NEW YORK >> After 42 seasons, Bob Costas is retiring from baseball play-by-play.

Costas had done games the past couple seasons for MLB Network and TBS Sports. His final games were the American League Division Series between the New York Yankees and Kansas City Royals.

Costas’ contract with TBS expired at the end of the season, but his plans to retire from baseball play-by-play had been in the works for over a year.

The Athletic was the first to report on Costas’ baseball play-by-play retirement. Costas plans to address his decision at a future date.

Baseball has always been Costas’ favorite sport. He called games on NBC from 1982-89 and again from 1994-2000. He was one of the announcers for the 1995 World Series and then the main play-by-play voice for the Fall Classic in 1997 and ’99.

He joined TBS in 2021 to serve as studio host for its coverage of the National League Championship Series and then called games the past three seasons. TBS has had a package of Tuesday night regular-season games to go with its postseason coverage since 2022.

Costas had also done games on MLB Network since its start in 2009. He will continue to do work for the network on key events, including the Baseball Hall of Fame announcement.

Soto, Burnes, Buehler, Fried among 136 who become free agents>> Outfielder Juan Soto, pitchers Corbin Burnes, Walker Buehler and Max Fried and first baseman Pete Alonso were among 136 players who became free agents Thursday morning.

Third baseman Alex Bregman, outfielder Anthony Santander and shortstop Willy Adames also went free.

There were 64 more players with pending option decisions who could become free agents by Monday, the fifth day after the World Series.

Teams and players can start discussing contract terms at 5:01 p.m. EST on Monday, after the deadline for teams to make $21.05 million qualifying offers to eligible free agents.

Pitcher Justin Verlander became a free agent after he failed to pitch 140 innings this year, the amount that would have triggered his ability to exercise a $35 million conditional player option.

If he had exercised the option, the New York Mets would have been obligated to give an additional $17.5 million to Houston as part of last year’s trade that sent the three-time Cy Young Award winner back to the Astros.

St. Louis declined options on three right-handed pitchers, Kyle Gibson ($12 million), Lance Lynn ($10 million) and Keynan Middleton ($6 million). Each gets a $1 million buyout.

Boston pitcher Lucas Giolito exercised a $19 million player option rather than take a $1 million buyout.

Milwaukee said a $12 million mutual option had been declined on pitcher Wade Miley, who is recovering from Tommy John surgery.

City approves $6.5M to clean up Rays stadium after Hurricane Milton>> The city of St. Petersburg will spend about $6.5 million to clean up and guard against any further harm to Tropicana Field, the home of baseball’s Tampa Bay Rays that was heavily damaged by Hurricane Milton.

The translucent fiberglass dome of the ballpark was shredded by the storm Oct. 9, leaving in doubt whether it can be repaired in time to open the 2025 season. Major League Baseball wants the Rays to play home games in the area if the ballpark isn’t ready, probably at one of several local spring training sites.

The St. Petersburg City Council voted Thursday to approve two contracts with firms to clear the pieces of roof that litter the ballpark, remove damaged turf and waterproof numerous areas including the scoreboard, seating areas, suites and the press box, according to city documents. The ballpark does not have a drainage system and could sustain additional damage throughout the structure from rain without its roof.

“We need to act quickly to protect the building from further damage,” said Rob Gerdes, the city administrator.

An ongoing analysis will determine what it will take to fully repair the Trop, as it’s known locally. A complicating factor is the city’s plan to construct a new $1.3 billion ballpark that would open in 2028, part of a much larger urban revitalization project that was approved earlier this year.

Angels acquire slugger Soler from Braves for starting pitcher Canning>> The Los Angeles Angels acquired outfielder and designated hitter Jorge Soler from the Atlanta Braves in a trade for right-hander Griffin Canning on Thursday.

Soler has been a productive power hitter for five teams over the previous 11 major league seasons. The Cuban slugger was the MVP of the 2021 World Series with Atlanta, and he also won a ring with the Chicago Cubs in 2016.