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Dodgers nearing a deal with former Red Sox starting pitcher James Paxton

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Dodgers nearing a deal with former Red Sox starting pitcher James Paxton

Even after a winter spending spree that netted two high-priced starting pitchers, the Dodgers aren’t yet done adding to their new-look rotation.

The team is nearing a deal with free-agent left-hander James Paxton, according to multiple people with knowledge of the situation not authorized to speak publicly since the agreement was not yet complete.

Though negotiations haven’t crossed the finish line, Paxton and the Dodgers were discussing a one-year contract with a salary in the $12-million range, plus potential performance bonuses, one person said. The sides were believed to be getting close to an agreement, with terms expected to be finalized as soon as Monday night.

Though Paxton, 35, will lack the flash of fellow offseason acquisitions Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Tyler Glasnow, the veteran could provide other important benefits to the Dodgers’ starting staff.

He wasn’t the biggest-name veteran left on the market, either, not with longtime Dodgers ace Clayton Kershaw still unsigned. The Dodgers have interest in bringing Kershaw back, but the future Hall of Famer likely will miss much of next season after having surgery.

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Still, Paxton could provide other important benefits to the Dodgers’ starting staff.

He has 10 years of MLB experience, which would top any other of the team’s other rotation options.

After being limited to just six total starts from 2020 to 2022 because of a Tommy John surgery, he returned to regular action with the Boston Red Sox last year, going 7-5 with a 4.50 ERA in 19 starts.

And with workload questions surrounding the rest of the Dodgers staff, Paxton should offer the team a steadying veteran presence.

A hard-throwing Canadian with a scruffy beard and imposing 6-foot-4 frame — his nickname, fittingly, is “The Big Maple” — Paxton’s peak seasons came with the Seattle Mariners and New York Yankees from 2016 to 2019, when he had four straight campaigns of at least 20 starts and a sub-4.00 ERA.

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While those years have drifted into the rear-view mirror, the southpaw still averaged more than 95 mph with his fastball last year, ranking in the 71st percentile among MLB pitchers. He also struck out 101 batters in 96 innings, while only walking 33.

Even before adding Paxton, the Dodgers rotation had undergone a dramatic makeover this winter.

Tyler Glasnow delivers for the Tampa Bay Rays against the Boston Red Sox on Sept. 27. Glasnow was acquired by the Dodgers in a trade with Tampa Bay last month.

(Charles Krupa / Associated Press)

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Glasnow was acquired in a trade with the Tampa Bay Rays, then signed to a five-year, $136.5-million extension. Yamamoto was added a week later on a stunning 12-year, $325-million contract, the most guaranteed money in MLB history for a starting pitcher (despite the fact Yamamoto, a 25-year-old Japanese star, has never before pitched in the majors). Walker Buehler, meanwhile, has been working his way back from Tommy John surgery, on track to make his return early next season.

While that trio, plus 2023 rookie sensation Bobby Miller, gave the Dodgers a formidable stable of front-line arms, the group was still entering 2024 with myriad questions about each pitcher’s potential workload.

Buehler might have the start of his season delayed intentionally, if he and the Dodgers decide that managing his regular-season innings total will help keep him fresher for October.

Miller pitched more than 140 innings between the majors and minors last year, easily setting a career high.

Glasnow has never even surpassed 120 innings in a single MLB campaign, thanks to injuries to his elbow (including Tommy John surgery in 2021) and oblique (which cost him a couple of months at the start of last season).

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And then there’s Yamamoto, who typically only pitched once per week in Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball league — stirring speculation the Dodgers might employ a six-man rotation at times next season.

It all highlighted the Dodgers’ continued need for added rotation depth — especially with only young arms like Gavin Stone, Emmet Sheehan and Michael Grove beckoning further down the depth chart (left-handed swingman Ryan Yarbrough also has starting experience, but might be kept in the bullpen as a long reliever).

And it all made Paxton, who is 64-39 in his MLB career with a 3.69 ERA and 932 strikeouts, a logical fit; bolstering the Dodgers’ rotation with a low-risk, high-upside addition as they round out a hectic offseason overhaul to their pitching staff.

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Mike Breen says fans ‘deserve to be thrown a bone’ as NBA cuts all local broadcasts from the playoffs

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Mike Breen says fans ‘deserve to be thrown a bone’ as NBA cuts all local broadcasts from the playoffs

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Mike Breen, the New York Knicks’ play-by-play announcer and star NBA voice with ESPN, is not happy with a key league move heading into the NBA Playoffs.

