Multiple media outlets reported the details on Thursday.

A tape recording of the alleged conversation was introduced as evidence in the lead-up to the sentencing of Ippei Mizuhara, who pleaded guilty last year to bank fraud and tax-evasion charges. Mizuhara confessed that he stole almost $17 million from Ohtani.

The government is asking for Mizuhara to receive a sentence of almost five years.

Michael G. Freedman, Mizuhara's lawyer, requested an 18-month sentence, maintaining that his client has long dealt with an addiction to gambling.

Assistant U.S. attorney Jeff Mitchell introduced the recording as part of the proceeding at the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California in Los Angeles.

Mizuhara allegedly had already obtained access to Ohtani's bank accounts and changed security credentials to give himself entry. The person on the tape tells the bank employee that he is Shohei Ohtani, then provides a phone number to the bank for authorization -- a number that prosecutors say belonged to Mizuhara.

The bank asked the reason for the transaction, and the response was that it was for a car loan.

The bank representative asked Mizuhara, maintaining he was Ohtani, "What is your relationship to the payee?"

"He's my friend," Mizuhara said.

"Have you met your friend in person?" the bank employee asked.

"Yes, many times," Mizuhara said.

When asked if "there will be any future wires to your friend," the response was, "Uh, possibly."

In addition to a prison sentence for Mizuhara, the government is demanding that he repay Ohtani the money that was stolen and pay the IRS $1.1 million.

Mizuhara worked as Ohtani's interpreter with the Los Angeles Angels and later with the Dodgers after the two-way player changed teams with a free agent deal in December 2023. He was fired in March 2024 after prosecutors reported Ohtani was a victim of theft following the investigation into an illegal bookmaking operation that led to Mizuhara's indictment.

In a court brief filed Thursday, Mizuhara said of dealing with his gambling addiction that led to $17 million in losses, "I became almost dead inside. It was like I was just going through the motions. Although I had always told myself that I would win it all back, as it became clear to me this was an impossibility, I think I just shut down. But that did not stop me from placing more bets. I felt really antsy and anxious if I did not have an active bet. I felt pressure to stay in the game."

Mitchell responded in his brief, "Even if defendant is addicted to gambling, it cannot fully explain defendant's conduct because defendant used the stolen funds for numerous personal expenses that had nothing to do with gambling. Ultimately, the government submits, the motivating factor behind defendant's crimes was not a gambling addiction but rather greed."

The Braves outlined Profar will receive $12 million in 2025 and $15 million in 2026 and 2027.

Profar is coming off a stellar season with .280 with 24 homers and 85 RBIs -- all career highs -- in 158 games for the San Diego Padres. He also set career bests of 94 runs and 158 hits while earning his first All-Star nod.

San Diego signed a largely unwanted Profar after the start of spring training when it needed a left fielder.

Profar twice hit 20 homers earlier this career -- in 2018 for the Texas Rangers and 2019 for the Oakland Athletics.

Profar has a .245 career average with 111 homers and 444 RBIs in 1,119 games with the Texas Rangers (2012-13, 2016-18), Oakland Athletics (2019), Padres (2020-22, 23-24) and Colorado Rockies (2023).

At the end of 2024, Rays president Matt Silverman wrote a letter to the city of St. Petersburg saying the team expects Tropicana Field to be repaired in time for the start of the 2026 season. He added that "massive logistical and revenue challenges" would arise if the Rays were to begin that season in another location.

St. Petersburg city administrator Rob Gerdes replied to Silverman in a letter dated Jan. 15, saying the city is under no contractual obligation to fulfill the team's wishes by a certain date.

"We look forward to cooperating to attempt to achieve the mutual goal of making Tropicana Field suitable for Major League Baseball games by opening day of the 2026 season," St. Petersburg city administrator Rob Gerdes wrote. "However, it is important to reiterate that the current Use Agreement governs the obligations of the parties and any correspondence between the City of St. Petersburg and the Tampa Bay Rays does not alter those obligations."

