would be....

The two-time All-Star is represented by super agent Scott Boras, as is Baltimore slugger Chris Davis. Both are eligible for free agency after the 2015 season, and the Orioles are unlikely to sign both to extensions given Boras' preference for clients to test the open market, Rosenthal writes. Although he has not lived up to the hype that surrounded his major league debut in 2009, the 27-year-old Wieters has established himself as the one of the top defensive backstops in baseball, winning the Gold Glove in 2011 and 2012....

d’Arnaud will presumably step right into the starting lineup for the first-place Rays, who have lost catchers Mike Zunino (quad) and Michael Perez (oblique) to the IL in the past week. MORE: Watch ‘ChangeUp,’ a new MLB live whiparound show on DAZN The 30-year-old d’Arnaud, who spent his first seven MLB seasons with the Mets before being released last week, signed with the Dodgers a couple of days later for $3....

Valentine was drilled in the face near his right cheek by an errant throw from Cardinals shortstop Edmundo Sosa. The second-year MLB arbiter rightly assumed that Sosa’s spinning, off-balance toss from behind second base wouldn’t get near him. He was focused on making a call as the Mets’ Kevin Pillar was racing for first base. MORE: MLB standings 2021: Updated playoff bracket, magic numbers as of Sept. 12 The throw knocked down and bloodied Valentine, who stayed in the game despite suffering a large abrasion....

The MLB umpire, who fits into the high-risk bracket when it comes to COVID-19, is going to be calling balls and strikes if and when the 2020 MLB season gets underway. But the coronavirus doesn’t bother him one bit In an interview with The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal, West somewhat irresponsibly says he believes that many of the nation’s COVID-19 deaths — of which there are roughly 130,000 — actually don’t have anything to do with the coronavirus....

Matusz was suspended for having a foreign substance on his arm on May 23 in a game against the Marlins. He appealed the decision, but reportedly did not win his case. The news comes just a few hours after the league reduced Will Smith’s suspension for a similar offense. According to CSN Baltimore, Matusz will be allowed to travel with the team and participate in pregame activities, but can’t sit on the bench during games....

Toronto crushed Houston 12-0 and hit a season-high five home runs. Two homers came from outfielder Teoscar Hernandez, raising his 2019 total to six. The Blue Jays also got a solid performance on the mound from Trent Thornton, who recorded seven strikeouts in 6 2/3 innings of work. The rookie pitcher was drafted by the Astros in 2015 and was traded to Toronto in November 2018. Josh Reddick was the only Houston player to get more than one hit against the Blue Jays in the loss....

Perhaps you didn’t see this coming. Since its initial season nearly a quarter-century ago, MLS has had two persistent problems: when to start the season and how to end it. The continued growth of the league has pushed the season opener earlier and earlier, and now we have action the first weekend in March. MORE: Nani joins Orlando City It is a busy time in American sports, with NCAA basketball, the NHL and NBA all approaching the most intense junctures of their regular seasons and baseball’s spring training in full operation....

“I’m not going anywhere,” Michael Bradley said Tuesday at a press conference in advance of Wednesday’s MLS All-Star Game against Real Madrid (8:30 p.m. ET; FS1, TSN, TVA). “I love Toronto. Toronto is my home. Toronto is my club. “I’ve never been more committed to finish what I went there for, which was to win, to hold up trophies.” MORE: Bradley earns Golden Ball at Gold Cup Michael Bradley played for his father for nearly five years, when Bob was the coach of the U....

Arthur Blank, owner of the Atlanta Falcons, will bring soccer to the Georgia city with the new club set to play in the Falcons' new 65,000-seat stadium. For MLS games, the stadium will feature seating capacity of 29,322, according to a release. “We are very excited to bring a Major League Soccer team to Atlanta," Blank said in the release. "We are going to build a first-class organization on and off the field that will be a source of pride for the entire community, and we believe our downtown stadium will become a destination for soccer fans throughout the Southeast for many years to come....

Though the North American clubs are in the middle of a season — and sometimes facing fixture congestion with a number of competitions underway — games against European opposition touring the United States for preseason are too lucrative to pass up. Fans want to lay eyes on the Premier League stars they watch on television Saturday mornings, marketing divisions want to show a MLS game-day experience to fans who only watch European teams, and club executives want to increase revenue....

The Timbers travel to Columbus to face the Crew in Sunday’s showpiece. Game time is 4 p.m. ET MORE: Copa America plans go on | North American soccer exec arrested | Corruption crackdown You have to go back 40 years for the Timbers’ last championship match, when they lost Soccer Bowl ‘75 to the Tampa Bay Rowdies in their inaugural season in the North American Soccer League. Borchers won the MLS Cup with Real Salt Lake in 2009 and was on its runner-up four years later....

Get the latest MLS odds Liam Ridgewell, Diego Valeri and Alvas Powell scored as the Timbers saw off the Galaxy 3-1 in Portland. The Timbers made a dream start thanks to Ridgewell’s fifth-minute opener — a power header into an empty net — but LA hit back immediately via Emmanuel Boateng. Valeri restored Portland’s lead just past the half-hour mark with a stunning long-range strike and Powell sealed the points when he lashed a shot across Galaxy goalkeeper Brian Rowe....

It has been a while since either team has looked like a legitimate title contender, and this year isn’t much different. The Galaxy looked like they might turn things around with the signing of Zlatan Ibrahimovic, but instead find themselves struggling again. Last Monday’s win in Montreal, which came down a man after Ibrahimovic’s red card, should provide the Galaxy with some momentum. It will also mean having to play without Ibrahimovic for the first time since his memorable arrival....

There is no match bigger than the first installment of the LA Galaxy-Los Angeles FC rivalry. Whether you call it “El Trafico” or the “LaLa Clasico,” it is shaping up to be a must-see event. As if the intra-city rivalry wasn’t enough of a draw, Zlatan Ibrahimovic has arrived in Los Angeles and is expected to be available for a potential MLS debut at StubHub Center. Meanwhile, Orlando City will host Sacha Kljestan’s reunion with the New York Red Bulls....

That’s how awful a 2017 season the Galaxy had — a campaign so terrible that they are still washing off the stink, even though the Galaxy spent the winter revamping their roster as impressively as any team in the league. Last week’s season-opening win against the Portland Timbers showed us a much-improved Galaxy squad, but the victory wasn’t enough to earn them a title contender label. A win Sunday, however, could do just that....

Remember when the New York Red Bulls were dominating their rivalry with New York City FC, leaving us to wonder why the blue side of NYC couldn’t figure out the red side? Yes, things have changed considerably on both fronts, and this weekend’s marquee rivalry clashes offer examples of just how much. The Sounders are on a roll, unbeaten in 10 matches (6-0-4) heading into their home date with arch-rival Portland, which has seen its own revival with a 4-1-1 stretch that has helped the Timbers climb into second place, right behind West-leading Seattle....