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And he didn’t hold back his frustrations during the Knicks’ regular-season finale on Sunday night.

For the first time in NBA history, all local network broadcasts are being pushed out of the playoffs for nationally televised games. Those networks paid a premium to air the playoffs, but the league had always allowed the local home broadcast to be aired as well as the national TV spots in previous seasons.

ESPN play-by-play sports commentator Mike Breen looks on prior to the game between the Boston Celtics and Philadelphia 76ers at the Wells Fargo Center on Feb. 25, 2023 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The Celtics defeated the 76ers 110-107. (Mitchell Leff/Getty Images)

Breen, alongside his longtime partner, Knicks great Walt “Clyde” Frazier, ripped the league’s decision on the final day of his broadcasting duties for the Eastern Conference squad.

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“First time ever that no longer can the home team announcers and broadcasters televise the first round,” Breen mentioned during the 110-96 loss to the Charlotte Hornets while broadcasting on MSG.

KNICKS BROADCASTER’S JOKE COMPARING BULLS’ ‘OBLITERATED’ DEFENSE TO IRAN LEAVES PARTNER STUNNED

“The entire playoffs are exclusive to national TV broadcasters. I mentioned this earlier this season. I think, personally, Clyde, it’s a poor decision. Fans want to hear their home team announcers, at least in the first round. For so many of us, they become part of the family.”

Breen added that he understands “the networks pay a fortune for exclusivity,” granted he works for one of those networks on ESPN.

“But fans deserve to be thrown a bone once in a while in terms of letting the home team have a little bit of the first round,” he continued.

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The NBA reached a whopping $76 billion broadcast rights deal that kicked in at the start of this season, and it will last for the next 11 seasons. Like other pro sports leagues, the deal is carved out across various platforms, both long-standing networks and streaming.

ESPN play-by-play announcer Mike Breen calls the game between the Los Angeles Lakers and the Dallas Mavericks at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles, California, on Jan. 17, 2024. (Kirby Lee/USA TODAY Sports)

While the NBA got together the deal it liked with Disney, Amazon and NBCUniversal, Breen hopes it would consider working something out to get local broadcasters back into the fold for the playoffs.

However, he knows how the business is at the end of the day.

“Somehow, if there’s any way they can work out some kind of compromise, I’m not hopeful for that, but it would be wonderful to have it because this is our final telecast of the season,” Breen said.

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Breen, now, will focus on his ESPN duties as the lead commentator for the “Worldwide Leader” on the court. His famous “Bang!” call on clutch three-pointers has been synonymous with the biggest moments in the NBA Playoffs for years now, and that will get started very soon as teams in both the East and West gun for their shot at the Larry O’Brien Trophy and to call themselves NBA Finals champions.

The Oklahoma City Thunder, the reigning Finals champs, are the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference once again, while teams like the San Antonio Spurs, Denver Nuggets and Los Angeles Lakers will battle them to be crowned conference champions.

Mike Breen looks on before the game between the Golden State Warriors and the Los Angeles Lakers during Round 2 Game 3 of the Western Conference Semi-Finals 2023 NBA Playoffs on May 6, 2023 at Crypto.Com Arena in Los Angeles, California. (Andrew D. Bernstein/NBAE/Getty Images)

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In the East, Breen’s Knicks own the No. 3 seed, while the Detroit Pistons (No. 1) and Boston Celtics (No. 2) had successful regular-season campaigns to earn a top spot heading into the playoffs.

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The Play-In Tournament will be the first games for the NBA Playoffs, which will stream exclusively on Amazon Prime Video. Then, the first round will split its tipoffs on NBC/Peacock, Prime Video and ESPN.

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Jonathan Quick, who won two Stanley Cup titles with Kings, announces retirement from NHL

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Jonathan Quick, who won two Stanley Cup titles with Kings, announces retirement from NHL

New York Rangers goalkeeper Jonathan Quick is calling it a career after 19 NHL seasons and three Stanley Cup championships — with 16 of those seasons and two championships as a member of the Kings.

The 40-year-old goalie told reporters Monday that he would be playing in his final game that night when the Rangers visit the Florida Panthers. It will mark Quick’s 921st game appearance, counting playoffs.

