Pirates' Bryan Reynolds makes rare MLB trade request as All-Star asks out of Pittsburgh

Means (elbow) said Sunday's he's throwing from 140 feet and expects to throw off a half-mound at the start of spring training, Roch Kubatko of MASNSports.com reports. The left-hander underwent Tommy John surgery last April and isn't expected to be ready for big-league action until at least July, but it's still a good sign he's ramping up his throwing program. A more detailed return timeline should come into focus as Means increases his throwing intensity over the next couple months.

Dozier will be the primary third baseman for Kansas City to open the 2023 season according to Royals general manager J.J. Picollo, Anne Rogers of MLB.com reports. "We want [Dozier] to get at-bats," Picollo said. "That's the best place for him to play." The Royals want Bobby Witt to settle in at shortstop, and while Dozier has played in the outfield as well, Kansas City wants the 31-year-old to man the hot corner to begin the 2023 season. He will have to hit better in order to justify staying in the lineup, however, as he hasn't posted an OPS above .750 since his breakout 2019 season.

Rosario will be sidelined multiple months after suffering a fractured ankle while doing sprinting drills during winter ball, Jeff Sanders of the San Diego Union-Tribune reports. Rosario needed surgery to repair the fracture and is expected to be on the shelf until around midseason. Ranked by MLB Pipeline as the...

Plummer joined the Reds on a minor-league deal Friday. Plummer made his big-league debut last season with the Mets but didn't make much of an impression. He struck out 12 times while grabbing just four hits in 31 plate appearances, though two of those hits were home runs. He'll be fighting for a bench outfield spot in camp.

Hall will enter spring training as a starting pitcher, Roch Kubatko of MASNSports.com reports. All but one of Hall's 11 appearances late last season came in relief, but he'll head into spring training as one of 12 competitors for five spots in Baltimore's rotation. The dynamic lefty might ultimately wind up in the bullpen over the long haul if he can't improve his control and command, but there's no reason to pull the plug on him as a starter yet. O's general manager Mike Elias wasn't ready to say Friday whether Hall might move to the bullpen if he doesn't win a rotation spot, or if he'd head to Triple-A Norfolk.

Jason Kelce has been flirting with the idea of retiring from the NFL for the past few years. The 35-year-old is playing in his 12th season in the league and is now on the doorstep of possibly winning the second Super Bowl of his career. While riding off into the sunset after another Eagles title sounds like the ideal storybook ending, that narrative doesn't appear like it'll be much of a factor for Kelce whenever he does decide to step away.

Even though his team got destroyed in the NFC Championship Game 31-7, it seems that 49ers receiver Brandon Aiyuk still isn't very impressed with the Philadelphia Eagles. During a Saturday appearance on the SF Niners podcast, Aiyuk was asked who he thought would win Super Bowl LVII, and not only did he pick against the Eagles, but he was so sure about his pick that he also said that he'd bet everything he owned on the Chiefs if he were allowed to bet on the game (NFL players aren't allowed to bet on NFL games).

Don't mess with Rocky Balboa. That's the message Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce is sending to fans ahead of Super Bowl LVII against the Philadelphia Eagles. When the Eagles are in the playoffs, it has become somewhat of a tradition for the opponents' colors to mysteriously appear on the iconic Rocky statue. More often than not, the act of vandalism doesn't work out for those opponents.

The NBA trade deadline is now less than a week away, and Kyrie Irving's request to be moved out of Brooklyn has added a whole new layer of intrigue. There are plenty of other rumors outside of Irving too, as teams are starting to kick things into hyperdrive leading up to deadline day.

Following Saturday's Senior Bowl, we're now through the All-Star Game portion of the pre-draft process. And after a brief respite for Super Bowl LVII, the NFL combine and pro day workouts will be here before you know it. We give a little nod to a few Senior Bowl standouts in this mock draft, players who had good practice weeks and while not slam-dunk first-rounders, they have certainly given teams something to think about in the coming weeks.

Bukauskas cleared waivers and was sent outright to Triple-A Tacoma on Friday. After being claimed by the Mariners in mid-January and DFA'd Tuesday, Bukauskas is now set to begin 2023 in the Mariners' farm system and attend major-league spring training as a non-roster invitee. The 26-year-old right-hander recorded a 2.79 ERA and 1.31 WHIP through 19.1 Triple-A innings last season.

