Major League Baseball had more than a few great Japanese-born players over the years. However, Los Angeles Dodgers’ two-way superstar Shohei Ohtani once again showed that he is the best of the bunch.

During Sunday’s 10-0 win over the New York Mets, Ohtani hit his 176th career homer, marking the record for most home runs in MLB by a Japanese-born player. He eclipsed former New York Yankees outfielder Hideki Matsui, who notched 175 homers during his 10 years in the league.

Ohtani previously tied Matsui on April 13th but needed seven more games before taking sole possession of the record.

“I’m relieved and happy,” Ohtani said through an interpreter about the feat. “I took a while to get this point since my last homer, so just honestly, happy, relieved.”

Ohtani spent the first six years of his MLB career with the Los Angeles Angels before signing with the Dodgers on a record 10-year, $700 million deal this offseason. Throughout the first 24 games of the 2024 campaign, Ohtani is batting career-high .368 and has five homers with 13 RBIs.

Unlike previous seasons, when he served as a designated hitter and pitcher, Ohtani is focusing only on batting this year. He underwent elbow surgery during the offseason and isn’t expected to return to mount until 2025.

The post Shohei Ohtani Sets the Record for Most Home Runs in MLB by Japanese-Born Player appeared first on SportzBonanza.

The Atlanta Braves received some devastating news on Saturday. Their All-Star right-hander Spencer Strider has been diagnosed with ulnar collateral ligament (UCL) damage in his throwing hand and might be forced to miss out the rest of 2024 season.

Strider struggled in Friday night’s 6-5 win over the Arizona Diamondbacks, allowing five runs in four innings. After the game, he reported discomfort in his elbow and was sent to get an MRI, which revealed the damage.

Strider is now expected to have further consultation, but he will likely need a Tommy John surgery that will rule him out for at least 16 months.

Braves manager Brian Snitker said that the team is expected to have an update about Strider in the upcoming days.

“You hate that,” Snitker said. “You hate it for him. I feel really bad for him. I mean, the kid does everything right. Loves to compete.”

Snitker acknowledged that surgery is a real option for Strider but said that the injury shouldn’t have any long-term impact on him.

“The good news is he’ll get whatever it is fixed and come back and have a really good career,” he added.

Spencer Strider was coming off a career season in 2023 in which he made his first All-Star and All-MLB First Team. He finished the season with a 20–5 record, 286 strikeouts, and a 3.86 ERA, leading the entire MLB in wins and strikeouts.

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Washington Nationals pitcher Stephen Strasburg has officially retired from MLB. The move comes after several months of uncertainty about Strasburg’s future in the league.

Strasburg, who has dealt with a number of injuries in recent years, made his retirement decision back in August. However, he never made it official and his retirement press conference was canceled at the last moment. It turned out that there was a dispute with the Nationals about the remainder of the seven-year, $245 million contract he signed with the franchise ahead of the 2020 NFL season. 

The two sides engaged in lengthy settlement negotiations before finally reaching an agreement this week. The expectation is that Strasburg will receive most, if not all, of the money he is owed, but a portion of it will be deferred.

Stephen Strasburg had a career season in 2019 when he helped the Nationals win their first World Series title and received World Series MVP honors. He became a free agent in the following offseason and unsurprisingly landed a lucrative new deal with the franchise.

The Nationals hoped that Strasburg would continue being a mainstay in their rotation for years to come, but that never materialized. A combination of injuries limited Strasburg to just eight starts since then and he made his most recent MLB appearance back in June 2022.

Strasburg will end his career with a 113–62 record, 3.24 ERA, and 1,723 strikeouts.

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The Houston Astros ace Justin Verlander will have two rehab starts in Triple-A before returning from the Injured List. The news was confirmed by Astros manager Joe Espada in a recent chat with reporters.

Verlander started the 2024 MLB season on IL due to a shoulder inflammation he experienced leading to spring training. He is now fully recovered and will have the opportunity to build up his pitch count with Astros’ Triple-A affiliate Sugar Land.

Verlander’s first start with Sugar Land will come on Saturday, and if that goes well, he will have one more outing in the minors before resuming MLB action.

