Sports
Why Small-Market MLB Teams Like Pirates, Reds and Rays Must Invest to Compete
The Kansas City Royals already had Bobby Witt and Salvador Pérez on their roster in 2023, and all it got them was a miserable 106-loss season.
The Royals didn’t start winning—and make a return to the postseason for the first time in eight years—until club ownership began a more-than-minimal effort to sign free agents.
Several other major-league teams who missed the playoffs in 2024 find themselves in a position like K.C. was a year ago, when the Royals committed $109.5 million to free agents like Seth Lugo and Michael Wacha and made a 30-game improvement in the standings to reach the postseason. While the Royals made a significant investment, it bumped them from 23rd in payroll in 2023 to 20th. Even if K.C. had failed to make the playoffs—if the Minnesota Twins had played to expectations, for example—it would have been worth it, and not all that costly, just to try.
The Royals weren’t going to make it with just Witt, a generational talent who was worth 9.4 wins above replacement in 2024. Witt has improved exponentially over the past two seasons after being taken second overall in the 2019 draft, but the Royals haven’t exactly hit on their other draft choices like the Baltimore Orioles, who had just as many 100-loss seasons as K.C. since they started tanking in 2017. And as good as Pérez has been, his World Series MVP season came even longer ago, in 2015. Witt and Pérez needed better teammates more than K.C.’s front office needed more lottery tickets.
The Royals rebound in 2024 was a record improvement, but other teams don’t need something so dramatic to get competitive. An effective offseason, even just an attempt to improve by adding payroll in free agency, could put one of these teams in the postseason tournament. It’s hard to envision how else they’ll get there in 2025.
The Pittsburgh Pirates won 76 games for the second straight season in ’24 and missed the NL Wild Card by 13 games, but they were over .500 in early August, and they have right-hander Paul Skenes, the NL Rookie of the Year, who appears to be a franchise talent like Witt. Outfielders Oneil Cruz and Bryan Reynolds give them a base that’s no less talented than Kansas City’s. Andrew McCutchen even provides a Sal Pérez-type veteran holdover from a decade ago when the Pirates most recently were winners. Imagine what the Bucs could do if ownership spent more than a reported $84 million on payroll, which ranked 29th in 2024.
As the Pirates have shown the past two seasons by nearing .500, they’re beyond the woeful 100-loss zone of 2021-2022. It’s time for owner Bob Nutting to start spending in free agency and to stop pocketing revenue-sharing money. There’s no single path for major league teams to take in order to win, but the Pirates picked closer to the middle of the draft than the top in ’24. It’s time to give Skenes more help he can use now.
The Cincinnati Reds have too many weapons to stay wasting in the middle of the pack. In addition to the talent on the roster, like infielder Ely De La Cruz, left-hander Hunter Greene and catcher Tyler Stephenson, the Reds have added manager Terry Francona to the dugout. The Castellini family would seem poised to move off the $100 million reported payroll in 2024, which ranked 25th as the Reds won 77 games. But it’s hard to ever envision the Reds committing real money to winning. The franchise has made the playoffs just once in the past 11 years, and that came in the expanded postseason of the shortened COVID year in 2020.
If any organization could use a little free-agency success for once, it’s the Tampa Bay Rays. The Rays are known more for ditching their talent before free agency comes up, but when you’re coming off an 80-win season in which you ranked 28th in payroll, it must be clear to the front office that something was left on the table. It’s been a topsy-turvy offseason for Tampa Bay, which lost its stadium in a hurricane but appears to be close to securing a new ballpark that will keep them in the area.
Having to play this season’s home games in a Spring Training ballpark might make it hard to attract the likes of slugger Juan Soto, even if the Rays were willing to meet his price of $600 or $700 million. But ownership has kept enough potential big contracts off the books for long enough to make a splash this offseason.
Tampa Bay has added free agents before, most notably right-hander Charlie Morton for $30 million in 2018. They also extended one of their own players in 2019, giving left-hander Blake Snell $50 million for five years—before trading him before the 2021 season. The Rays always make the most of what they have, but giving manager Kevin Cash a little more to work with in 2025 would make the coming season a little less arduous and a little more optimistic about returning to the postseason.
Teams aren’t going to hit on every free agent. Even the Royals a season ago weren’t 100 percent accurate, also adding outfielder Hunter Renfroe and left-hander Will Smith. They were disappointments, but there was value in the attempt. Signing Smith indicated to Lugo and Wacha that the Royals were open for business and not closed off to spending money to make their team better in the present.
