Four new members of the Boston Red Sox Hall of Fame were announced on Saturday as part of the team’s Fenway Fest event. The club reviews and selects new candidates — this year, the selection committee was led by team curator Sarah Coffin Ottinger and included several team executives, local and national media members, historians, and fan representatives — to be honored in the team Hall of Fame every other year.

Left-hander Jon Lester headlines the group. Lester spent the first nine seasons of his career in Boston, going 110-63 with a 3.64 ERA (120 ERA+) and 1,386 SO over 1519.1 IP. He was a three-time All-Star and won a pair of World Series titles (2007, 2013) while a member of the franchise. Only Mel Parnell (123 wins) won more games in a Red Sox uniform than Lester among left-handed pitchers. Only Rogers Clemens, Tim Wakefield, and Pedro Martinez struck out more hitters with the club.

Outfielder Johnny Damon spent just four years in Boston, hitting .295/.362/.441 (111 OPS+). Damon went to two All-Star Games and was a part of the 2004 World Series-winning team.

Right-hander Mike Timlin was the only member of the group in attendance at Fenway Fest for the announcement, receiving a massive standing ovation from the crowd in attendance. Timlin spent six seasons in the Red Sox bullpen, working to a 3.76 ERA (125 ERA+) over 409.0 IP while collecting 27 saves. He was a part of the WS-winning clubs in 2004 and 2007.

The final member will be Sherm Feller, who served as Boston’s public address announcer from 1967 to 1993. Feller is this year’s non-uniform inductee.

Cleveland Guardians right-hander Carlos Hernández was involved in a serious car accident early Sunday morning outside of Bolivar (located in eastern Venezuela), according to a report from Joe Noga at Cleveland.com. Per reports, Hernández and his cousin had to “be pulled from the wreckage” and transported to a local hospital following the accident. It is unclear if other vehicles were involved.

Hernández, per Noga, fractured his left arm and right leg.

The 28-year-old has seen time in the majors with the Royals, Phillies, Tigers, and Guardians during his five-year career. Cleveland claimed him off waivers in late July, but wound up outrighting him off the 40-man roster before September. Hernández re-signed with the team on a minor league contract in November, which presumably included a spring training invitation.

Sidney de Jong, one of the most decorated players in Dutch baseball history, passed away unexpectedly earlier this week. No cause of death has been released. He was 46.

de Jong was a key member of the Netherlands’ roster for several tournaments, appearing in more than 200 games for the national team. He helped the Netherlands win four European Baseball Championships (2001, 2003, 2005, 2007), represented the country at the 2004 Olympics, and was a part of the 2006 and 2009 World Baseball Classic teams (coming off the bench to hit a key double in the 11th inning to help defeat the Dominican Republic). He retired after helping the Netherlands win a gold medal at the 2011 Baseball World Cup.

de Jong also spent six seasons playing in the Dutch Major Leagues, never posting an OPS below .812.

He held several coaching positions within the DML following his playing career and was slated to join Andruw Jones’ staff for the upcoming WBC.

MLB players don’t often garner a lot of attention for their off-field endorsement agreements. Most, in reality, go completely unnoticed by most fans of the sport. As such, even less attention is typically paid when a player ends a promotional relationship unless there is some sort of publicly controversial reason behind the separation.

Bryce Harper originally signed a deal with Under Armour in April 2011 (a month before his MLB debut). The two sides agreed to a massive ten-year contract extension in 2016 that was the largest endorsement deal for a baseball player at the time (the deal paid him $1M a year and gave him stock in the company).

It would seem that the deal has now expired without being extended. Harper posted a video to TikTok of him working out in a hitting cage, with fans quickly noticing that he was no longer wearing Under Armour shoes while doing so. Harper confirmed the end of the relationship himself in the comments, stating, “Free agency in the apparel/footwear category right now, buddy.”

Longtime Braves and Dodgers first baseman Freddie Freeman will not participate in the WBC for Team Canada, citing personal reasons. Freeman had been expected to serve as the team’s DH in the tournament.

Canada will also be without right-hander Jordan Romano. The team did receive commitments this week from right-hander Jameson Taillon, catcher Liam Hicks, and infielder Tyler Black.

Right-hander Aaron Sanchez will join Team Mexico, per reports. The 33-year-old hasn’t appeared in the Major Leagues since the 2022 season and didn’t pitch at all this past year before joining the Toros del Este in the Dominican Winter League (where he posted a 1.55 ERA over 46.1 IP and was named the DWL Pitcher of the Year).

Much was made of Tommy Edman joining Team Korea in the last WBC. Edman likely won’t participate in this year’s tournament (recovery from late-season surgery), but Team Korea is anticipating several other MLB players with Korean family ties to join the roster, including Cardinals right-hander Riley O’Brien and Tigers outfielder Jahmai Jones. Both O’Brien and Jones have mothers of Korean descent.

Details emerged in December that the Kansas City Chiefs were relocating from Missouri to a new (taxpayer-funded) facility in Kansas. Kansas lawmakers set a December 31 deadline on any negotiations involving a second stadium to accommodate the Royals. That deadline was missed, per a report from Front Office Sports’ Eric Fisher. Notably, there are no specifics about how aggressively the Royals actually pursued a move. It appears the Royals will continue to “evaluate stadium options” within Missouri in the hopes of securing a replacement to Kauffman Stadium, where the team has called home since the 1973 season.

Speaking of teams relocating, intellectual property lawyer Josh Gerben first reported news that the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has now twice refused trademark application requests from the Athletics. What is normally a pretty straightforward process — especially considering the franchise already owns the trademarks for Philadelphia Athletics, Kansas City Athletics, Oakland Athletics, and certain stylized variations of the name — has raised yet another question about John Fisher’s plan to move the club to Las Vegas. It would appear there is still time for the club to submit another application, but lawmakers may not be willing to approve it. Ultimately, it could lead to a rebranding and name change (which should have been part of the plan all along).

Hirokazu Sawamura made 104 appearances for the Red Sox between the 2021 and 2022 seasons, posting a 3.39 ERA (132 ERA+) with 101 SO over 103.2 IP. The right-hander also spent a dozen seasons pitching in the NPB (with the Yomiuri Giants before MLB and the Chiba Lotte Marines after), winning the Central League Rookie of the Year in 2011 and a Japan Series title in 2012, while working to a 2.88 ERA over 954.2 IP. Sawamura, 37, announced his retirement this week via Instagram.