“Just based on what I’ve seen and out of his live BPs and how he’s talking about how he feels, I think two starts,” said Espada of Verlander’s timeline for coming off the IL. “Should be good enough.”

The Astros badly need Verlnader back considering their poor start of the season. They were swept in the opening series against the New York Yankees and are currently sitting at 2-5.

Justin Verlander initially left the Houston Astros during the 2023 offseason to sign a lucrative deal with the New York Mets. However, he only made 16 starts with the Mets before being traded back to Houston.

 The three-time AL Cy Young Award winner ended up making 11 starts with the Astros to close out the season, going 7-3 with a 3.31 ERA and 63 strikeouts.

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After spending months on the free agent market, veteran righty Mike Clevinger is back where he was last season. According to MLB Insider Robert Murray, Clevinger will rejoin the Chicago White Sox on a one-year deal.

Clevinger signed a one-year, $8 million contract with the White Sox in 2023 and started 24 games with the team. He finished the campaign with a 9-9 record, 3.77 ERA, and 110 strikeouts. After the season ended, Clevinger didn’t pick up his $12 million option for 2024 and instead opted for a $4 million buyout.

This development turned out to be favorable for the White Sox, considering they will now get Clevinger on a much cheaper deal. Murray reports that the agreement between the two sides comes with a $3 million salary and an additional $3 million in incentives. 

Clevinger will join the White Sox rotation that includes lefty Garrett Crochet, All-Star Michael Soroka, newly-acquired Erick Fedde and veteran Chris Flexen. The team is also expected to rely on rookie Nick Nastrini, who is scheduled to get the start for the upcoming game against the Atlanta Braves.

Mike Clevinger received his MLB debut with the Cleveland Guardians in 2016 and spent five years with the franchise before being traded to the San Diego Padres. He missed the 2021 season due to a Tommy John surgery. Clevinger has a 60–39 career record with a 3.45 ERA and 804 strikeouts.

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The New York Yankees announced on Sunday that they had acquired reliever Jake Cousins from the Chicago White Sox. The White Sox will receive cash consideration in return.

Cousins is expected to be on the Yankees’ active roster for the upcoming series against the Arizona Diamondbacks.

Cousins spent the 2023 season with the Milwaukee Brewers, appearing in nine games and finishing the campaign with a 4.82 ERA, seven strikeouts and 10 hits allowed. He signed a minor league contract with the White Sox in December.

Since making his MLB debut with the Brewers in 2021, Cousins played in 51 games and has a 3-1 record with a 3.08 ERA and 72 strikeouts. He also has six seasons of experience in the minors. 

Acquiring Cousins gives the Yankees another arm that they can rely on in case of emergency. The team has a number of relievers dealing with injuries, including McKinley Moore and Tommy Kahnle, who are on a 15-day injured list, and Scott Effross and Lou Trivino, who are on a 60-day injured list.

The New York Yankees have had a promising start to the season, winning all of their first four games of the 2024 MLB season. However, their true test will be a series with Diamondbacks, who are 3-1 to start the campaign.

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The Los Angeles Angels hoped that the 2024 MLB season might be the one in which they finally turn things around. Instead, it started worse than any other before and led to a team meeting organized by the new manager Ron Washington.

The Angels went 0-2 to start the new season, which is bad but not something teams usually hold meetings for. However, Washington believed his clubhouse needed one because of the fashion in which those losses came.

In the season opener against the Baltimore Orioles, the Angels suffered an 11-3 loss. Then, in the second game of the series, they were hammered 13-4. This 24 runs is the franchise gave up in a two-game stretch in its history.

“Just wanted to let them know they’ve played only two games and we can’t get off track,” Washington said via ESPN. “Our focus is on a 162-game championship season. Not two games. The two games haven’t gone like we wanted, but we just got to make certain that we come to the ballpark ready to go.”

The Angels don’t seem to be panicking just yet, but they also don’t want their crisis to go any deeper.

“No one’s hitting the panic button. We’re not happy with it by any means. Just come and trust the process and work tomorrow,” said catcher Logan O’Hoppe.