Under the current use agreement between the Rays and the city, the agreement is extended another year for every year Tropicana Field is not in operation. Gerdes wrote that it could extend past the 2028 season, when the team's lease with the ballpark expires.

The Rays have made plans to play their home games next season at the New York Yankees' 11,000-seat spring training ballpark -- Steinbrenner Field -- in Tampa.

If the Rays can't play at Tropicana Field by opening day 2026, they could potentially return to Steinbrenner Field or play at the Philadelphia Phillies' spring training home, BayCare Ballpark, in Clearwater, before moving back to their home stadium.

Tropicana Field's roof was torn apart when Hurricane Milton made landfall south of Tampa on Oct. 9. It has been estimated that the stadium, in St. Petersburg, will need about $56 million in renovations.

In December, city officials said repairs could be completed to ensure the Rays open the 2026 season at their home park but would need approval by late March 2025 to install turf and a new roof by February 2026.

Silverman's email did not address the Rays' plans to build a planned $1.3 billion stadium, which originally was planned to be their home beginning in 2028. The Rays have until March 31 to complete a checklist of benchmark items. If they don't, the deal for the private-public partnership will expire.

The 2025 season will mark the Rays' 28th season on the West Coast of Florida.

Contreras, 25, split the 2024 season between the Pittsburgh Pirates and Los Angeles Angels before a journey through the waiver wire. He was selected off waivers by the Texas Rangers in October, by the Cincinnati Reds in December and by Baltimore on Jan. 10, making the Yankees the fourth team to put in a successful waiver claim for him this winter.

Previously in the Yankees' farm system, Contreras was sent to Pittsburgh as part of the trade to bring starting pitcher Jameson Taillon to New York in 2021.

He went a combined 2-4 with two saves and a 4.35 ERA in 49 games (three starts) in 2024 for the Pirates and Angels. In 90 career appearances at the MLB level (33 starts), Contreras has gone 10-16 with three saves and a 4.72 ERA, tossing 103 walks against 201 strikeouts.

Winans, 29, made his MLB debut for Atlanta in 2023. In eight career games -- all starts -- He is 1-4 with a 7.20 ERA, including 0-2 with a 15.26 ERA over two starts last season.

Winans has a 16-10 record and a 3.23 ERA in 51 appearances (36 starts) all-time at the Triple-A level.

The sides also agreed to a $2.45 million club option for 2026 with a $50,000 buyout.

Walls is a standout defensive player, but he has just a .188 career batting average in four big league seasons. He batted .183 with one homer, 14 RBI and 16 steals in 84 games last season.

Walls missed the beginning of last season with a hip injury and made his season debut on June 7. He committed just three errors in 83 games (68 starts) at shortstop.

Overall, Walls has 18 homers, 98 RBIs and 52 steals in 379 games with the Rays.a

Financial terms were not disclosed by the club but the deal guarantees Sewald $7 million -- $1 million signing bonus, $5 million salary for 2025, $1 million buyout on the 2026 mutual option, according to ESPN and The Athletic. Sewald would make $10 million in 2026 if both sides agree to pick up the option, per the reports.

Sewald, 34, went 1-2 with a 4.31 ERA and 16 saves in 42 relief appearances with the Arizona Diamondbacks in 2024. He is 20-25 with a 4.09 ERA and 84 saves in 359 career relief appearances with the New York Mets (2017-20), Seattle Mariners (2021-23) and Diamondbacks.

To make room for Sewald on the 40-man roster, the Guardians designated RHP Pedro Avila for assignment.

Last Friday, Sasaki announced on social media that he intended to sign a free-agent deal with the Dodgers. The Dodgers, in turn, posted a welcome to him without revealing contract details.

Per Spotrac, Sasaki signed a one-year, $6.5 million deal.

He got an introduction to Los Angeles on Tuesday, sitting courtside as the Lakers beat the Washington Wizards. He met LeBron James and his fellow Japan native, Rui Hachimura.

