Baseball

3:24 PM PT -- MLB commissioner Robert Manfred released a statement on the passing of Dotel, Nelson Cruz's sister, Nelsy, and former pro Tony Blanco ... saying, "We send our heartfelt condolences to the families and friends of all those who have been affected and to our colleague Nelson and his entire family."

"The connection between baseball and the Dominican Republic runs deep, and we are thinking of all the Dominican players and fans across the game today."

The New York Mets paid tribute to former player Octavio Dotel on Tuesday ... hours after a nightclub roof collapsed and killed the World Series champion in the Dominican Republic.

Prior to the team's game against the Miami Marlins, the Metropolitans held a moment of silence for Dotel, who made his Major League debut with the squad in June 1999.

Beyond the moment of silence, team manager Carlos Mendoza addressed the tragic event in his pre-game press conference.

10:39 AM PT -- MLB insider Héctor Gómez is now reporting Octavio Dotel has died.

The former pitcher, according to the reporter, passed away while he was being transported from the nightclub rubble to the hospital.

Dotel was just 51 years old.

7:23 AM PT -- Octavio Dotel has been rescued from the rubble ... MLB insider Héctor Gómez reported Tuesday morning.

Former MLB star relief pitcher Octavio Dotel was inside a Dominican Republic nightclub Monday night when its roof suddenly collapsed ... though, thankfully, he's reportedly still alive.

According to MLB insider Héctor Gómez, Dotel -- who logged 36 saves for the Astros and A's in 2004 -- was partying at Jet Set in Santo Domingo, when its roof caved in.

Tigers Assistant General Manager Sam Menzin quit his job with the ball club last Thursday ... just as the Tigers were about to fire the front office executive amid an investigation into claims he sent lewd photos to female staffers.

According to The Athletic ... they spoke with three women who claimed they received unsolicited photos of the now 34-year-old's genitals dating back to as early as 2017. Two of them worked for the MLB team, while the other worked in baseball, but not for the Motor City squad.

The pictures were allegedly sent via Snapchat -- which automatically deletes images after they're seen.

The Dodgers visited the White House on Monday, but it was Donald Trump who appeared to be the most awestruck person in the building ... as he fanboyed out over Shohei Ohtani.

The L.A. slugger and the rest of the Boys in Blue cruised out to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue just a few hours before their game with the Nationals to celebrate their 2024 World Series title ... and Trump was clearly enamored with the team's Japanese two-way player.

Trump called Shohei out by name during his speech about the Dodgers' big year ... praising him for his one-of-a-kind 50-50 season.

Boston Red Sox star outfielder Jarren Duran is opening up on the serious mental struggles he faced early in his career ... revealing it got so dark for him, he attempted suicide during the 2022 season.

Duran's battle with depression is documented on the new Netflix show, "The Clubhouse: A Year With the Red Sox" ... and in the fourth episode, the 28-year-old explained while he was facing criticism from spectators over his play on the field, he was even harder on himself.

"I was already hearing it from fans," Duran said on the show. "And what they said to me, [it was like], 'I've told myself 10 times worse in the mirror.' That was a really tough time for me. I didn't even want to be here anymore ...."

The NY Yankees were in action Thursday night against the Arizona Diamondbacks ... but some fans got some practice for when their former superstar rolls into the Bronx with his new Mets team -- with a loud "F*** Juan Soto" chant breaking out in the middle of the game!

During Jazz Chisholm's at-bat in the eighth inning, fans were heard voicing their disdain for the Bronx Bombers' former right fielder, three months after he signed the biggest deal in professional sports history.

Yankee fans haven't been shy about expressing their dislike for rival players in years past ... "F*** [Jose] Altuve" is a common refrain at the stadium.

The Shohei Ohtani MVP bobblehead night turned into a money-making opportunity for some Dodger fans ... with folks who got lucky enough to get rare versions of the giveaway going to online sellers for a quick payday!!

Tons of bobbleheads were handed out at Dodger Stadium on Wednesday ... and out of the tens of thousands of mini Shoheis, some special edition copies that featured a silver bat and MVP plaque were randomly scattered throughout the batch.

A few of those highly coveted bobbles have now made it to eBay ... and they ain't going for cheap.

Brett Gardner's 14-year-old son, Miller, tragically died from carbon monoxide poisoning.

Costa Rican officials confirmed the cause of death after they said toxicology results showed the teen had a carboxyhemoglobin saturation of 64 percent ... well above the 50 percent threshold that's considered lethal.