Sports
A'ja Wilson has no shortage of motivation after Aces' early exit in '24
Oct 1, 2024; Brooklyn, New York, USA; Las Vegas Aces center A’ja Wilson (22) and New York Liberty forward Breanna Stewart (30) during game two of the 2024 WNBA Semi-finals at Barclays Center. Mandatory Credit: Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images LAS VEGAS — Entering her eighth season in the WNBA, Las Vegas Aces superstar A’ja Wilson is poised to build on what was arguably the most dominant individual campaign in league history.
Wilson joined Cynthia Cooper (1997) as the second player in league history to win a unanimous MVP award and joined an exclusive club as the fourth player to win the award three times. She averaged 26.9 points and 11.9 rebounds per game last season and set the all-time single-season mark for points (1,021) and rebounds (451).
Unfortunately for Las Vegas, injuries and fatigue from their two previous championship runs mounted and resulted in the team’s worst regular-season record (27-13) since 2019. The Aces’ three-peat hopes ended with a 76-62 home loss to the New York Liberty to drop their semifinal series 3-1.
It’s that loss on her home floor that served as Wilson’s motivation this offseason.
“Losing sucks, especially on your home court,” Wilson said “It still kind of burns a little bit, but I’ve used that as fuel to help my teammates understand how hard it is to win in this league. Yes, we can celebrate the two championships. They were great. But for us to move forward, we have to understand how hard this league is and value the basketball and the little things. I think that’s what we lacked last season, so we’re going to make sure that we can show up better than we did.”
While the Aces appeared to be on top of the world heading into their potential three-peat campaign in 2024, the reality inside the locker room was that both the internal and external pressure to win another championship had become suffocating. A common theme across media day was the fact that the team feels less pressure entering the 2025 season, a sentiment Wilson shared as the unquestioned leader of the team.
“(Three-peat talks) obviously impacted us, because it’s like, y’all think we don’t want to win? We’re trying as well,” Wilson said.
“I would definitely say it’s refreshing this year. I feel like this is one of my only years where it feels like there’s no weight. There’s a lot of weight to be defending champs. It’s a lot of weight to be trying to win one. We don’t have that. We actually have a clean slate to really dial into getting back to who we are culturally, like, in our system and everything.”
Leading the Aces back to the top of the mountain for a third time in four years is one of a few historically significant achievements Wilson can collect this upcoming season. Wilson could also become the first four-time MVP in league history, though the meaning of that is something she hasn’t quite allowed herself to ponder yet.
“I haven’t given it much thought, but it would be a blessing to have my name in that conversation,” Wilson said. “Every year, I try to be better than I was the year before just to give myself a chance in this league. Because the league is getting better. We’re growing. At this point, you just want to maintain your stamina. You want to maintain your mental, all of that, because the season gets hard. I can’t think too much about that just yet, but I’m definitely going to try to be better than I was last year.”
As Aces coach Becky Hammon put it, fans can expect to see an even better version of Wilson this season.
“What I see is, she went and got better,” Hammon said. “Which is hard to do when you’re already the best, but it speaks to her work ethic, her desire and her mindset this whole offseason. We talked a lot this offseason. She’s a busy lady, but I can tell you what she always does is her workouts. She’s always getting her workouts in. That comes first and foremost, she never gets her priorities jumbled up.”
When Hammon was asked what a player like Wilson would possibly need to improve after last season’s campaign, the coach did not feel like revealing too much.
“There was (something for Wilson to improve), and she did,” Hammon said. “I’m not going to tell you what it was. Actually, there were two things.”
–Will Despart, Field Level Media
Sports
Jacob Wilson joins Aaron Judge in spotlight for Yankees-A's series
May 5, 2025; West Sacramento, California, USA; Athletics shortstop Jacob Wilson (5) throws to first for an out against the Seattle Mariners during the seventh inning at Sutter Health Park. Mandatory Credit: Dennis Lee-Imagn Images The top two hitters in the majors square off Friday night when the New York Yankees face the Athletics in the opener of a three-game series in Sacramento, Calif.
It’s no surprise to see Yankees star Aaron Judge off to a superb start after winning American League MVP honors last season. He has a major league-best .400 batting average and entered Thursday’s play tied for the big-league lead with 12 homers and 34 RBIs.
But who had Athletics rookie Jacob Wilson ranking second in the majors at .357 as the season nears the quarter pole? Wilson has played in just 64 career games and quickly has solidified himself as a future All-Star, perhaps even this season.
