Le Journal

Happy Monday, friends. It’s been a hectic weekend around the old offseason hot stove. The Mets, who tried their hand at signing Kyle Tucker, needed to rebound quickly after he signed his spendy contract with the Dodgers, so they turned their buying power towards free agent Bo Bichette. We also learned that Elly De La Cruz may have turned down the biggest contract in Reds history. All this, plus a debate on who the true ace of our recent generation was, and we learn exactly when Mookie Betts will retire in today’s news links. So let’s just get right into it. David Schoenfield tries to determine who will be remembered as the true ace of their generation: Clayton Kershaw, Justin Verlander, or Max Scherzer. Davy Andrews reports that J.T. Realmuto will be staying with the Phillies. Tom Dierberger looks at the wild 15 hours of free agency that sent Realmuto back to the Phillies. Jay Jaffe looks at the wild contract this has sent Kyle Tucker to the Dodgers (more on this below.) Mookie Betts has confirmed that when his contract with the Dodgers ends in 2032, he will retire from baseball. Story by Brent Maguire. Alden Gonzaelz reports that Jakob Junis has signed a deal with the Texas Rangers. C. Trent Rosecrans shares that Elly De La Cruz reportedly turned down the largest contract in Reds history. (The Athletic subscription required.) A truly fascinating possibility. (Here’s a direct link to the BlueSky post for those reading on Apple News.) The Mets could start Bo Bichette (0 MLB games at 3B) & Jorge Polanco (1g at 1B) at 3B/1B on Opening DayOnly team in last 100 years to start 2 non-rookie INFs on Opening Day w/1 or 0 prior MLB games at that position:1948 Dodgers: Jackie Robinson 2B, Billy Cox 3B@EliasSports— Sarah Langs (@slangsonsports.bsky.social) 2026-01-16T21:33:48.771Z Michael Baumann shares that the Mets have signed free agent Bo Bichette. How will the short-term deals for Tucker and Bichette shape contract negotiations for Cody Bellinger? (MLB) Travis Sawchik looks at the best potential landing spots for free agent pitcher Framber Valdez. Stephen Douglas looks at some Dodgers salary facts that might make you reconsider the salary cap. Tim Capurso has some big questions following the contract signings of Tucker and Bichette, and what they mean for the bigger picture. Reliever Ryan Pressly is retiring after 13 seasons. (AP) Ken Rosenthal shares rumors that the Orioles are looking at Justin Verlander. (The Athletic subscription required.) An interesting look into the finances of running a baseball team. The Atlanta Braves financial statements are publicly available and serve as a general guide for understanding the business of baseball. Any good accountant can move some decimals here and there, but these are a good starting ground. The Braves made $46M in profit last year on… pic.twitter.com/7v1EEykSBf— Daniel Meyer (@TheAstrosLocker) January 16, 2026 Jay Jaffe makes a Hall of Fame case for Daniel Murphy. Matt Monagan wants to know if a bigger posterior actually helps make for a better batter. Fresh off a $2oM deal, Ha-Seong Kim will miss 4-5 months after going in for hand surgery. Story by Mark Bowman. Brent Maguire shares that former White Sox knuckleballer Wilbur Wood has passed at age 84. Brian Giufra looks at how the Mets’ World Series odds changed after signing Bo Bichette. Cade Cavalli and the Nationals will avoid arbitration as they agree on a deal. (AP) I’m sorry but this is genuinely nuts on so many levels. With the luxury tax, the Dodgers will be paying $126 million a season for Tucker (assuming no deferrals). That's more than 11 teams' entire payrolls. This is absurd.https://t.co/uwe3cLpqXw— Andrew Flax (@ajflax) January 16, 2026 And tomorrow will be a better day than today, Buster. Make it so.

For the second straight game, it was a Collin Chandler pass that led to the game-winning basket for Kentucky Basketball. Saturday in Knoxville, Chandler found Otega Oweh for a game-winning lay-up with 34 seconds to play to give Kentucky a 78-77 lead. Three days prior, he threw a nearly full-court pass to Malachi Moreno for a buzzer-beating bucket. But on Saturday, it was Chandler’s defensive IQ and knowledge of a play Tennessee was running that led to the game-winner for the Wildcats. “I heard the play that they were running. They kind of telegraphed. So when he came off the screen, I knew I had a lane to go steal it,” Chandler told reporters after the game (via Darrell Bird). Chandler was a star on the offensive end Saturday, with four three-pointers. It’s his fourth game with four three-pointers this season and first since the game at Louisville. Saturday’s performance is one that Kentucky fans were expecting to see a lot of this season. But the fact that it was a defensive play that ignited the game-winning play for the Wildcats is even more impressive. It speaks to the smart player Chandler is. I asked Collin Chandler about his steal that led to Oweh's dunk to give UK its first lead in the win over Vols. Didn't expect this answer…“I heard the play that they were running. They kind of telegraphed. So when he came off the screen, I knew I had a lane to go steal it.”— Darrell Bird (@DarrellBird) January 17, 2026