The Galaxy traded MLS Cup Final MVP Gastón Brugman to Nashville on Thursday, just 12 days after the Uruguayan midfielder led the club to their record sixth league championship.

The Galaxy acquired midfielder Sean Davis from Nashville, which will retain a portion of Davis’ salary budget charge for next year.

Brugman was named the MVP of MLS’ championship match for his splendid performance filling in for injured star Riqui Puig in the Galaxy’s 2-1 victory over the New York Red Bulls on Dec. 7. Brugman commanded the game from midfield, and he set up the Galaxy’s first goal with a superb long pass to Joseph Paintsil.

But before his dramatic return to a major role in the title match, Brugman had played a diminished role under coach Greg Vanney. Brugman began the season as a starter in midfield, but the Galaxy had used him mostly as a substitute since midseason.

The 32-year-old Brugman had no goals and five assists for the Galaxy last season, his third with the club. He recorded six goals and 10 assists in 71 career appearances for the Galaxy, making 55 starts and regularly struggling with injuries.

“To maintain a championship-caliber roster in Major League Soccer, teams are often forced to make difficult contractual decisions, and today’s trade is evidence of that” Galaxy general manager Will Kuntz said in a statement. “Gastón is a fierce competitor, an incredible teammate, and an even better person. He made countless contributions to the Galaxy on the field and in the locker room during his time with the club, and none was more important than his 2024 MLS Cup MVP performance earlier this month.”

Davis has five goals and 27 assists in 263 career MLS appearances for the Red Bulls and Nashville. He had one assist in 25 matches last season.

NHL

Troy Terry scored with 24 seconds left as the Ducks rallied to beat the NHL-leading Winnipeg HJets 3-2 on Wednesday night in Anaheim.

Frank Vatrano scored his second goal with 4:46 left for the Ducks, who have won back-to-back games for the first time since Nov. 19. The Ducks won in regulation for the first time in three weeks.

Lukas Dostal stopped 21 shots for the Ducks.

Gabriel Vilardi and Mark Scheifele scored for the Jets, who had won five of seven. Eric Comrie made 28 saves, but the seldom-used backup goalie remained winless in six starts since Nov. 1.

Vatrano tied it when his long shot banked off the skate of Vladislav Namestnikov and beat Comrie.

MLB

Sammy Sosa appeared to acknowledge using performance enhancing drugs during a career in which he hit more than 600 home runs, and the Chicago Cubs said they were ready to welcome back their former star.

In a statement released Thursday through Aurora Global Consulting, Sosa said he is sorry for mistakes.

“There were times I did whatever I could to recover from injuries in an effort to keep my strength up to perform over 162 games,” he said. “I never broke any laws. But in hindsight, I made mistakes and I apologize.”

Cubs chairman Tom Ricketts said the team is “ready to move forward together” with Sosa and plans to invite Sosa to the annual fan convention Jan. 17-19 in Chicago.

“We appreciate Sammy releasing his statement and for reaching out,” Ricketts said. “No one played harder or wanted to win more. Nobody’s perfect but we never doubted his passion for the game and the Cubs. It is an understatement to say that Sammy is a fan favorite.”

Sosa, the franchise’s record-holder with 545 home runs, was traded to Baltimore after he showed up late for the 2004 finale at Wrigley Field and left early.

Sosa, Barry Bonds and Mark McGwire, all tainted by allegations of performance-enhancing drugs use, fell well short of Hall of Fame election in 2022 on their 10th and final appearance on the Baseball Writers’ Association of America ballot.

Sosa received a high of 18.5% support in his final appearance, less than a quarter of the 75% needed. His next chance for consideration would be if he is placed on the ballot for the contemporary player committee, which meets next December.

Now 56, Sosa was a seven-time All-Star and the 1998 NL MVP for the Cubs. He hit .273 with 609 home runs — currently ninth on the career list — with 1,667 RBIs and 234 stolen bases in 18 major league seasons from 1989 to 2007 with Texas (1989, 2007), the Chicago White Sox (1989-91), the Cubs (1992-04) and Baltimore (2005).

During congressional testimony in 2005, Sosa denied using performance-enhancing drugs.

“We accomplished great things as a team, and I worked extremely hard in the batting cage to become a great hitter,” Sosa said in his statement. “Cubs’ fans are the best in the world, and I hope that fans, the Cubs and I can all come together again and move forward. We can’t change the past, but the future is bright. In my heart, I have always been a Cub, and I can’t wait to see Cubs fans again.”

Right-hander Michael Soroka agreed to a $9 million contract for the 2025 season with the Washington Nationals, who are in need of pitching as their rebuild continues and hope the 2019 NL All-Star can show the form he displayed before a pair of significant leg injuries.

The 27-year-old Soroka went 0-10 with a 4.74 ERA in 79 2/3 innings across 25 appearances for the Chicago White Sox last season, including nine starts.

OBITUARY

Fred Lorenzen, a NASCAR Hall of Famer and the 1965 Daytona 500 champion, died Wednesday. He was 89. A cause of death wasn’t given.

One of NASCAR’s first superstars, Lorenzen was known as the “Golden Boy” for his rugged, movie-star looks. He won 26 career Cup races and made starts in 12 seasons from 1956 to 1972.

In 1964, Lorenzen entered 16 of the scheduled 62 races and won eight, including five consecutive starts. During that stretch, Lorenzen led 1,679 of the possible 1,953 laps, one of the more dominant stretches in NASCAR history.

He was the first driver in NASCAR to earn more than $100,000 in a single season, which he did in 1963.