#Jon Lester

ST. LOUIS - Tis the season for excessive social media scrolling, baseball fans. The clock is winding down on the MLB trade deadline. It's that time of the year when the St. Louis Cardinals usually find themselves busy making moves, though the chances of pulling off a blockbuster vary each season. Occasionally, the Cardinals will pull the trigger…

SAN DIEGO -- "What does it mean?" That is a question the Giants asked themselves over and over again for the last month, through endless rumors, eye-popping quotes in a magazine article, a misspelled and misinformed tweet, and a 13-second video that rocked the baseball world a few days before Thanksgiving. For months, the Giants had prepared to…

All of your tweets, your boo's, your threats to boycott Fenway Park, they all worked. On Wednesday, Boston signed third baseman Rafael Devers to an 11-year, $331 million contract extension, keeping him with the team through the 2033 season. Could re-signing one of the best third basemen in baseball put the Red Sox back in World Series…

First of all, you don't have to tell me twice... I'm very aware that the St. Louis Cardinals are risk-averse, trade-averse, "make a big splash"-averse, and generally fun-averse at the MLB trade deadline. While John Mozeliak and Bill DeWitt have made some big off-season moves (hello Paul Goldschmidt and Nolan Arenado), they're typically conservative…

The hardest part of breaking up is usually moving on. For the Cubs, the hardest part was how long the relationship dragged on. Chicago's clubhouse had to be a really uncomfortable place last season. The writing was on the wall like a big graffiti art piece that the team was going to undergo a lot of changes. The core of the 2016 World Series team…

The Cleveland Indians grabbed a 2-1 lead in the World Series on Friday night with a dramatic 1-0 victory over the Chicago Cubs. The win also restored the home-field advantage the American League champions had lost by dropping Game 2 at Progressive Field. Now the pressure rests squarely on the Cubs' shoulders heading into Saturday's Game 4. A 3-1…

The Oakland Athletics (64-49, second in AL West) continue their three-game interleague set against the Chicago Cubs (61-51, first in NL Central) Tuesday at Wrigley Field. Opening pitch is scheduled for 8:05 p.m. Eastern. The Cubs took Monday's opener 6-5 for their fourth straight win. Odds courtesy of playMGM; for a full-set of today's sports…

With less than a month of baseball left in the 2021 season, the Milwaukee Brewers have several players who merit mention in the postseason awards. A Brewers pitcher hasn't won a Cy Young since Rollie Fingers and Pete Vuckovich won the American League awards in back-to-back years, in 1981 and 1982, respectively. Milwaukee doesn't figure to have a…

Boston's cornerstone, their de facto captain, and 2x World Series champion Xander Bogaerts is officially done with the Red Sox. The star shortstop signed an 11-year, $290 million deal with the San Diego Padres early Thursday morning. They have no one to blame but themselves. The reason "lose" is in quotation marks in the title here is because they…

There are no two better words in all of sports than "Game 7," and that is just for a normal playoff series. The 2016 World Series between the Chicago Cubs and Cleveland Indians is no normal series. The Cubs famously haven't won a championship since 1908, while Cleveland's last World Series title came in 1948. One of those teams will end decades of…

The 2022 MLB Winter Meetings officially got underway on Sunday night. Former Toronto Blue Jays slugger Fred McGriff was selected to the Baseball Hall of Fame, with names such as Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens missing the cut. However, the Hall of Fame isn't what gets baseball fans excited for the Winter Meetings. It's the flurry of trades, signings,…

The Philadelphia Phillies (19-17) and Washington Nationals (13-18) continue a three-game NL East series Wednesday at 7:05 p.m. ET at Nationals Park. Let's analyze BetMGM Sportsbook's lines around the Phillies vs. Nationals odds with MLB picks and predictions. RHP Zack Wheeler is the projected starting pitcher for the Phillies. He is 3-2 with a 2.83…

