MLB

7:00 AM ET Welcome to MLB Opening Day 2023! After one of the most exciting preludes to a regular season in recent memory — from offseason chaos to players (and fans) learning baseball’s new rules and enjoying shorter, faster paced games to an epic World Baseball Classic — it’s time to play ball. All 30

10:22 PM ET Jeff PassanESPN Close ESPN MLB insiderAuthor of “The Arm: Inside the Billion-Dollar Mystery of the Most Valuable Commodity in Sports” Minor league baseball players and Major League Baseball struck a tentative deal Wednesday on the first collective-bargaining agreement between the sides that will more than double player pay, sources familiar with the

8:52 PM ET Associated Press CHICAGO — All-Star outfielder Ian Happ appears poised to enter the season with an expiring contract after he and the Chicago Cubs were unable to agree on a new deal. Happ said Wednesday he had “nothing really to report” and “no real comment on it.” He said he is not

7:00 AM ET It’s opening week, and you know what that means — season predictions! There are lots of questions going into the 2023 season: What does Year 2 of MLB’s expanded playoffs have to offer? How will rule changes play out over the season? Is this the year your favorite team will make a

2:02 PM ET Jeff PassanESPN Close ESPN MLB insiderAuthor of “The Arm: Inside the Billion-Dollar Mystery of the Most Valuable Commodity in Sports” Second baseman Andrés Giménez and the Cleveland Guardians are in agreement on a seven-year, $106.5 million contract extension that includes an eighth-year club option, sources told ESPN, locking up the biggest breakout

7:40 AM ET ESPN News Services Shohei Ohtani is expected to make a Major League Baseball-record $65 million for the 2023 season including endorsements, according to an annual list published Monday by Forbes, making the Los Angeles Angels‘ two-way standout the highest-paid player in the sport. The amount includes the one-year, $30 million contract extension

7:00 AM ET MLB Opening Week is here — and if you blinked this offseason, you missed a lot. With some of the game’s most recognizable faces in new places, it’s time to reset the rankings for 2023. Will newcomer Xander Bogaerts, plus a full year from Juan Soto and the return of Fernando Tatis

1:02 AM ET Associated Press SAN FRANCISCO — Sergio Romo retired as a San Francisco Giant just the way he wanted, pitching one final time for the team he helped to win three World Series championships and then calling it a career Monday night. In a moment more special than he could have possibly imagined,

7:14 PM ET Associated Press DUNEDIN, Fla. — Philadelphia Phillies catcher J.T. Realmuto was ejected Monday from a spring training game against the Toronto Blue Jays for an awkward ball exchange that followed a pitch-clock violation. Plate umpire Randy Rosenberg had just finished calling a ball on Phillies pitcher Craig Kimbrel for taking too long

7:00 AM ET The opening week of the 2023 MLB season is just four days away following a baseball offseason that was, in a word, chaotic. Not long after the Houston Astros were done celebrating their 2022 World Series title, the hot stove season heated up and provided a little bit of everything — from

6:55 PM ET ESPN News Services An MRI on Tampa Bay shortstop Wander Franco‘s right quad Sunday returned “favorable” results, Rays manager Kevin Cash told the Tampa Bay Times. Tampa Bay remains optimistic that Franco will play Thursday, when the Rays open the regular season against the Detroit Tigers. Franco, 22, hit .277 with six

5:11 PM ET Jeff PassanESPN Close ESPN MLB insiderAuthor of “The Arm: Inside the Billion-Dollar Mystery of the Most Valuable Commodity in Sports” Top prospect Anthony Volpe will start at shortstop for the New York Yankees after an undeniable spring training performance vaulted him to the coveted job, the team announced Sunday. Volpe, 21, will

8:00 AM ET The Philadelphia Phillies and ace pitcher Aaron Nola have broken off talks on a contract extension, tabling the negotiations until after the season. Nola, who is entering the final year of his existing deal with the Phillies, told reporters Saturday that he wants to focus on the upcoming season. “Sometimes it comes

9:52 PM ET Associated Press Jordan Walker has made enough of an impression this spring to earn the 20-year-old outfielder a spot on the St. Louis Cardinals‘ season-opening roster. The Cardinals announced that Walker and infielder Taylor Motter had made the 26-man roster to start the season. The Cardinals optioned left-handed pitchers Génesis Cabrera and

11:52 AM ET ESPN News Services Philadelphia Phillies president Dave Dombrowski on Friday said “it’s clear” that first baseman Rhys Hoskins has a torn left ACL and is expected to be out for the season, but that the slugger will seek a second opinion. “He will need to have surgery,” Dombrowski told reporters. “I would

11:09 AM ET ESPN News Services New York Yankees right-hander Luis Severino again is dealing with what is being described as a low-grade right lat strain and will likely start the season on the injured list, manager Aaron Boone told reporters Saturday. Severino was scratched from his final spring training start and will miss at

7:41 PM ET Associated Press TEMPE, Ariz. — It was back to business as usual for Shohei Ohtani on Friday. The two-way star returned to Los Angeles Angels camp after his MVP performance in the World Baseball Classic. Three days after striking out Mike Trout to clinch the WBC title for Japan against the United

7:00 AM ET Can a change of scenery fix new Chicago Cubs center fielder Cody Bellinger? Winner of the National League MVP Award in 2019, Bellinger has been on a downward spiral at the plate ever since. It led to him being released by the Los Angeles Dodgers in December and eventually signed by the