The Los Angeles Angels haven’t been in the postseason since 2014, marking the longest active playoff drought in the MLB. They also finished at the bottom of AL West four times in the last six seasons.

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Left-hand pitcher Jordan Montgomery, considered one of the top free agents in the 2024 class, has agreed to a one-year deal with the Arizona Diamondbacks.

According to Bob Nightengale of USA Today, Montgomery will play on a $25 million salary next season. His agreement with the Diamondbacks also includes a vesting option for 2025 that could be worth up to $25 million.

Montgomery is coming off his best year as a pro. He started the 2023 season with the St. Louis Cardinals, making 21 starts, which included a 3.42 ERA and 108 strikeouts, before being traded to the Texas Rangers.

With the Rangers, Montgomery improved on the already promising campaign, having a 4-2 record with a 2.79 ERA and 58 strikeouts in 11 stars. His great performances carried over to the postseason, where he went 3-1 with a 2.90 ERA and helped the Rangers win the World Series against his new team. At the end of the season, Montgomery made the All-MLB Second Team.

After entering the free agency, Montgomery reportedly hoped to get a long-term deal worth “nine figures.” However, his market never materialized and he ended up taking a deal that would allow him to pursue a better contract in 2025 if he has another strong year.

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The New York Yankees will be shorthanded when the 2024 MLB season starts. The team confirmed on Monday that their All-Star third baseman DJ LeMahieu will begin the campaign on the Injured List.

LeMahieu is dealing with a bruised foot, an injury he picked up in a spring training game against the Toronto Blue Jays on March 16. The veteran underwent MRI and CT scans, which came back negative, but is expected to undergo further tests this week.

“It’s a little bit slow go on the recovery side. He banged it up pretty good,” Yankees general manager Brian Cashman told reporters on Monday. “The last few days, giving it time, it hasn’t really responded quick enough with the dates coming.”

It is unclear how much time LeMahieu will miss, but the expectation is that he will be sidelined for at least the first seven games, all on the road. He could potentially return for the first home series against the Blue Jays on April 4.

LeMahieu dealt with foot injuries in the past two seasons as well and the issues greatly impacted his production. In 2023, he batted a career-worst .243 while finishing the campaign with 15 home runs and 44 RBIs.

The post Yankees’ All-Star 3B DJ LeMahieu to Start the 2024 MLB Season on Injured List appeared first on SportzBonanza.

The Milwaukee Brewers will be without their All-Star right-hander Brandon Woodruff for the entire 2024 MLB season. Woodruff confirmed this in a chat with reporters over the weekend.

Woodruff underwent surgery on his throwing shoulder in October. At the time, it was believed that he could recover in time to play late in 2024. However, that doesn’t seem like an option now.

“Honestly, I’m going [to] be the strongest I’ll ever be at any point in my career because I’m going [to] have a year and just basically get my body ready for pitching,” Woodruff said via Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

Woodruff was limited to just 11 starts in 2023 while dealing with a shoulder injury. He went 5-1 with a 2.28 ERA and 74 strikeouts while pitching a complete-game shutout in a 12–0 home win over the Miami Marlins.

After the end of the season, Woodruff became a free agent, and it was believed that his time with the Brewers had come to an end. However, the two sides ended up agreeing to a two-year, $17.5 million contract with a mutual option for 2026 in February.

Woodruff, who made his MLB debut with the Brewers in 2017, has a career 46–26 record with a 3.10 ERA and 788 strikeouts. He was an All-Star in 2019 and 2021.

The post Brewers’ All-Star RHP Brandon Woodruff Says He’ll Sit Out the 2024 Season appeared first on SportzBonanza.

Major League Baseball had more than a few great Japanese-born players over the years. However, Los Angeles Dodgers’ two-way superstar Shohei Ohtani once again showed that he is the best of the bunch.

During Sunday’s 10-0 win over the New York Mets, Ohtani hit his 176th career homer, marking the record for most home runs in MLB by a Japanese-born player. He eclipsed former New York Yankees outfielder Hideki Matsui, who notched 175 homers during his 10 years in the league.