Sharing the marquee board with Judge seems quite surreal for the 23-year-old shortstop who was the No. 6 overall pick of the 2023 draft.
“It’s a great feeling, for sure,” Wilson said of his name being mentioned with Judge. “Obviously, everybody has seen what he is doing. It’s pretty incredible watching him do his thing on a daily basis. To be up there with him is pretty cool for me.
“I’m excited to play against him this week and see what it looks like in person.”
Wilson had his first career four-hit game during Wednesday’s 6-5 home loss against the Seattle Mariners and has six multi-hit outings in the past eight games. He went 8-for-14 with one game-winning hit in the three-game series against the Mariners and is 16-for-34 (.471) with four walks during the eight-game stretch.
The hot hitting led to Athletics manager Mark Kotsay moving Wilson to the leadoff spot on Wednesday. Kotsay indicated Wilson may be sticking at the top of the lineup.
“I think you’ll see Jacob up there now,” Kotsay said. “Jacob’s earned it. … Jacob has shown enough over the last week. He’s walking and taking pitches, and, obviously, swinging the bat really well.”
Judge arrives in Sacramento in the midst of a four-game funk in which he is 2-for-15.
The two-time MVP just went 1-for-10 in a three-game home series against the San Diego Padres, but the one hit was a homer.
Judge grew up 50 miles south of Sacramento in Linden and starred for Linden High but wasn’t highly sought by major league teams. The then-Oakland Athletics selected him in the 31st round in 2010.
Judge instead went the college route and starred for Fresno State. He was chosen in the first round (32nd overall) by the Yankees in the 2013 draft.
Trent Grisham was one of the heroes of Wednesday’s 4-3, 10-inning win over the Padres. He hit a tying two-run pinch-hit homer in the eighth inning.
Grisham had two homers and five RBIs in the series against the Padres — one of his former teams — and already has 10 long balls in just 89 at-bats. He hit just nine last season in 179 at-bats.
“I’m having fun with the guys, I would say that more than anything,” Grisham said. “The clubhouse is really good in here, led by Cap (Judge). So, I would say the guys have been the most enjoyable part.”
New York is starting right-hander Will Warren (1-2, 5.65 ERA) in Friday’s series opener. Right-hander Osvaldo Bido (2-2, 4.71) will be on the mound for the Athletics.
Warren, 25, struck out a career-high eight in 4 2/3 innings while losing to the Tampa Bay Rays on Sunday. He gave up five runs (three earned) and seven hits. Warren hasn’t previously faced the Athletics.
Bido, 29, received a no-decision against the Miami Marlins last Saturday when he gave up four runs on three hits over five innings. He is winless (0-1) over his last three starts. Bido hasn’t faced the Yankees.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Report: Boxing legend Manny Pacquiao coming out of retirement
Aug 21, 2021; Las Vegas, Nevada; Manny Pacquiao (right) fights Yordenis Ugas in a world welterweight championship bout at T-Mobile Arena. Mandatory Credit: Stephen R. Sylvanie-Imagn Images Boxing legend Manny Pacquiao plans to end his retirement and return to the ring on July 19 against Mario Barrios in Las Vegas, ESPN reported Thursday.
Pacquiao, 46, will be fighting for the first time since losing a unanimous decision to Yordenis Ugas in 2021.
The fight will be for Barrios’ WBC welterweight championship belt. Barrios turns 30 on May 18.
Pacquiao is an eight-division champion who is slated to be inducted into the boxing Hall of Fame in June. He reportedly will formally announce his return to boxing next week. The report stated that Pacquiao has been cleared to compete by the Nevada State Athletic Commission.
In recent years, Pacquiao has been focusing on his political career in the Philippines.
The boxer nicknamed “PacMan” has a 62-8-2 record with 39 knockouts during his career. He won his first major title — the WBC flyweight crown — at age 19 in 1998.
Pacquiao was 54-3-2 prior to turning 33 and 8-5 afterward. One of those losses was to Floyd Mayweather Jr. via unanimous decision in 2015, a bout that reportedly drew nearly $400 million in pay-per-view sales.
Barrios (29-2-1, 18 knockouts) fought to a 12-round, split-decision draw against Abel Ramos last November. This will be his third defense since winning the title by beating Ugas in 2023.
–Field Level Media
A'ja Wilson has no shortage of motivation after Aces' early exit in '24
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