6:16 PM ET Associated Press BOSTON — World Series MVP Steve Pearce says it was a “no-brainer” to return to the Red Sox for another year. “This was the place that I wanted to be,” he said on a conference call Monday, three days after agreeing to a $6.5 million, one-year deal with the defending

5:06 PM ET Associated Press NEW YORK — Toronto outfielder Griffin Conine, a son of former major league outfielder Jeff Conine, has been suspended for the first 50 games of next season under the minor league drug program for a positive test for the banned stimulant ritalinic acid. New York Yankees pitcher Daniel Marten was

2:35 PM ET The Hall of Fame ballot for the Baseball Writers’ Association of America was announced Monday, and it includes 15 holdovers and 20 new candidates. Edgar Martinez is the top returnee after receiving 70.4 percent of the vote last year, but this is his final year on the ballot, with 75 percent required

12:22 PM ET Associated Press NEW YORK — Career saves leader Mariano Rivera and late pitcher Roy Halladay are among 20 new candidates on the Hall of Fame ballot for the Baseball Writers’ Association of America, joined by 15 holdovers that includes Edgar Martinez. Left-hander Andy Pettitte and infielders Todd Helton, Michael Young and Miguel

12:31 PM ET Associated Press CLEVELAND — The Indians will rock red jerseys next season for the first time since the 1970s. The team unveiled a new alternate home jersey on Monday. It’s a red top scripted with “Indians” on the front that Cleveland occasionally will wear for home games in 2019. The Indians last

12:12 PM ET The Washington Nationals have agreed to a two-year contract with free-agent catcher Kurt Suzuki, according to multiple reports. The news was first reported by MLB.com. Suzuki played for the Nationals for parts of the 2012 and ’13 seasons, hitting .239 with eight home runs and 50 RBIs in 122 games. He was

8:28 AM ET It has been a miserable, wretched nine seasons in the Bronx. No World Series titles for the New York Yankees. No World Series appearances. The Yankees haven’t finished in first place since 2012. That’s six seasons in a row without a division title, which hasn’t happened since the halcyon days of the

9:02 AM ET The Thanksgiving turkeys aren’t in the oven yet and we already possess the most evergreen quote of baseball’s winter, courtesy of Philadelphia Phillies owner John Middleton. No matter what happens with the team over the next year — good or bad — these words will be revisited constantly. From veterans coming off

7:50 AM ET Between now and Opening Day, every team in baseball will hire some people, sign some people, trade some people and drop some people. But nearly all of the names have to be figured out. While we’re all going to have to wait on the details, we can talk about some general outlines.

11:29 AM ET The Houston Astros acquired infielder Aledmys Diaz in a trade with the Toronto Blue Jays, giving up minor league pitcher Trent Thornton on Saturday. Díaz, 28, played both at shortstop and third base for the Blue Jays last season, hitting .263 with a career-high 18 home runs, 26 doubles and 55 RBIs