Ohtani previously tied Matsui on April 13th but needed seven more games before taking sole possession of the record.

“I’m relieved and happy,” Ohtani said through an interpreter about the feat. “I took a while to get this point since my last homer, so just honestly, happy, relieved.”

Ohtani spent the first six years of his MLB career with the Los Angeles Angels before signing with the Dodgers on a record 10-year, $700 million deal this offseason. Throughout the first 24 games of the 2024 campaign, Ohtani is batting career-high .368 and has five homers with 13 RBIs.

Unlike previous seasons, when he served as a designated hitter and pitcher, Ohtani is focusing only on batting this year. He underwent elbow surgery during the offseason and isn’t expected to return to mount until 2025.

The post Shohei Ohtani Sets the Record for Most Home Runs in MLB by Japanese-Born Player appeared first on SportzBonanza.

The Atlanta Braves received some devastating news on Saturday. Their All-Star right-hander Spencer Strider has been diagnosed with ulnar collateral ligament (UCL) damage in his throwing hand and might be forced to miss out the rest of 2024 season.

Strider struggled in Friday night’s 6-5 win over the Arizona Diamondbacks, allowing five runs in four innings. After the game, he reported discomfort in his elbow and was sent to get an MRI, which revealed the damage.

Strider is now expected to have further consultation, but he will likely need a Tommy John surgery that will rule him out for at least 16 months.

Braves manager Brian Snitker said that the team is expected to have an update about Strider in the upcoming days.

“You hate that,” Snitker said. “You hate it for him. I feel really bad for him. I mean, the kid does everything right. Loves to compete.”

Snitker acknowledged that surgery is a real option for Strider but said that the injury shouldn’t have any long-term impact on him.

“The good news is he’ll get whatever it is fixed and come back and have a really good career,” he added.

Spencer Strider was coming off a career season in 2023 in which he made his first All-Star and All-MLB First Team. He finished the season with a 20–5 record, 286 strikeouts, and a 3.86 ERA, leading the entire MLB in wins and strikeouts.

The post Braves All-Star RHP Spencer Strider Diagnosed With UCL Damage appeared first on SportzBonanza.

Washington Nationals pitcher Stephen Strasburg has officially retired from MLB. The move comes after several months of uncertainty about Strasburg’s future in the league.

Strasburg, who has dealt with a number of injuries in recent years, made his retirement decision back in August. However, he never made it official and his retirement press conference was canceled at the last moment. It turned out that there was a dispute with the Nationals about the remainder of the seven-year, $245 million contract he signed with the franchise ahead of the 2020 NFL season. 

The two sides engaged in lengthy settlement negotiations before finally reaching an agreement this week. The expectation is that Strasburg will receive most, if not all, of the money he is owed, but a portion of it will be deferred.

Stephen Strasburg had a career season in 2019 when he helped the Nationals win their first World Series title and received World Series MVP honors. He became a free agent in the following offseason and unsurprisingly landed a lucrative new deal with the franchise.

The Nationals hoped that Strasburg would continue being a mainstay in their rotation for years to come, but that never materialized. A combination of injuries limited Strasburg to just eight starts since then and he made his most recent MLB appearance back in June 2022.

Strasburg will end his career with a 113–62 record, 3.24 ERA, and 1,723 strikeouts.

The post Nationals’ Stephen Strasburg Officially Retires From MLB appeared first on SportzBonanza.

The Houston Astros ace Justin Verlander will have two rehab starts in Triple-A before returning from the Injured List. The news was confirmed by Astros manager Joe Espada in a recent chat with reporters.

Verlander started the 2024 MLB season on IL due to a shoulder inflammation he experienced leading to spring training. He is now fully recovered and will have the opportunity to build up his pitch count with Astros’ Triple-A affiliate Sugar Land.

Verlander’s first start with Sugar Land will come on Saturday, and if that goes well, he will have one more outing in the minors before resuming MLB action.

“Just based on what I’ve seen and out of his live BPs and how he’s talking about how he feels, I think two starts,” said Espada of Verlander’s timeline for coming off the IL. “Should be good enough.”

