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Hard-throwing Pittsburgh Pirates ace Paul Skenes capped a remarkable season by winning the National League Rookie of the Year Award on Monday, while Luis Gil of the New York Yankees edged Baltimore Orioles outfielder Colton Cowser to take the AL honor.

Skenes won the award over San Diego Padres outfielder Jackson Merrill and Milwaukee Brewers outfielder Jackson Chourio.

He received 23 first-place votes for 136 points while Merrill had seven firsts and 104 points. They were named on all ballots. Chourio had 26 points.

Gil played a key role in helping the Yankees win the American League East before reaching the World Series. He moved into the Yankees’ rotation after ace Gerrit Cole was injured early in the season and received 15 first-place votes for 106 points. Cowser got 13 firsts for 101 points and Gil’s Yankees teammate Austin Wells received 17 points.

The only closer election since 1980 was when Royals shortstop Angel Berroa beat Yankees outfielder Hideki Matsui 88-84 in 2003.

It’s the first time the rookie awards went to two pitchers since 2011, when Tampa Bay starter Jeremy Hellickson and Atlanta closer Craig Kimbrel won.

After being selected with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2023 MLB Draft, Skenes quickly lived up to the hype. The 22-year-old was called up to the majors in May and was an immediate sensation. He had a 12-start span between May and July when he posted a 1.64 ERA to go with a 6-1 record, throwing seven innings of no-hit ball in one start.

Skenes’ dominance on the mound made him one of the top stories in sports over the summer. It also helped him earn an All-Star nod and be tabbed as the starting pitcher for the National League team in the 2024 All-Star Game. He became just the fifth rookie pitcher to ever start an All-Star Game.

Skenes ended the season with an 11-3 record, posting a 1.96 ERA, a 0.947 WHIP and 170 strikeouts in 133 innings over 23 starts. His memorable rookie season has also made him one of the three finalists for the NL Cy Young Award, which will be announced on Wednesday.

This marks just the second time that a Pirates player has won National League Rookie of the Year. Jason Bay was the first Pirates player to win the award in 2004. He is the 24th pitcher to win the award.

As New York dealt with Cole’s absence through the opening months of the season, Gil was able to bring some stability to its rotation. He wound up going 15-7 with a 3.50 ERA, a 1.193 WHIP and 171 strikeouts in 151.2 innings pitched over 29 starts. He made two starts in the postseason, but he only lasted four innings in each outing as he didn’t get a decision in either start.

The 2024 season wasn’t Gil’s first taste in the majors. The 26-year-old actually made his MLB debut in August 2021 and split time between Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre and the Yankees to open the 2022 season before injuring his elbow. He needed Tommy John surgery as a result, sidelining him until the final month of the 2023 season. He only pitched with Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre last year, keeping him eligible to win Rookie of the Year in 2024.

Gil is the 10th Yankees player to ever win the Rookie of the Year and the first Yankees pitcher to win the award since Dave Righetti in 1981. Prior to Gil, Aaron Judge was the last Yankees player to win the award, doing so in 2017. 

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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Outfielder Ichiro Suzuki and pitcher CC Sabathia are among 14 new candidates on the Hall of Fame ballot released Monday, joining 14 holdovers led by reliever Billy Wagner.

Pitcher Félix Hernández, outfielder Carlos González and infielders Dustin Pedroia and Hanley Ramírez also are among the newcomers joined by reliever Fernando Rodney, second baseman Ian Kinsler, second baseman/outfielder Ben Zobrist, shortstop Troy Tulowitzki, catchers Russell Martin and Brian McCann, and outfielders Curtis Granderson and Adam Jones.

Wagner received 284 votes and 73.8% in the 2024 balloting, five votes shy of the 75% needed when third baseman Adrian Beltré, catcher/first baseman Joe Mauer and first baseman Todd Helton were elected. Wagner will be on the ballot for the 10th and final time.

Other holdovers include stars Alex Rodriguez (134 votes, 34.8%) and Manny Ramirez (125, 32.5%) along with Andruw Jones (237, 61.6%), Carlos Beltran (220, 57.1%), Chase Utley (111, 28.8%), Omar Vizquel (68, 17.7%), Jimmy Rollins (57, 14.8%), Bobby Abreu (57, 14.8%), Andy Pettitte (52, 13.5%), Mark Buehrle (32, 8.3%), Francisco Rodríguez (30, 7.8%), Torii Hunter (28, 7.3%) and David Wright (24, 6.2%).

Gary Sheffield was dropped after receiving 246 votes and 63.9% in his 10th and final year on the ballot. He will be eligible for consideration when the ballot is selected for the committee that considered contemporary era players in December 2025.

BBWAA members with 10 or more consecutive years of membership are eligible to vote. Ballots must be postmarked by Dec. 31 and results will be announced Jan. 23. Anyone elected will be inducted on July 27 along with anyone chosen Dec. 8 by the hall’s classic baseball committee considering eight players and managers whose greatest contributions to the sport were before 1980.

