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NEW YORK — Yoshinobu Yamamoto will become a free agent Tuesday and major league teams can sign him through 5 p.m. EST on Jan. 4.

Nippon Professional Baseball notified Major League Baseball that the 25-year-old right-hander’s club, the Orix Buffaloes, was posting him for availability to MLB teams. MLB notified the 30 teams of the posting on Monday, and under the agreement between MLB and NPB the negotiating period starts at 8 a.m. Tuesday and extends for up to 45 days.

Yamamoto was 16-6 with a 1.21 ERA this season, striking out 169 and walking 28 in 164 innings, and has a 70-29 record with 1.82 ERA in seven seasons with Orix. He struck out a Japan Series record 14 in a Game 6 win over Hanshin on Nov. 5, throwing a 138-pitch complete game. Orix went on to lose Game 7.

He pitched his second career no-hitter, the 100th no-hitter in Japanese big league history, on Sept. 9 for the Buffaloes against the Lotte Marines. The game, watched by MLB executives that included New York Yankees general manager Brian Cashman, extended his scoreless streak to 42 innings.

A two-time Pacific League MVP, Yamamoto also pitched a no-hitter against the Seibu Lions on June 18 last year. His fastball averaged 95 mph and topped out at 96.6 mph in Japan’s semifinal win over Mexico in the World Baseball Classic in March. He threw 20 fastballs, 19 splitters, six curveballs, six cutters and one slider in a 3 1/3 inning relief outing. Batters swung at 11 of his splitters and missed four.

Following hard-throwing sensation 21-year-old sensation Rōki Sasaki, Yamamoto gave up two runs and three hits in 3 1/3 innings with four strikeouts and two walks, allowing Alex Verdugo‘s RBI double. Yamamoto was charged with a second run when Isaac Paredes hit an RBI single off Atsuki Yuasa.

Under the MLB-NPB agreement, the posting fee will be 20% of the first $25 million of a major league contract, including earned bonuses and options. The percentage drops to 17.5% of the next $25 million and 15% of any amount over $50 million. There would be a supplemental fee of 15% of any earned bonuses, salary escalators and exercised options.

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Source: Belichick, UNC won’t be on Hard Knocks

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Source: Belichick, UNC won't be on Hard Knocks

North Carolina and new coach Bill Belichick will not be the subject of HBO’s “Hard Knocks: Offseason,” a source confirmed to ESPN on Tuesday.

Front Office Sports reported last week that North Carolina would be featured on this year’s show, which would have given viewers an exclusive behind-the-scenes look at how Belichick would manage his first offseason as a college head coach.

When asked about it on “The Pat McAfee Show,” Tar Heels general manager Michael Lombardi said that nothing had been signed with the university but that the program was receiving “a lot of offers from people all over to come in and look at our program.”

But, as CBS Sports first reported earlier Tuesday, a deal could not be reached.

UNC hired Belichick in December after he had spent his entire career in the NFL, where he won six Super Bowls as coach of the New England Patriots. The Patriots never were selected to appear on “Hard Knocks.”

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NHL trade grades: Report cards for the Trent Frederic swap, Seth Jones blockbuster, other major deals

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NHL trade grades: Report cards for the Trent Frederic swap, Seth Jones blockbuster, other major deals

The NHL trade deadline for the 2024-25 season is not until March 7, but teams have not waited until the last minute to make major moves.

For every significant trade that occurs during the season, you’ll find a grade for it here, the Colorado Avalanche and San Jose Sharks swapping goaltenders, Cam Fowler to the St. Louis Blues, Kaapo Kakko to the Seattle Kraken, the blockbuster deal sending Mikko Rantanen to the Carolina Hurricanes and Martin Necas to the Avalanche, J.T. Miller from the Vancouver Canucks to the New York Rangers, and the Canucks staying busy and getting Marcus Pettersson from the Pittsburgh Penguins.

March 1 featured three big trades, with Ryan Lindgren headed to the Colorado Avalanche, the Minnesota Wild adding Gustav Nyquist, and Seth Jones joining the Florida Panthers.

Read on for grades from Ryan S. Clark and Greg Wyshynski, and check back the next time a big deal breaks.

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Reports: Brewers add depth with lefty Quintana

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Reports: Brewers add depth with lefty Quintana

Veteran left-handed pitcher Jose Quintana is joining the Milwaukee Brewers on a one-year, $4.25 million deal with $1 million in potential bonuses, according to multiple reports.

Quintana, 36, is coming off a 2024 season in which he went 10-10 with a 3.75 ERA in 31 starts for the New York Mets. He struck out 135 and walked 63 in 170⅓ innings. Over his past six regular-season starts, Quintana gave up four runs — three earned — in 36 1/3 innings.

He started the deciding game of New York’s NL Wild Card Series matchup with the Brewers and pitched six shutout innings in the Mets’ 4-2 victory, though he received no decision. Quintana had a total of three postseason starts, allowing six runs — five earned — over 14 1/3 innings.

Quintana now will compete for a spot in a Brewers rotation that returns right-handers Freddy Peralta, Tobias Myers and Aaron Civale. The two-time defending NL Central champions also added left-hander Nestor Cortes in a trade that sent two-time NL reliever of the year Devin Williams to the New York Yankees.

The Brewers could use some rotation depth as two-time All-Star Brandon Woodruff and Robert Gasser come back from injuries. Woodruff missed all of 2024 while recovering from shoulder surgery, and he won’t be ready for the start of the season. Gasser, who is recovering from Tommy John surgery, isn’t expected to be available until late in the season.

Milwaukee got more bad news Monday night when left-hander Aaron Ashby, a candidate for a rotation spot, left his start against the Cincinnati Reds with an injury. Murphy told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel that Ashby appeared to have an oblique issue and would undergo an MRI.

When he makes his Brewers debut, Quintana will have pitched for every team in the NL Central. He was with the Chicago Cubs from 2017-20 and split the 2022 season between the Pittsburgh Pirates and St. Louis Cardinals.

Quintana owns a 102-103 record and 3.74 ERA in 359 career appearances, including 333 starts. He’s also had stints with the Chicago White Sox (2012-17), Los Angeles Angels (2021), San Francisco Giants (2021) and Mets (2023-24). He was selected to the All-Star Game in 2016.

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