The Astros badly need Verlnader back considering their poor start of the season. They were swept in the opening series against the New York Yankees and are currently sitting at 2-5.

Justin Verlander initially left the Houston Astros during the 2023 offseason to sign a lucrative deal with the New York Mets. However, he only made 16 starts with the Mets before being traded back to Houston.

 The three-time AL Cy Young Award winner ended up making 11 starts with the Astros to close out the season, going 7-3 with a 3.31 ERA and 63 strikeouts.

The post Astros Ace Justin Verlander to Have 2 Rehab Starts in Triple-A Before Returning from IL appeared first on SportzBonanza.

After spending months on the free agent market, veteran righty Mike Clevinger is back where he was last season. According to MLB Insider Robert Murray, Clevinger will rejoin the Chicago White Sox on a one-year deal.

Clevinger signed a one-year, $8 million contract with the White Sox in 2023 and started 24 games with the team. He finished the campaign with a 9-9 record, 3.77 ERA, and 110 strikeouts. After the season ended, Clevinger didn’t pick up his $12 million option for 2024 and instead opted for a $4 million buyout.

This development turned out to be favorable for the White Sox, considering they will now get Clevinger on a much cheaper deal. Murray reports that the agreement between the two sides comes with a $3 million salary and an additional $3 million in incentives. 

Clevinger will join the White Sox rotation that includes lefty Garrett Crochet, All-Star Michael Soroka, newly-acquired Erick Fedde and veteran Chris Flexen. The team is also expected to rely on rookie Nick Nastrini, who is scheduled to get the start for the upcoming game against the Atlanta Braves.

Mike Clevinger received his MLB debut with the Cleveland Guardians in 2016 and spent five years with the franchise before being traded to the San Diego Padres. He missed the 2021 season due to a Tommy John surgery. Clevinger has a 60–39 career record with a 3.45 ERA and 804 strikeouts.

The post Veteran RHP Mike Clevinger Rejoins Chicago White Sox appeared first on SportzBonanza.

The New York Yankees announced on Sunday that they had acquired reliever Jake Cousins from the Chicago White Sox. The White Sox will receive cash consideration in return.

Cousins is expected to be on the Yankees’ active roster for the upcoming series against the Arizona Diamondbacks.

Cousins spent the 2023 season with the Milwaukee Brewers, appearing in nine games and finishing the campaign with a 4.82 ERA, seven strikeouts and 10 hits allowed. He signed a minor league contract with the White Sox in December.

Since making his MLB debut with the Brewers in 2021, Cousins played in 51 games and has a 3-1 record with a 3.08 ERA and 72 strikeouts. He also has six seasons of experience in the minors. 

Acquiring Cousins gives the Yankees another arm that they can rely on in case of emergency. The team has a number of relievers dealing with injuries, including McKinley Moore and Tommy Kahnle, who are on a 15-day injured list, and Scott Effross and Lou Trivino, who are on a 60-day injured list.

The New York Yankees have had a promising start to the season, winning all of their first four games of the 2024 MLB season. However, their true test will be a series with Diamondbacks, who are 3-1 to start the campaign.

The post NY Yankees Acquire Reliever Jake Cousins From White Sox appeared first on SportzBonanza.

The Los Angeles Angels hoped that the 2024 MLB season might be the one in which they finally turn things around. Instead, it started worse than any other before and led to a team meeting organized by the new manager Ron Washington.

The Angels went 0-2 to start the new season, which is bad but not something teams usually hold meetings for. However, Washington believed his clubhouse needed one because of the fashion in which those losses came.

In the season opener against the Baltimore Orioles, the Angels suffered an 11-3 loss. Then, in the second game of the series, they were hammered 13-4. This 24 runs is the franchise gave up in a two-game stretch in its history.

“Just wanted to let them know they’ve played only two games and we can’t get off track,” Washington said via ESPN. “Our focus is on a 162-game championship season. Not two games. The two games haven’t gone like we wanted, but we just got to make certain that we come to the ballpark ready to go.”