Sasaki, 23, was the most coveted international free agent of the MLB offseason. He chose to sign with the reigning World Series champions, who have bolstered their oft-injured starting rotation immensely since the winter began.

Sasaki will join a rotation that will be headlined by countrymen Shohei Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto and also feature two-time Cy Young Award winner Blake Snell and 2024 All-Star Tyler Glasnow. Snell, most recently of the San Francisco Giants, also signed with Los Angeles this offseason.

Now that he's officially signed to an MLB team, Sasaki took his place at No. 1 on the Baseball America top prospects list on Wednesday.

Sasaki became a folk hero when he set a fastball record for high schoolers with a 101 mph clocking and introduced himself on the world stage during the World Baseball Classic in 2023. In his only start -- a win against Mexico -- Sasaki averaged 100.5 mph on his fastball.

He set a single-game record in Japan in 2022 with 19 strikeouts, including a stretch of 13 consecutive Ks, in a perfect game.

The 31-year-old free agent and former batting champion is looking to revive his career after a two-season slump.

Anderson slashed .245/.286/.296 with one homer in 123 games in his last season with the Chicago White Sox in 2023. Things got worse in 2024 with the Miami Marlins as he posted a .214/.237/.226 slash line with zero homers in 65 games.

Anderson led the majors with a .335 batting average in 2019 and made the American League All-Star teams in 2021 and 2022.

A first-round draft pick by Chicago (17th overall) in 2013, Anderson is a career .278 hitter with 98 home runs, 347 RBIs and 121 stolen bases in 960 games.

The deal includes a mutual option for 2026.

Perez, 33, joins his fourth team in three seasons after splitting 2024 between the Pittsburgh Pirates and San Diego Padres. Pittsburgh dealt him to San Diego at the trade deadline.

Perez was a first-time All-Star in 2022 with the Texas Rangers, when he pitched to a career-best 2.89 ERA with a 12-8 record and one shutout in 32 starts. He went 10-4 the next year as a part-time starter and helped Texas win the World Series.

In 314 career appearances (269 starts) with the Rangers (2012-18, 2022-23), Minnesota Twins (2019), Boston Red Sox (2020-21), Pirates and Padres, Perez is 90-87 with a 4.44 ERA, 1,109 strikeouts and 568 walks across 1,575 2/3 innings.

To make room on their 40-man roster, the White Sox designated right-handed reliever Ron Marinaccio for assignment. Chicago claimed Marinaccio off waivers from the New York Yankees in late September but he did not appear in a game for the White Sox.

Suzuki will be joined on the Clark Sports Center stage in Cooperstown, N.Y., July 27 by longtime ace left-hander CC Sabathia and hard-throwing lefty closer Billy Wagner, both of whom cruised past the 75 percent of the vote necessary for election. Outfielders Dave Parker and the late Dick Allen, who were elected by the 16-member Contemporary Baseball Era Committee on Dec. 8, will also be enshrined in July.

The results of the BBWAA balloting were announced by Hall of Fame President Josh Rawitch at the plaque gallery inside the museum in Cooperstown.

Suzuki's close call means New York Yankees closer Mariano Rivera remains the only unanimous electee. Rivera received all 425 votes in 2019. Another longtime Yankees icon, shortstop Derek Jeter, came within one vote of unanimous election in 2020. Suzuki, Rivera and Jeter were teammates with New York from 2012-13.

Sabathia (86.8 percent of the vote) and Wagner (82.5 percent) cruised in on their respective first and last years of eligibility. This marks the second straight year the BBWAA has elected three players. Adrian Beltre, Todd Helton and Joe Mauer were all inducted last July.

Suzuki and Sabathia increase the number of first-ballot inductees to 62. Beltre and Mauer were also elected on their first try last year, which makes the 2024-25 cycle the first with multiple first-ballot inductees in consecutive years since 2018-19.