Suzuki in 2001 joined Fred Lynn in 1975 as the only players to win AL Rookie of the Year and AL MVP in the same season. Suzuki was a two-time AL batting champion and 10-time Gold Glove winner, hitting .311 with 117 homers, 780 RBIs and 509 stolen bases with Seattle (2001-12, 2018-19), the New York Yankees (2012-14) and Miami (2015-17). He had a record 262 hits in 2004.

Sabathia was a six-time All-Star, won the 2007 AL Cy Young Award and a World Series title in 2009. He was 251-161 with a 3.74 ERA and 3,093 strikeouts, third among left-handers behind Randy Johnson and Steve Carlton, during 19 seasons with Cleveland (2001-08), Milwaukee (2008) and the New York Yankees (2009-19).

Hernández, the 2010 AL Cy Young winner and a six-time All-Star, won the 2010 and 2014 AL ERA titles. He was 169-136 with a 3.42 ERA and 2,524 strikeouts for Seattle from 2005-19. Hernández pitched the 23rd perfect game in major league history against Tampa Bay on Aug. 15, 2012.

González was a three-time All-Star, three-time Gold Glove winner and the 2010 NL batting champion. He hit .285 with 234 homers, 785 RBIs and 122 stolen bases for Oakland (2008), Colorado (2009-18), Cleveland (2019) and the Chicago Cubs (2019).

Pedroia was a four-time All-Star and four-time Gold Glove winner, helping Boston to World Series titles in 2007 and 2013. He batted .299 with 140 homers, 725 and 138 steals for the Red Sox from 2006-19, winning the 2007 AL Rookie of the Year and 2008 AL MVP.

Ramírez was voted the 2006 NL Rookie of the Year and won the 2009 NL batting title, becoming a three-time All-Star. He hit .289 with 271 homers, 917 RBIs and 281 stolen bases for Boston (2005, 2015-18), the Florida and Miami Marlins (2006-12), Los Angeles Dodgers (2012-14) and Cleveland (2019).

Dick Allen, Dave Parker and Luis Tiant are being considered by the classic era committee along with Tommy John, Steve Garvey, Ken Boyer and former Negro Leaguers John Donaldson and Vic Harris.

Reporting by The Associated Press.

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Los Angeles Dodgers right-hander Brusdar Graterol will miss the first half of next season after having surgery to repair the labrum in his right shoulder.

The surgery was performed Thursday by Dr. Neal ElAttrache, the Dodgers announced Friday.

Graterol is expected to return in the second half of the 2025 season.

Graterol pitched in seven games during the regular season and three in the World Series against the New York Yankees, which the Dodgers won in five games. He allowed three hits over 2 1/3 scoreless innings in those World Series appearances.

The 26-year-old Graterol was slowed this season by shoulder inflammation and a hamstring injury.

The hard-throwing Venezuelan spent his first season in the majors with Minnesota in 2019, and the Twins traded him to the Dodgers before the 2020 season. For his career, he has a 2.78 ERA and 11 saves in 188 games.

Reporting by The Associated Press.

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Left-handers Chris Sale of the Atlanta Braves and Garrett Crochet of the Chicago White Sox were selected Major League Baseball’s Comeback Players of the Year on Thursday.

Cleveland Guardians right-hander Emmanuel Clase won his second AL Reliever of the Year Award and St. Louis Cardinals righty Ryan Helsley won the NL honor.

Los Angeles Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani joined Hall of Famer and current FOX Sports MLB analyst David Ortiz as the only players to win four straight Outstanding Designated Hitter Awards. 

Ohtani and the New York Yankees‘ Aaron Judge won Hank Aaron Awards as the outstanding offensive performers in their leagues.

Major League Baseball made the announcements at its All-MLB Awards Show.

Sale, 35, was 18-3 with a 2.38 ERA and 225 strikeouts in 177 2/3 innings for the NL’s first pitching triple crown since the Los Angeles Dodgers’ Clayton Kershaw in 2011. He earned his eighth All-Star selection and first since 2018.

Sale helped the Boston Red Sox to the 2018 World Series title but made just 56 starts from 2020-23, going 17-18 with a 4.86 ERA, 400 strikeouts and 79 walks over 298 1/3 innings. He was acquired by Boston from the Chicago White Sox in December 2016 and made nine trips to the disabled and injured lists with the Red Sox, mostly due to shoulder and elbow ailments. He had Tommy John surgery on March 30, 2020, and returned to a big league mound on Aug. 14, 2021.

Sale fractured a rib while pitching in batting practice in February 2022 during the management lockout. In his second start back he broke his left pinkie finger on July 17 when he was hit by a line drive off the bat of then-Yankee Aaron Hicks. Sale then broke his right wrist while riding a bicycle en route to lunch on Aug. 6, ending his season that year.

