IN BRIEF
Odorizzi signs minor league deal to rejoin Rays
PORT CHARLOTTE, Fla. – Right-hander Jake Odorizzi is rejoining the Tampa Bay Rays on a minor league contract with an invitation to major league spring training.
The team announced the signing Friday.
The 33-year-old who missed all of 2023 after undergoing shoulder surgery last April has pitched for five teams – the Rays, Kansas City Royals, Minnesota Twins, Houston Astros and Atlanta
Braves – over portions of 11 seasons.
Real Madrid to face Man City in Champions League quarterfinals
NYON, Switzerland – Real Madrid and Manchester City are squaring off in the Champions League for the third year in a row.
The winners of the last two Champions League titles will meet in the quarterfinals this time after Friday’s draw set up another heavyweight clash between the only two teams who are still unbeaten in this season’s competition.
They played each other in the semifinals the previous two years, with Madrid emerging victorious in 2022 while City beat the Spanish giant last year and went on to capture its first European Cup trophy.
Kylian Mbappé’s path to a first Champions League title with Paris Saint-Germain in his farewell season there will next go through Barcelona.
Chargers trade Pro Bowl WR to Bears
The Los Angeles Chargers are going to have a new wide receiving core this season.
A day after the Chargers released wide receiver Mike Williams, the team decided to ship star wideout Keenan Allen to the Chicago Bears in exchange for a fourthround pick, a person familiar with the situation told USA TODAY Sports. They spoke on condition of anonymity because they aren’t authorized to discuss the deal.
Allen was coming off a Chargers franchise single-season high 108 receptions last season and has been star quarterback Justin Herbert’s favorite target ever since he entered the league out of Oregon in the 2020 NFL draft.
The Chargers own the No. 5 overall pick in the 2024 draft and now could target a one of the top wide receiver prospects.
— Wire Reports