Wagner is the fourth candidate elected in his final year on the ballot since the maximum eligibility was reduced from 15 years to 10 years in advance of the 2015 election. Tim Raines was induced in 2017, followed by Edgar Martinez (2019) and Larry Walker (2020).

Carlos Beltran, in his third year on the ballot, fell 19 votes shy by receiving 70.3 percent of the vote - an increase of more than 13 percent from 2024. Fellow outfielder Andruw Jones, in his eighth year of eligibility, finished with 66.2 percent of the vote, a gain of almost five percent from last January.

Second baseman Chase Utley, in his second year on the ballot, jumped from 28.8 percent to 39.8 percent. Left-hander Andy Pettitte gained more than 14 percent, from 13.5 percent to 27.9 percent. The steroid-tainted Alex Rodriguez (37.1 percent) and Manny Ramirez (34.3 percent) finished in between Utley and Pettitte.

Newcomers Felix Hernandez (20.6 percent) and Dustin Pedroia (11.9 percent) will remain on the ballot after exceeding the five percent minimum to stay eligible.

Suzuki, who will almost surely become the third player to wear a Seattle Mariners hat on his plaque, hit .311 with 3,089 hits, 509 stolen bases and 10 Gold Gloves despite debuting at age 27 in 2001, when he won the American League Rookie of the Year and Most Valuable Player awards for the Mariners.

After 11-plus years with Seattle, Suzuki was traded to the New York Yankees in 2012 and played three years with the Miami Marlins from 2015-17 before ending his career with cameos the next two seasons for his original club.

Sabathia is expected to wear a Yankees hat on his plaque after playing his final 11 seasons in New York. The left-hander, who spent the first seven-plus seasons of his career with Cleveland and won the AL Cy Young Award in 2007 before helping the Milwaukee Brewers clinch a playoff berth following his midseason trade in 2008, finished 251-161 with a 3.74 ERA and 3,093 strikeouts.

The ERA is the second-highest for any pitcher elected by the writers, ahead of Red Ruffing (3.80), but every Hall-eligible player with at least 250 wins and 3,000 strikeouts is enshrined except the steroid-tainted Roger Clemens.

Wagner, whose 422 saves are eighth-most all-time, opened his career by spending nine seasons with the Houston Astros before splitting his final eight years with the Philadelphia Phillies, New York Mets, Boston Red Sox and Atlanta Braves. The diminutive hard-throwing southpaw posted a 2.31 ERA while averaging 11.9 strikeouts per nine innings, each of which are tops amongst pitchers who have thrown at least 900 innings.

A one-of-one edition Skenes card is from the Debut Patch collection and is autographed by Skenes as part of the 2024 Topps Chrome Update. The release includes rookies and select second-year players.

The card is projected to auction for $1.5 million.

There's already a standing offer from Skenes' employer, the Pittsburgh Pirates, who resurfaced their proposed swap on Tuesday that includes two season tickets behind home plate for the next 30 years.

In total, the offer from the MLB team is valued at under $1 million. The full treasure trove from the Pirates outlined when the card was released in November featured the tickets, two autographed Skenes jerseys; a softball game for 30 people at PNC Park with coaching from team alumni; a meet-and-greet with Skenes; batting practice and warmup with the Pirates; experiences during spring training with the Pirates at their facility in Bradenton, Fla.

Topps said Tuesday it was unclear if the 11-year-old collector accepted the offer from the Pirates.

The agreement with the 29-year-old reliever includes a $3.75 million club option for 2026, the team announced.

Quijada was 2-2 with a 3.26 ERA, 17 walks and 24 strikeouts in 19 1/3 innings over 22 appearances last season. Opposing batters hit .190 against him. The Venezuela native went a career-best 12 straight games without giving up a run from Aug. 14 to Sept. 18.

His career record is 4-14 with eight saves, a 4.64 ERA and 172 strikeouts in 128 innings over 140 games (no starts) for the Miami Marlins (2019) and Angels (2020-present).