Costa Rica's director of the Judicial Investigation Agency, Randall Zúñiga, stated the young Gardner likely came into contact with the gas through a machine room that was situated next to where the Gardners were staying while on vacation.

The Los Angeles Dodgers are set to honor Shohei Ohtani's 2024 MVP win with a stadium-wide bobblehead giveaway ... and fans are eager to get their mitts on one -- as lines began forming outside the venue hours before first pitch!!

Videos from the scene showcase the diehards' patience ahead of the team's series finale against the Atlanta Braves. While everyone in attendance is supposed to take home a bobblehead, people seemingly aren't willing to risk it.

It's not the first time an Ohtani giveaway drew amusement park-esque queues -- a giveaway last season featuring his pup, Decoy, had folks lining up over eight hours early for the item.

A piece of Major League Baseball history is up for grabs -- the baseball from the final out of the 2024 World Series ... and it may be a long time before an item like this hits the open market again!!

Harlan Werner -- the CEO of the Memorabilia Network -- gave TMZ Sports an up-close look at the special item before bidding goes live on April 5 ... and he explained why similar balls hardly come around.

"To say that someone's not going to have an opportunity to buy the last out of the World Series, I believe will not happen again in my lifetime," he said. "Either the team is going to keep it, or it's just not going to happen. This is a very, very, very unique situation."

Drake's now apparently a Rangers supporter ... but, sorry Corey Seager and Jacob deGrom, it seems like the newfound fandom has little to do with the actual baseball diamond.

Check out a selfie the "God's Plan" artist posted Tuesday afternoon -- it shows he's, indeed, now backing the Rangers ... but take a closer look, it appears he's into them because of a silly misprint on one of their new hats.

The New Era Overlap 5950 collection cap, of course, went viral earlier this year ... when fans noted the way the Rangers' logo was superimposed over the word "Texas" spelled out a Spanish vulgarity for a woman's breasts.

1:51 PM PT -- The resort is now saying the initial report of high levels of carbon monoxide in the Gardners's room was inaccurate ... as that was only the case in the "mechanical room" that is not available to guests.

"The levels in the hotel room were non-existent and non-lethal," the resort said in a statement to TMZ Sports.

The Costa Rican hotel where Brett Gardner's family vacationed is taking precautions amid the investigation into Miller's death ... with officials telling TMZ Sports it has blocked off their room from the public as officials look into whether carbon monoxide played a factor in the tragedy.

Judicial Investigation Agency (OIJ) director Rándall Zúñiga revealed in a press conference that high levels of carbon monoxide were detected in the Arenas Del Mar Beachfront & Rainforest resort room the Gardners reserved during their trip ... and noted a "specialized machine room" was located next to their reserved space, which could have led to contamination.

The resort tells us it will continue to cooperate with the investigation ... but "out of an abundance of caution, the room in question has been blocked until further notice."

Brett Gardner's 14-year-old son Miller may have died from carbon monoxide poisoning, Costa Rica's Judicial Investigation Agency (OIJ) announced Monday.

OIJ Director Rándall Zúñiga revealed via a press briefing high levels of carbon monoxide were detected in the Gardner family's hotel room at the Arenas Del Mar Beachfront & Rainforest Resort in Manuel Antonio.

Zúñiga also noted in his native Spanish language that the family's room was located next to "a specialized machine room" which may have caused the contamination ... leading Miller to inhale a fatal amount of "these highly dangerous gases."

Yankees catcher J.C. Escarra clearly thinks those barking about New York's new torpedo bats should pipe down ... telling TMZ Sports, "at the end of the day, you still have to swing the bat and hit the ball in the barrel."

The Bronx Bombers, of course, set the baseball world on fire this weekend after they debuted some wonky-looking bats in their series with the Milwaukee Brewers ... and then proceeded to hit a bunch of home runs with them in a three-game sweep.

Critics of the Pinstripes took to their social media pages to blast the MLB for allowing the Yankees to alter their lumber -- with many claiming Rob Manfred and co. let it all slide 'cause NY is the league's most popular team.

Jurickson Profar is four games into his three-year $42 million deal with the Atlanta Braves ... but the team will now be without him for the foreseeable future -- he was just suspended 80 games for violating MLB's performance-enhancing drug policy.

Major League Baseball made the announcement Monday afternoon, saying the 32-year-old tested positive for Human Chorionic Gonadotropin (hCG), the same drug Manny Ramirez was popped for back in 2009.

"I want to apologize to the entire Braves organization, my teammates, and the fans," Profar said. "It is because of my deep love and respect for this game that I would never knowingly do anything to cheat."