Crochet, 25, was 6-12 with a 3.58 ERA over 32 starts for a White Sox team that set a post-1900 record of 121 losses, becoming a first-time All-Star. He struck out 209 and walked 33 in 146 innings.

He had Tommy John surgery on April 5, 2022, and returned to the major leagues on May 18, 2023. Crochet had a 3.55 ERA in 13 relief appearances in 2023, and then joined the rotation this year.

Sale and Crochet were chosen in voting by MLB.com beat writers.

Clase and Helsley were unanimous picks by a panel that included Hall of Famers Trevor Hoffman, Mariano Rivera, Dennis Eckersley and Rollie Fingers, along with John Franco and Billy Wagner. The AL award is named after Rivera and the NL honor after Hoffman.

A three-time All-Star, Clase was 4-2 with a 0.61 ERA, 66 strikeouts and 10 walks in 74 1/3 innings, holding batters to a .154 average. The 26-year-old converted 47 of 50 save chances, including his last 47.

Voting was based on the regular season. Clase was 0-2 with a 9.00 ERA in the playoffs, allowing three home runs, one more than his regular-season total.

Helsley, a two-time All-Star, was 7-4 with a 2.04 ERA and 49 saves in 53 chances. He struck out 79 and walked 23 in 66 1/3 innings.

Ohtani became the first player with 50 or more homers and 50 or more stolen bases in a season. A two-way star limited to hitting following elbow surgery, Ohtani batted .310 and led the NL with 54 homers and 130 RBIs while stealing 59 bases.

Ortiz won the DH award five years in a row from 2003-07.

The DH award, named after Edgar Martinez, is picked in voting by team beat writers, broadcasters and public relations departments. MLB.com writers determined the finalists for the Aaron awards, and a fan vote was combined with picks from a panel of Hall of Famers and former winners to determine the selections.

Judge led the major leagues with 58 homers and 144 RBIs while hitting .322.

Reporting by The Associated Press.

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Dave Sims is replacing John Sterling as Suzyn Waldman’s play-by-play partner on New York Yankees radio broadcasts.

WFAN, the local radio home of the Yankees, made the announcement in conjunction with the team on Thursday.

“It’s great to be home,” said Sims in a statement through WFAN. “What an honor to be part of the iconic Yankees franchise. New York is where it all started for me, and I can’t wait for Opening Day and to work with my good friend Suzyn!”

Sims, 71, has spent the last two decades calling Seattle Mariners games. Hours after the announcement, he released a video on his X account thanking Mariners fans for their support.

Sims is a Philadelphia native and was previously a reporter for the New York Daily News and midday WFAN talk show host from 1989-1993, per the New York Post. He also broadcasts college basketball games, primarily in the Big East, for FOX Sports.

He reportedly beat out Yankees Spanish-language radio broadcaster Rickie Ricardo, the other finalist to succeed Sterling.

Sterling, 86, retired in April, a few weeks into his 36th season, but he returned in the final week of the regular season and worked in the postseason, broadcasting the Yankees’ run to their first American League pennant in 15 years. The Yankees then lost the World Series in five games to the Los Angeles Dodgers.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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The Tampa Bay Rays will play their 2025 home games at the New York Yankees‘ nearby spring training ballpark amid uncertainty about the future of hurricane-damaged Tropicana Field, Rays executives told The Associated Press.

Stuart Sternberg, the Rays’ principal owner, said in an interview that Steinbrenner Field in Tampa is the best fit for the team and its fanbase. At about 11,000 seats, it’s also the largest of the spring training sites in Florida.

“It is singularly the best opportunity for our fans to experience 81 games of major league Rays baseball,” Sternberg said. “As difficult as it is to get any of these stadiums up to major league standards, it was the least difficult. You’re going to see Major League Baseball in a small environment.”

Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred said the Rays-Yankees deal is good for the sport and the Tampa Bay region.

“This outcome meets Major League Baseball‘s goals that Rays fans will see their team play next season in their home market and that their players can remain home without disruption to their families,” Manfred said in a news release.

The Rays’ home since 1998, the domed Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg was hit hard by Hurricane Milton on Oct. 9, with most of its fabric roof shredded and water damage inside. The city of St. Petersburg, which owns the Trop, released an assessment of the damage and repair needs that estimated the cost at $55.7 milliion if it is to be ready for the start of the 2026 season.

The work would have to be approved by the city council, which earlier this year voted for a new $1.3 billion, 30,000-seat stadium to replace Tropicana Field beginning in 2028. The new stadium is part of a much larger urban revitalization project known as the Historic Gas Plant District — named for the Black community that once occupied the 86 acres (34 hectares) that includes retail, office and hotel space; a Black history museum; and restaurants and bars.