Terms of the contract were not disclosed for Yates, who would join an already strong pitching staff pending the results of a physical.

The reported move comes just days after the Dodgers reportedly signed left-hander Tanner Scott to a four-year, $72 million deal.

The Dodgers are looking to Scott and Yates to bolster the back end of a pitching staff that could roll out starters Shohei Ohtani, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Blake Snell, Tyler Glasnow and newly added Roki Sasaki. Clayton Kershaw also is expected to return to the Dodgers in 2025 after injury rehab.

Yates, 37, recorded 33 saves to go along with a 7-2 record and 1.17 ERA in 61 relief appearances last season with the Texas Rangers.

A two-time All-Star, Yates is 26-21 with 95 saves and a 3.17 ERA in 422 games (no starts) with the Tampa Bay Rays (2014-15), New York Yankees (2016), Los Angeles Angels (2017), San Diego Padres (2017-20), Atlanta Braves (2022-23) and Rangers (2024).

KPRC TV in Houston said it was a five-year deal, pending results of a physical. Financial terms were not available.

Santander, 30, slugged a career-high 44 homers and drove in 102 runs with the Baltimore Orioles last season.

He slashed .246/.307/.469 with 155 doubles, 155 homers and 435 RBIs in eight seasons with the Orioles (2017-24).

Knapp, 33, appeared in just three games with the San Francisco Giants in 2024.

He finishes with a .209 batting average and 13 home runs in 328 career games with four teams, most notably the Philadelphia Phillies (2017-21). The Phillies selected the switch-hitter in the second round of the 2013 draft.

"I completely dedicated my life to the game, and the game blessed me with so much," he said, in part, in a post to Instagram. "Baseball has given me relationships that I will have for the rest of my life. It has taught be how to fail and how to persevere. It has taught me how to be confident but humble."

Torborg played catcher for the Los Angeles Dodgers from 1964-70 and was behind the plate for Sandy Koufax's perfect game in 1965. He also caught a no-hitter by Bill Singer in 1970. He was a World Series champion in 1965 with the Dodgers.

The New Jersey native, who attended Montclair State and Rutgers, played with the California Angels from 1971-73 and caught Nolan Ryan's first no-hitter in 1973.

Most notable for his defensive prowess, Torborg was a career .214 hitter with eight home runs with 101 RBIs in 574 games.

In 1977, Torborg took over as manager of the Cleveland Indians after Frank Robinson was fired and guided the team into the 1979 season. He was also a manager of the White Sox (1989-91), New York Mets (1992-93), Montreal Expos (2001) and Marlins (2002-03).

The 1990 American League Manager of the Year with the White Sox was 157-201 in his managerial career.

At an offseason fan event on Saturday, fans chanted "sell the team" during a question-and-answer session, leaving CEO Travis Williams to tell the audience that Nutting doesn't intend to sell.

"Bob is not going to sell the team," Williams said. "He cares about Pittsburgh, he cares about winning, he cares about us putting a winning product on the field, and we're working towards that every day."

Still, that's hard for fans to recognize. The Pirates have 17 playoff appearances in their 143 years of existence. They've won the World Series five times, most recently in 1979.

Pittsburgh hasn't made the playoffs since 2015, when they lost the wild-card game for the second consecutive year. Their playoff drought is second longest in the majors, trailing only the Los Angeles Angels, who haven't reached the postseason since 2014.

The Pirates enter the 2025 season coming off back-to-back 76-86 seasons and have had only four winning seasons since 2007, when Nutting became principal owner.

They were still in the playoff hunt into August last season. Entering play on Aug. 1, Pittsburgh was 55-53 and 2.5 games out of the final wild-card spot. After finishing the season 21-33, the Pirates wound up 13 games out of the wild card, with manager Derek Shelton and general manager Ben Cherington called out by fans on Saturday, too.

