During last year’s New York Baseball Writers’ Awards Gala, Shohei Ohtani was unable to attend the event despite being awarded his 2024 NL MVP plaque. This time around, in receiving his second consecutive NL MVP and third consecutive MVP, Ohtani was in person to present his acceptance speech. Just as he did when he accepted his second MVP award with Angels, Ohtani decided to present his speech in English with a bit of a comedic twist wrapped within.
“To all the writers who voted for me, thank you,” Ohtani said. “This MVP award is very meaningful, and winning it again means so much to me… To the ‘86 Mets team, I now know the feeling of what it’s like to become a world champion— and it’s great— so congratulations on your 40-year anniversary. Thank you to the Dodgers organization for believing in me and embracing my vision.”
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Former Dodger and current San Diego Padres right-hander Yu Darvish is at a crossroads in his playing career. Darvish only made 15 starts with San Diego this past season as he dealt with right elbow inflammation to begin the year. He will miss most, if not all, of the 2026 season after undergoing UCL repair surgery.
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Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union Tribune reported that Darvish intended to retire and that he would forfeit the remaining three years and $43 million still left on his extension that he signed back in Feb. 2023. Darvish later refuted Acee’s claim by taking to his Twitter (X) account to announce that his retirement was a premature report. Should Darvish fail to complete his rehab, he will announce his retirement.
“You may have seen an article, and although I am leaning towards voiding the contract, there’s still a lot that has to be talked over with the Padres so the finer details are yet to be decided. Also I will not be announcing my retirement yet. Right now I am fully focused on my rehab for my elbow, and if I get to a point where I can throw again, I will start from scratch again to compete. If once I get to that point I feel I can’t do that, I will announce my retirement.”
Old friend Craig Kimbrel will try to play in his 17th big league season, as the reliever signed a minor league deal with the New York Mets. Jon Heyman of the New York Post was the first to report the signing.
Kimbrel most recently had a short-lived reunion with the Atlanta Braves that last all of an inning before spending the rest of the season with the Houston Astros. Between Atlanta and Houston, he posted a 2.25 ERA across 12 innings of work.