Yankees' Juan Soto, MLB's top free agent, open to 'all 30 teams'

Patience serves Juan Soto well in the batter's box, and the New York Yankees' 26-year-old slugger digs in for free agency with the same approach in mind.

"I'm really happy with the city, with the team, but at the end of the day, we will see," Soto said. "We're going to look at every situation, every offer that we get. I don't know what teams want to come after me, but definitely I'll be open to listen to every single team. I don't have any doors closed or anything like that, so we're going to be available for all 30 teams."

Acquired by the Yankees from the San Diego Padres, his third team since breaking into MLB in 2018 with the Washington Nationals, Soto sealed a monumental payday with a career-best 7.9 WAR and 128 runs scored. He also had 41 home runs, 31 doubles, 109 runs batted in, 129 walks and .569 slugging percentage.

When the World Series wrapped Wednesday night, Soto became baseball's star attraction, much the same way Shohei Obtain started the 2023 off-season as the marquee free agent expected to bring epic contract offers.

Ohtani signed a 10-year, $700-million US contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers set on making it to the post-season spotlight after the Angels failed to make the playoffs.

Soto won a World Series with the Nationals, then turned down an offer of 15-year, $440-million contract in 2022 prompting Washington to move him in a trade with San Diego.But he said Wednesday night winning is a priority and being involved in the playoffs is "one of the biggest things I'm looking for." Whether that's with the Yankees and beside likely American League MVP Aaron Judge isn't a given.

"Leaving any place that is a winning team? It's always hard, and definitely this place was really special," Soto said. "It's been a blast for me. I've been really happy. If I'm here or not, I'm really happy for the teammates that I have and the people that I got to know in here. This was a really special group."

Soto, along with starting pitchers Corbin Burnes, Walker Buehler and Max Fried and first baseman Pete Alonso, were among 136 players who became free agents Thursday morning.

Third baseman Alex Bregman, outfielder Anthony Santander and shortstop Willy Adames also went free.

There were 64 more players with pending option decisions who could become free agents by Monday, the fifth day after the World Series.

Teams and players can start discussing contract terms at 5:01 p.m. ET on Monday

Soto's teammate, starting pitcher Gerrit Cole, can opt out of his contract but the team can void the opt out by adding a $36 million salary for 2029.

Venable excited about challenges with ChiSox

Will Venable understands his first job as a major league manager will be a tough one, taking over a team with a record 121 losses last season.

Yet he's embracing the opportunity with the Chicago White Sox.

"I don't think that there's one managerial job that is easy," he said Thursday on a Zoom with media. "All these jobs come with their unique challenges. I'm excited about the challenges that are presented here with this group."

Venable was hired by the White Sox after they set the modern major league record for most losses in a season, going 41-121. The team made the announcement on Thursday, hours after the World Series ended.

Venable, who turned 42 on Tuesday, is stepping in for Pedro Grifol, who was fired in August. Grady Sizemore served as interim manager.

Venable was an associate manager under Bruce Bochy in Texas for the past two years. He handled daily schedule items and outfield instruction as part of his duties with the Rangers, who won the World Series in 2023.

Venable was bench coach for Red Sox manager Alex Cora for two years before joining the Rangers.

Angels acquire slugger Soler

The Los Angeles Angels acquired outfielder and designated hitter Jorge Soler from Atlanta in a trade for right-hander Griffin Canning.

Soler has been a productive power hitter for five teams over the previous 11 major league seasons. The Cuban slugger was the 2021 World Series MVP with Atlanta, and he also won a ring with the Chicago Cubs in 2016.

He has two years left on the three-year, $42-million US contract he signed with the San Francisco Giants in February.

Soler apparently wasn't a long-term fit in Atlanta. Marcell Ozuna is the Braves' designated hitter, while Ronald Acuna Jr. will be back from his torn right knee ligament to play right field in 2025.

While Atlanta offloaded the $26 million still owed to Soler, the Angels were eager to add an established power hitter to their frequently punchless lineup.

Angels general manager Perry Minasian made the deal with Braves counterpart Alex Anthopoulos, his longtime boss in Toronto and Atlanta.

Canning went 6-13 with a 5.19 earned-run average while making a career-high 32 starts last season for the Angels, who finished with the worst record in franchise history (63-99).

D-backs OF Grichuk opts for free agency

Arizona Diamondbacks outfielder Randal Grichuk declined his $6 million US mutual option and will become a free agent, MLB Network reported.

Grichuk, 33, will receive a $500,000 buyout under terms of the deal he signed with Arizona last February.

He posted a career-best .291 batting average with 12 homers and 46 RBI in 106 games in his first season with the Diamondbacks in 2024.

Grichuk is a career .252/.300/.469 hitter with 203 homers and 602 RBI in 1,247 games with the St. Louis Cardinals (2014-17), Toronto Blue Jays (2018-21), Colorado Rockies (2022-23), Los Angeles Angels (2023) and Diamondbacks.

Bob Costas retiring from play-by-play

 After 42 seasons, Bob Costas is retiring from baseball play-by-play.

Costas had done games the past couple seasons for MLB Network and TBS Sports. His final games were the American League Division Series between the New York Yankees and Kansas City Royals.

Costas' contract with TBS expired at the end of the season, but his plans to retire from baseball play-by-play had been in the works for over a year.

Baseball has always been Costas's favourite sport. He called games on NBC from 1982-89 and again from 1994-2000. He was one of the announcers for the 1995 World Series and then the main play-by-play voice for the Fall Classic in 1997 and '99.

He joined TBS in 2021 to serve as studio host for its coverage of the National League Championship Series and then called games the past three seasons. TBS has had a package of Tuesday night regular-season games to go with its post-season coverage since 2022.

Costas had also done games on MLB Network since its start in 2009. He will continue to do some work for the network on key events, including the Baseball Hall of Fame announcement.

In 2018, he received the Ford C. Frick Award for broadcast excellence from the Baseball Hall of Fame.

World Series ratings continue to soar

All eyes have been on a star-studded World Series that pit teams from the top two media markets in the United States, and the television ratings reflected as much.

Ratings for Game 3 of the World Series between the Los Angeles Dodgers and New York Yankees surpassed those of the NFL's Monday Night Football game between the New York Giants and Pittsburgh Steelers. The baseball game drew an average audience of 13.6 million across all Fox Sports platforms, eclipsing the average of 13.4 million for the football game on ESPN and ABC.

The Dodgers recorded a 4-2 victory over the Yankees in Game 3 on Monday to take a commanding 3-0 lead in the best-of-seven series. Fans flocked to Game 4 on Tuesday with New York on the edge of elimination, and the Yankees responded with an emphatic 11-4 win.

Game 4 drew an average audience of 16.7 million across all Fox Sports platforms, easily the top showing for the Fall Classic thus far. Game 1 drew 15.2 million and Game 2 had 13.8 million.

Tuesday's Game 4 served as the most-watched baseball game since Game 7 of the 2019 World Series, with the Washington Nationals notching a 6-2 win over the Houston Astros.