#Christian Vázquez

We are less than two weeks into the 2023 calendar year, but we've got bold predictions of a litany of things that will go down in Major League Baseball over the course of the next 11.5 months. Most of our predictions are about things that will happen during the 2023 MLB season, of course. A breakout rookie. An unlikely MVP. A surprise AL West…

One thing Yankees fans know about Gary Sánchez: even in his darkest times, with the highest number of balls bouncing behind him, the slugger still struck fear in the hearts of the Boston Red Sox. As Sánchez sits on the shelf for an excruciatingly long time this offseason - his first shot at free agency - it feels as if he'll either end up on a team…

I can't decide what's more bewildering: That the Red Sox really feel like they did something on Wednesday morning, or that so many of the rest of us don't. The clearest emotion to find is joy for Rafael Devers, his evolution from a 16-year-old Dominican free agent to the unquestioned face of the franchise complete in a shade less than a decade.…

Believe it or not, Red Sox spring training opens in just about five weeks. The roster is not complete quite yet, but the large majority of the 2023 team has already been put together, and it looks quite different than the group that last took the field at Fenway Park in early October. Boston's chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom entered the winter…

I can't be the only person whose pulse spiked seeing the words "Rafael Devers" and "agreement" on their phone Tuesday until realizing it was just for a $17.5-million deal covering his last year before free agency. No matter. Good news is good news, and avoiding even the suggestion of arbitration with The Last Red Sox Superstar qualifies as…

Whether it's the Astros' hunt for a second straight World Series title, the UH Cougars' pursuit of another deep NCAA tournament run or the continued rebuilding efforts of the Rockets and Texans, 2023 is shaping up to be an intriguing year in the Houston sports scene. Chron's Josh Criswell and Michael Shapiro tackled the top 10 questions facing the…

Major League Baseball's 2022 trade deadline has come and gone. The deadline was set for 6 p.m. ET on Tuesday and teams are no longer be able to make deals to bolster their rosters ahead of the stretch run. The biggest name was moved early Tuesday: Juan Soto headed to the Padres in an eight-player blockbuster that also featured Josh Bell landing in…

The Minnesota Twins signed two-time All-Star and all-or-nothing slugger Joey Gallo on Friday. Clearly, there will be a trickle-down effect on the Twins' current roster, but which players will be most impacted, finding themselves in a new role - or perhaps, even a new city - by the time the regular season kicks off on March 30? It was only a week…

It's a chilly Tuesday evening/Wednesday morning here at BCB After Dark: the jumpin' joint for night owls, early risers, new parents and Cubs fans abroad. Come on in and get out of the cold. There are still a few good tables available. We're glad you could join us. The holiday cheer is flowing freely. No ugly sweater required. Have yourself a lovely…

Free-agent catcher Willson Contreras is signing a five-year deal with the Cardinals, a league source confirmed to The Athletic on Wednesday. The Athletic's Ken Rosenthal first reported news of the Cardinals closing in on an agreement with Contreras and ESPN's Jeff Passan first reported terms of the $87.5 million deal, which is pending a physical.…

Finally, here we are with the biggest prediction of them all! This one surrounds the grandest prize in the business and that my friends is the Commissioner's Trophy. Every player, on every team, gets up every day of the season with hopes of helping their squad get close to the silverware. The Red Sox were close in 2021, and with some tweaks here…

Diamondbacks general manager Mike Hazen and manager Torey Lovullo have worked together since 2017. Theirs is one of the longest current partnerships in baseball for a head of baseball operations and manager. Only the Dodgers (Andrew Friedman and Dave Roberts), Guardians (Chris Antonelli and Terry Francona), and Mariners (Jerry Dipoto and Scott…

Happy Thanksgiving from all of us here at BCB After Dark: the swingin' spot for night owls, early-risers, new parents and Cubs fans abroad. We're still open here for the evening if you want to have a bit of a break before the holiday. Come on in and relax for a while. Get out of the cold. Grab a table near the stage. Have a tasty beverage-which you…

The trade deadline has passed, and the race to the MLB postseason is heating up. But there are still some lingering questions about the future of a few of baseball's biggest stars and where they'll play in the future. Last winter, the lockout shook up free agency. Lucky for baseball fans, the labor strife is behind us, at least for now, and some…

The annual MLB general manager meetings were held last week in Las Vegas, and the event is traditionally the rumor-filled calm before the storm. (It's also not to be confused with the winter meetings, which will take place in San Diego from Dec. 4-7 and is when a ton of wheeling and dealing goes down.) Free agents couldn't sign with new teams until…

The early betting odds for the 2023 World Series champion are exactly the same as 2022. HOUSTON - It's never too early to look ahead as the Houston Astros prepare to defend their title. After winning the World Series, oddsmakers released their early favorites for who they think can take home the Commissioner's Trophy in 2023. Their pick? The Los…

The MLB trade deadline has come and gone, and no team did more to improve their World Series chances than the San Diego Padres (60-46). After acquiring outfielder Juan Soto (.274 AVG, 20 HRs, 59 RBIs) and first baseman Josh Bell (.301 AVG, 14 HRs, 57 RBIs) from the Nationals, FanDuel slashed the Padres' World Series odds from around+2200 down…

The World Series kicks off tomorrow night between two teams with wildly different expectations heading into the postseason. On one hand, the Astros were the top seed in the American League. Houston reached the World Series in three of the last five seasons and reached the ALCS in all five. Everyone and their mothers could've predicted another'Stros…

We are now fewer than three weeks away from Opening Day, and for the most part, the transaction flurry has settled. While some teams may change in some ways before the start of the season, rosters are largely set and so we're going to take this opportunity to look at what the division looks like right now. For the next four days we'll look at the…

After a first-round bye, the time has come to finish up a roster plan for the American League Division Series. Similar to years past, the Houston Astros could opt for a deeper bench rather than a complete pitching staff. A best-of-five series leaves the Astros ability to drop a pitcher - given a full pitching rotation isn't needed - for another…

We have no idea when, and based on what has been made public essentially no progress has been achieved, but eventually this lockout will end and baseball will resume. When that happens, we can expect a frenzy of activity as teams try to get their rosters set for camp and then the regular season. For the Boston Red Sox, they did a fair amount of…

For the Red Sox, the 2022 minor league season continued the rebuilding of a talent pipeline. Top prospects Marcelo Mayer, Triston Casas, Brayan Bello, and Miguel Bleis saw potential coalesce into performance that underscored the views of elite potential. Ceddanne Rafaela had a breakout year that also made him look like a big league regular in…

Don't worry about trying to slug through the final couple of weeks of the MLB regular season. Playoffs are around the corner, and we should have a good feel for who the top contenders will be in October. The NL East race is still compelling, with the New York Mets clinging to a narrow lead over Atlanta. The wild-card races are not quite as…