“Tonight will be my last game in the league, and I am looking forward to it,” Quick said following the morning skate ahead at Amerant Bank Arena in Sunrise, Fla. “My wife flew down with the kids, my parents will be here. I am looking forward to this last one, try to get one more win here.”

He added of his decision: “It just felt right. Felt like the right time. I put some thought into it.”

Selected by the Kings in the third round of the 2005 draft, Quick became a fixture in front of the net for L.A. during the 2008-09 season. He was a key member of the Kings’ Stanley Cup champion teams in 2012 and 2014, earning the Conn Smythe Trophy as the most valuable player of the 2012 Stanley Cup playoffs with a 16-4 record, a .946 save percentage and 1.41 goals-against average.

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Quick won a silver medal as a backup goaltender for the U.S. at the 2010 Vancouver Olympics, although he did not see any playing time. At the 2014 Sochi Games, Quick went 3-2 as the starting goalie for the fourth-place U.S. team.

By March 2023, Quick was the Kings’ leader among goalies in the categories of total games (743), wins (370) and shutouts (57). At age 37, however, he had also lost a step or two. The Kings traded him to the Columbus Blue Jackets, who turned around and dealt him to the Vegas Golden Knights the next day.

Quick saw a decent amount of playing time down the stretch in the regular season because of injuries to the Golden Knights’ goaltenders. He didn’t make it into any games during the team’s championship run in the Stanley Cup playoffs.

After spending the last three seasons in New York, Quick is set to make his 70th and final start with the Rangers and add the final numbers to a stat line that currently includes 20,315 saves (18th most all time), 410 wins (12th most) and 65 shutouts (17th).

“He earned the respect of his teammates, coaches and staff members through his work ethic and dedication to his craft,” Rangers general manager Chris Drury said in a statement posted on social media. “Jonathan is a special person and player, and the entire Rangers organization wishes him — along with his wife, Jackie, and three children, Madison, Carter and Cash — all the best in retirement.”

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The Rangers are 33-38-9 and will miss the playoffs for the second straight season. They finish the year Wednesday night at Tampa Bay.

Another key member of the Kings championship teams, Anze Kopitar, also is retiring after this season, following 20 years in the NHL, all with L.A.

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ESPN star calls for 2017 Masters winner to have his lifetime exemption removed after meltdown

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ESPN star calls for 2017 Masters winner to have his lifetime exemption removed after meltdown

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ESPN star Mike Greenberg called for Sergio Garcia’s lifetime exemption into the Masters Tournament to be pulled after his antics on the course in the final round on Sunday.

Garcia received a code of conduct warning after he smashed his driver in frustration at Augusta National. He slammed his club into the turf twice after hitting a shot that ended up in the bunker. Then he took a swipe at a table with a green cooler on it.

ESPN personality Mike Greenberg is interviewed on radio row at the George R. Brown Convention Center in Houston, Texas, on Feb. 1, 2017, ahead of Super Bowl LI. (Jerry Lai/USA TODAY Sports)

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Greenberg seemingly saw Garcia’s anger as a detrimental issue.

“A lifetime exemption is a privilege extended by Augusta to its champions out of respect,” he wrote on X. “If that respect is not reciprocated, there is no law that says a past champ cannot be banned.

RORY MCILROY REPEATS AS MASTERS CHAMPION, JOINS RARE COMPANY AT AUGUSTA NATIONAL

Sergio Garcia lines up a putt on the second green during the first round of the Masters Tournament at Augusta National Golf Club in Augusta, Ga., on Apr. 9, 2026. (Michael Madrid/Imagn Images)

“I’m not sure they should have Sergio Garcia back after the garbage he pulled today.”

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Garcia, who competes in LIV Golf, won the Masters in 2017. It is his only major victory of his career. Since winning in 2017, he only made the cut for the final two rounds once. The feat came at this year’s tournament. He finished 52nd in the field.

Sergio Garcia plays his shot on the seventeenth hole during the second round of the Masters Tournament at Augusta National Golf Club in Augusta, Ga., on April 10, 2026. (Bill Streicher/Imagn Images)

He joined LIV Golf in 2022 as he was among the PGA Tour stars who left the organization. He has two wins in the series – at LIV Golf Andalucía in 2024 and LIV Golf Hong Kong in 2025. He played his way into a playoff four times, only winning the Andalucía event.

Fox News’ Ryan Morik contributed to this report.

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