Good morning BCB friends. We hope that those of you who celebrate Christmas had a very Merry one indeed, and aren’t feeling too stuffed at the moment. Welcome to the lovely space between Christmas and New
Years, where time and dates lose all meaning, and it is perfectly acceptable to eat boxed chocolate and oranges for breakfast, and watching the new episodes of Stranger Things is a good enough reason to avoid your family for three hours.
We’ll have a slightly shorter than usual links round-up this morning, as things have been a little quiet over the last few days, but we didn’t want you to go without on a Friday morning.
- James Fagen reports that the Pirates have made a deal with Ryan O’Hearn.
- Shanthi Sepe-Chepuru shares every team’s longest home run in 2025.
- Kiley McDaniel looks at the biggest moves of Christmas week.
- Jayson Stark has the most strange but true stories of the 2025 season. (The Athletic subscription required.)
- A’s fans got quite the gift for Christmas with a massive extension for Tyler Soderstrom.
- Jared Greenspan has more on Soderstrom’s 7-year contract.
- Shanthi Sepe-Chepuru has some reasons why she believes David Wright belongs in the Hall of Fame.
- Pete Fairbanks is on the move but he’s not going far as he signs with the OTHER Floria team, the Marlins. (ESPN)
- It’s time! Tyler Kepner brings a holiday favorite back with the Athletic’s trivia quiz. (The Athletic subscription required.)
- The Dodgers made some Christmas dreams come true for lucky fans.
- Manny Randhawa remembers Rickey Henderson.
- Andrew Simon suggests new homes for some of the top remaining free agents.
- Bryce Harper has confirmed he will play for Team USA in the World Baseball Classic. (ESPN)
- Pavin Smith did something most kids dream of being able to do for their parents one day.
And tomorrow will be a better day than today, Buster. Make it so.
