The Latest Breaking News from Andrew Friedman

The next chapter in Cody Bellinger's professional baseball career began Saturday with a mistake as he walked to the plate for his first at-bat as a member of the Chicago Cubs.

GLENDALE, Ariz. – As he drove to Arizona for the start of spring training, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts listened to a book on tape – “No Time for Spectators” by Martin Dempsey, a former general and past chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

Dodgers executives addressed Trevor Bauer's release for the first time publicly Wednesday, though they left several pressing questions about the process behind the decision unanswered, including details about their meeting with Bauer the day before cutting ties with him last month.

LOS ANGELES — On one side there are the Dodgers, who have a complicated relationship with the truth, and on the other is Trevor Bauer.

LOS ANGELES — By not taking a gamble on any of this offseason's top free agents, the Dodgers instead placed one very big, very high-stakes bet on something else.

LOS ANGELES — The Dodgers bet on Trevor Bauer once, and they lost. They weren't about to double down on the dumbest wager they've ever placed.

LOS ANGELES — The Dodgers severed ties with Trevor Bauer on Friday by designating him for assignment, preferring to pay him to go away rather than to pay him to pitch for their team.

It was 12 years ago that agent Scott Boras introduced us to the concept of the pillow contract.

SAN DIEGO — It was Tuesday afternoon, just about halfway through Major League Baseball's first in-person winter meetings in three years, and Andrew Friedman wasn't sure how to assess the three-day affair.