Rendon (wrist) is feeling "fantastic" physically, Jon Heyman of The New York Post reports. The Angels are hoping to get a little more out of their $245 million investment in Rendon next season following back-to-back injury-plagued years. It was wrist surgery that limited him to just 47 games in 2022, although he did make it back for a couple games in October. He'll turn 33 in June and hasn't had a full, healthy season since 2019 (not counting the pandemic-shortened 2020 campaign). Fantasy managers in early drafts have been taking an understandably cautious approach, as Rendon has been going outside the top-200 picks.

Aaron Rodgers has yet to decide whether he'll return for a 19th NFL season, but when he does, we know at least one team that might like to have him, and another that likely won't be in the running. Days after ESPN reported the Packers would prefer to move on from the star quarterback in 2023, Jets star cornerback Sauce Gardner tweeted (then deleted) at Rodgers, hinting that he may be interested in him taking his talents to East Rutherford.

It's been nearly 40 years since the iconic 1985 Bears won the Super Bowl. While that team continues to be revered by Bears loyalists, rest assured that the fan base wants nothing more than for the franchise to field another team that can stand beside that team as a world champion.

German was traded to the White Sox from the Red Sox on Friday in exchange for Theo Denlinger. After being designated for assignment Monday to make room on Boston's roster for Richard Bleier, German will now attempt to carve out a role for himself in Chicago's bullpen. The 25-year-old righty cracked the majors for the first time last season, though he allowed eight earned runs over just four innings of work. German will more than likely begin the season in Triple-A again, where he put up a 2.58 ERA and 0.94 WHIP through 38.1 frames in 2022.

The Los Angeles Dodgers have agreed to a contract extension with veteran infielder Miguel Rojas, according to Juan C. Toribio of MLB.com and Daniel Álvarez-Montes of El Extrabase. Rojas will still make $5 million this upcoming season, but $1.5 million of it has been converted into a signing bonus. He's now under contract through next season (for another $5 million), with the Dodgers holding a $5 million option on his services for the 2024 campaign.

Smith has reportedly had positive contract negotiations with the Seahawks thus far, Adam Schefter of ESPN reports. Smith would likely be one of the top signal callers if he were to hit the open market this offseason, but it appears as if the Seahawks would like to avoid that possibility, as talks regarding an extension are seemingly moving in a positive direction. The 32-year-old quarterback put up career-best numbers across the board in his first season as a starter with Seattle, but given this was Smith's first year as a starter since 2014, any extension would likely be of the shorter variety as the team attempts to safeguard itself from any sort of regression.

Williams signed a minor-league deal with the Dodgers on Friday. Williams was claimed off waivers by the Dodgers back in November and will remain in the Los Angeles system. The 26-year-old utility man recorded a .883 OPS through 58 plate appearances in Triple-A last year but just a .602 mark in 136 PAs split between the Giants and Marlins.

Seattle signed Clarkin to a minor-league contract back on Jan. 30. He was assigned to Double-A Arkansas after joining the organization. Clarkin was a first-round pick by the the Yankees in 2013, but he's struggled to stay healthy and didn't pitch at all last season after posting a 7.86 ERA in 2021 at the Double-A and Triple-A levels while he was a member of the Colorado organization. At this stage of his career, Clarkin is nothing more than roster fodder.

The 2022 Seattle Seahawks were like finding a crumpled $20 in your jeans pocket after taking them out of the washing machine -- a pleasant surprise. After trading Russell Wilson, once their longtime face-of-the-franchise quarterback, to the Denver Broncos in exchange for three players (QB Drew Lock, TE Noah Fant and DL Shelby Harris) along with five draft picks (two firsts, two seconds and one fifth), it appeared as if the team was punting on the 2022 season. However, with Wilson's former backup, Geno Smith, outplaying Seattle's only Super Bowl champion quarterback in Year 1 of the divorce, Seattle snuck into the seventh and final NFC playoff spot at 9-8, becoming one of only two teams this season to reach the playoffs and have multiple first-round picks, joining the NFC champion Philadelphia Eagles.