The Chicago Cubs (33-25) and Chicago White Sox (34-24) continue their weekend series Saturday at Guaranteed Rate Field at 7:10 p.m. ET. Below, we analyze the Cubs-White Sox MLB betting odds and lines, with picks and best bets. Friday: The Cubs cruised to a 10-0 victory, winning our STRONG PLAY, but losing our Under play. They snapped a three-game…

What are the chances of Xander Bogaerts re-signing with the Boston Red Sox? Well, based on the latest reports and information over the last 24 hours, the odds of him staying in Boston don't seem very good. Longtime MLB reporter Peter Gammons tweeted Wednesday morning that he's been told by multiple people that Bogaerts, who is an unrestricted free…

Like so many defending World Series champions before them, the 2020 Nationals found tough sledding in the Year After. The reasons may sound familiar: the failure to adequately replace a departed free agent (Anthony Rendon), a lack of progress for key youngsters (Carter Kieboom, Victor Robles), and a series of setbacks and injuries to a…

Whether or not Jacob deGrom will be in New York Mets blue and orange next season will be one of the most intriguing storylines of the offseason. Ahead of the 2022 season, the decorated righty made it clear that he planned to opt out of his five-year, $137.5M contract despite having another year remaining and a team option for 2024. And even though…

The St. Louis Cardinals were riding a hot wave, winning eight of 10 games, including two sweeps of the Pittsburgh Pirates and Kansas City Royals. Then the National League Central-leading Milwaukee Brewers came to Busch Stadium and took two of three games against the Cardinals. Now, the Cardinals sit 11 games behind the Brewers in the division and…

The National League Central-leading Chicago Cubs (69-50) begin a key divisional series against the Pittsburgh Pirates (61-60) on Thursday in what is listed as a pick'em matchup at sportsbooks. The Pirates will be trying to break a three-game losing streak to stay in the playoff race at home, where they have a 33-29 record this season. MLB betting…

If you would have told me on Aug. 10 that the St. Louis Cardinals, then 8.5 games out of the second National League wild card spot, would be in position to make the postseason, I would have laughed and told you there was little chance. How could I not? The Cardinals were scuffling offensively. The pitching staff was once again without Jack Flaherty…

The Los Angeles Angels (29-30) and Chicago Cubs (31-26) are playing a one-off game Monday as the make-up date for a postponement from April 14. The two sides split the first two games of the series before inclement weather rolled in to wash out the rubber match. First pitch at Wrigley Field will come at 4:05 p.m. Eastern. Odds courtesy of Bet365;…

The Cincinnati Reds (74-67) visit the St. Louis Cardinals (71-68) Friday to start a three-game series at Busch Stadium with first pitch scheduled for 8:15 p.m. ET. Let's analyze the lines around the Reds vs. Cardinals odds with MLB picks and predictions. Season series: Reds lead 9-7. RHP Tyler Mahle is on the rubber for the Reds. Mahle is 11-5 with…

The Washington Nationals (22-29) clash with the Atlanta Braves (25-27) Wednesday in Game 3 of their four-game series at Truist Park. First pitch will be at 7:20 p.m. ET. Let's analyze BetMGM Sportsbook's lines around the Nationals vs. Braves odds with MLB picks and predictions. Washington evened this series Tuesday with an 11-6 win as Nationals…

The Chicago Cubs are 11-3 in their last 14 games against the New York Mets. The Cubs hope to continue their successful run against the Mets in the first game of a three-game road series starting on Tuesday night. Chicago is a very slight road underdog at -103 on the MLB odds in Queens at sportsbooks monitored by OddsShark.com. Yu Darvish will start…

Perhaps this would be a headline best suited for an end of the season article but I can't help but write it now. Every time I watch Jose Quintana and Jordan Montgomery pitch, I can't stop myself from thinking the Cardinals won the trade deadline. That's a weird sentence to write. The Cardinals don't usually win the trade deadline, unless you call…