"We can just look at last year," Williams said. "It was a big positive going through the middle of the season, we were going into August two games above .500, but unfortunately we had a tough run in August and that tough run in August took us out of the hunt for the wild card. ... From myself to Ben to Derek to lots of other people that are here today and throughout the entire organization, but that's not for a lack of commitment or desire to win whatsoever.

"That's from the top all the way down to the bottom of the organization. We are absolutely committed to win; what we need to do is find a way to win."

MLB.com reported that the agreement with the 2024 All-Star is for four years and $72 million. The Athletic added the contract will include a signing bonus and deferred money, though figures were not available.

Major League Baseball Trade Rumors said the deal is tied for third highest for a free agent reliever in terms of average annual value and the fifth most in guaranteed money ever given to a relief pitcher.

The Dodgers are looking to Scott to bolster the back end of a pitching staff that could roll out starters Shohei Ohtani, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Blake Snell, Tyler Glasnow and newly added Roki Sasaki. Clayton Kershaw also is expected to return to the Dodgers in 2025 after injury rehab.

Scott, 30, split last season between the Miami Marlins and San Diego Padres. He was considered the top pitcher remaining on the free agent market and had multiple suitors.

In 2024, he appeared in 72 games, posting a 9-6 record, a 1.75 ERA and 22 saves. Over 72 innings, he struck out 84 batters.

For his career with the Baltimore Orioles (2017-21), Marlins (2022-24) and Padres, Scott is 31-24 with a 3.56 ERA and 55 saves.

The contracts of Sasaki and Scott will bring the free-spending Dodgers to a luxury-tax payroll of more than $375 million, ESPN reported Sunday. Only the Philadelphia Phillies and New York Yankees are also above the $300 million mark.

According to multiple media reports, the contract is worth $10 million.

Leclerc, 31, had been with the Texas Rangers' organization since signing an a teenage international free agent in 2010. He pitched eight years in the majors for Texas, going 12-20 with 41 saves and a 3.27 ERA in 350 career games (three starts).

He was a key performer in the Rangers' run to the 2023 World Series championship, going 1-1 with four saves and a 3.29 ERA in 13 relief appearances.

Last season, Leclerc appeared in 64 games and went 6-5 with one save and a 4.32 ERA. In 66 2/3 innings, he fanned 89 and walked 32, logging the second-best strikeout-to-walk ratio of his career.

To open a spot on the 40-man roster for Leclerc, the A's designated right-hander Will Klein for assignment. Klein, 25, was acquired by the A's in the July deal that sent right-handed reliever Lucas Erceg to the Kansas City Royals.

Overall for Kansas City and Oakland in 2024, Klein went 1-0 with an 11.05 ERA in eight relief outings.

Sasaki, 23, was the most coveted international free agent of the MLB offseason. He chose to sign with the reigning World Series champions, who have bolstered their oft-injured starting rotation immensely since the winter began.

Sasaki will join a rotation that will be headlined by countrymen Shohei Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto and also feature two-time Cy Young Award winner Blake Snell and 2024 All-Star Tyler Glasnow. Snell, most recently of the San Francisco Giants, also signed with Los Angeles this offseason.

Sasaki was reportedly down to the Dodgers, the San Diego Padres and the Toronto Blue Jays. Earlier Friday, veteran MLB reported that San Diego had been eliminated and the Dodgers and Blue Jays were the two finalists.

The signing period for international players opened on Wednesday, giving Sasaki and other players just eight days -- until Thursday at 5 p.m. ET to sign a contract.

Terms of Sasaki's new contract were not yet known.

Sasaki became a folk hero when he set a fastball record for high schoolers with a 101 mph clocking and introduced himself on the world stage during the World Baseball Classic in 2023. In his only start -- a win against Mexico -- Sasaki averaged 100.5 mph on his fastball.

He set a single-game record in Japan in 2022 with 19 strikeouts, including a stretch of 13 consecutive Ks, in a perfect game.