Amid all the uncertainty, the Rays know one thing: they will play 2025 in a smallish, outdoor ballpark operated by one of their main American League East division rivals. A ballpark with a facade mimicking that of Yankee Stadium in the Bronx and festooned with plaques of Yankee players whose numbers have been retired.

Brian Auld, the Rays co-president, said in an interview that Tampa Bay has to be ready for a regular-season MLB game March 27 against the Colorado Rockies, just three days after the Yankees break training camp.

“There will be a ton of work toward putting in our brand,” Auld said. “The term we like to use for that is “Rayful’ into Steinbrenner Field.”

It will also come with some weather challenges in the hot, rainy Florida summer climate the Rays didn’t worry about in their domed ballpark. The Rays averaged about 16,500 fans per game during the 2024 season.

The Yankees will receive about $15 million in revenue for hosting the Rays, a person familiar with the arrangement told The Associated Press, speaking on condition of anonymity because that detail was not announced. The money won’t come from Tampa Bay but from other sources, such as insurance.

Once known as Legends Field, Steinbrenner Field opened in 1996 on Tampa’s north side. It is named for longtime Yankees owner George Steinbrenner, who ran a shipbuilding company in Tampa and died at his home there in 2010. One of his sons, Yankees executive Hal Steinbrenner, was instrumental in getting the deal done with the Rays, Sternberg said.

“This is a heavy lift for the Yankees. This is a huge ask by us and baseball of the Yankees,” Sternberg said. “[Hal Steinbrenner] did not waver for one second. I couldn’t have been more grateful.”

Hal Steinbrenner said in a news release that the Yankees are “happy to extend our hand to the Rays” and noted that the team and his family have “deep roots” in the Tampa Bay area.

“In times like these, rivalry and competition take a back seat to doing what’s right for our community, which is continuing to help families and businesses rebound from the devastation caused by Hurricanes Helene and Milton,” he said.

The Tampa Tarpons, one of the Yankees minor-league teams, play their home games at Steinbrenner Field during the summer. They will use baseball diamonds elsewhere in the training complex this season.

It’s not the first time a big league team will host regular season games in a spring training stadium. The Toronto Blue Jays played part of the 2021 season at their facility in Dunedin because of Canadian government restrictions during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Reporting by The Associated Press.

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A detailed assessment of the hurricane damage to Tropicana Field concludes that the home of the Tampa Bay Rays is structurally sound and can be repaired for about $55.7 million in time for the 2026 season.

The 412-page report released Tuesday by the City of St. Petersburg, which owns the building, found that the basic structure of the domed stadium “does not appear to have been adversely affected” by Hurricane Milton’s winds, which shredded most of its fabric roof.

“The primary structure is serviceable and capable of supporting a replacement tension membrane fabric roof,” said the report by Hennessy Construction Services.

Eighteen of the ballpark’s 24 fabric panels failed when Milton roared ashore Oct. 9, the report found. There was also damage to interior parts of the Trop, as it’s known for short, from rainwater and other storm-related causes. The ballpark opened in 1990 and has been the Rays’ home since their inception in 1998.

Tropicana Field is already scheduled to be demolished when a new, $1.3 billion ballpark is finished in time for the 2028 season. With unforeseen costs to the city and Pinellas County from two hurricanes — vast amounts of debris removal, damage to parks and infrastructure — two of the main financial sources for the new ballpark could reconsider those plans or decide not to repair the Trop at all.

The St. Petersburg City Council will discuss the report at its Nov. 21 meeting.

“We have so much need across the city,” said council member Brandi Gabbard at a meeting last week. “I love the Rays. I love Tropicana Field. It’s not about not wanting to do this. It’s about a balance of priorities.”

The council recently approved $6.5 million to clean up the ballpark and protect it from any further damage, including waterproofing areas such as the press box, seating areas and scoreboard.

The city does have an insurance claim for the damage and repairs, but it includes a $22 million deductible and probably would only cover part of the overall costs. That means taxpayer dollars would have to be used.

The Rays did not immediately respond Tuesday to a request for comment. Since the ballpark under this damage and repair assessment would not be ready until the 2026 season, the Rays must find another place to play next year.

Major League Baseball wants the Rays to remain in the area near their fanbase if at all possible, with several Tampa Bay-area spring training sites suggested. These include ballparks in Clearwater (Phillies), Tampa (Yankees), Dunedin (Blue Jays), Sarasota (Orioles), Lakeland (Tigers) and the Rays’ own spring training home in Port Charlotte. Most of these locations host minor league teams during summer.

The planned new Rays ballpark is part of a $6.5 billion project that will include affordable housing, a Black history museum, retail and office space, restaurants and bars. The project is known as the Historic Gas Plant District, which was once a thriving Black community displaced by construction of the ballpark and an interstate highway.

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Reporting by The Associated Press.

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