The Angels don’t seem to be panicking just yet, but they also don’t want their crisis to go any deeper.

“No one’s hitting the panic button. We’re not happy with it by any means. Just come and trust the process and work tomorrow,” said catcher Logan O’Hoppe.

The Los Angeles Angels haven’t been in the postseason since 2014, marking the longest active playoff drought in the MLB. They also finished at the bottom of AL West four times in the last six seasons.

The post Angels Hold a Team Meeting After Historically Bad Start of the Season appeared first on SportzBonanza.

Left-hand pitcher Jordan Montgomery, considered one of the top free agents in the 2024 class, has agreed to a one-year deal with the Arizona Diamondbacks.

According to Bob Nightengale of USA Today, Montgomery will play on a $25 million salary next season. His agreement with the Diamondbacks also includes a vesting option for 2025 that could be worth up to $25 million.

Montgomery is coming off his best year as a pro. He started the 2023 season with the St. Louis Cardinals, making 21 starts, which included a 3.42 ERA and 108 strikeouts, before being traded to the Texas Rangers.

With the Rangers, Montgomery improved on the already promising campaign, having a 4-2 record with a 2.79 ERA and 58 strikeouts in 11 stars. His great performances carried over to the postseason, where he went 3-1 with a 2.90 ERA and helped the Rangers win the World Series against his new team. At the end of the season, Montgomery made the All-MLB Second Team.

After entering the free agency, Montgomery reportedly hoped to get a long-term deal worth “nine figures.” However, his market never materialized and he ended up taking a deal that would allow him to pursue a better contract in 2025 if he has another strong year.

The post LHP Jordan Montgomery and Diamondbacks Agree to 1-Year, $25 Million Contract appeared first on SportzBonanza.

The New York Yankees will be shorthanded when the 2024 MLB season starts. The team confirmed on Monday that their All-Star third baseman DJ LeMahieu will begin the campaign on the Injured List.

LeMahieu is dealing with a bruised foot, an injury he picked up in a spring training game against the Toronto Blue Jays on March 16. The veteran underwent MRI and CT scans, which came back negative, but is expected to undergo further tests this week.

“It’s a little bit slow go on the recovery side. He banged it up pretty good,” Yankees general manager Brian Cashman told reporters on Monday. “The last few days, giving it time, it hasn’t really responded quick enough with the dates coming.”

It is unclear how much time LeMahieu will miss, but the expectation is that he will be sidelined for at least the first seven games, all on the road. He could potentially return for the first home series against the Blue Jays on April 4.

LeMahieu dealt with foot injuries in the past two seasons as well and the issues greatly impacted his production. In 2023, he batted a career-worst .243 while finishing the campaign with 15 home runs and 44 RBIs.

The post Yankees’ All-Star 3B DJ LeMahieu to Start the 2024 MLB Season on Injured List appeared first on SportzBonanza.

The Milwaukee Brewers will be without their All-Star right-hander Brandon Woodruff for the entire 2024 MLB season. Woodruff confirmed this in a chat with reporters over the weekend.

Woodruff underwent surgery on his throwing shoulder in October. At the time, it was believed that he could recover in time to play late in 2024. However, that doesn’t seem like an option now.

“Honestly, I’m going [to] be the strongest I’ll ever be at any point in my career because I’m going [to] have a year and just basically get my body ready for pitching,” Woodruff said via Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

Woodruff was limited to just 11 starts in 2023 while dealing with a shoulder injury. He went 5-1 with a 2.28 ERA and 74 strikeouts while pitching a complete-game shutout in a 12–0 home win over the Miami Marlins.

After the end of the season, Woodruff became a free agent, and it was believed that his time with the Brewers had come to an end. However, the two sides ended up agreeing to a two-year, $17.5 million contract with a mutual option for 2026 in February.

Woodruff, who made his MLB debut with the Brewers in 2017, has a career 46–26 record with a 3.10 ERA and 788 strikeouts. He was an All-Star in 2019 and 2021.

The post Brewers’ All-Star RHP Brandon Woodruff Says He’ll Sit Out the 2024 Season appeared first on SportzBonanza.