9:31 PM ET Welcome to checkbook baseball. When it’s your team signing the checks, it can be lots of fun! The Texas Rangers and Jacob deGrom always made a lot of sense. The Rangers are desperate for starting pitching. They’re in win-now mode after signing Corey Seager and Marcus Semien last year and hiring three-time
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7:00 AM ET Bradford Doolittle Close ESPN Staff Writer Sports reporter, Kansas City Star, 2002-09 Writer, Baseball, Baseball Prospectus Co-author, Pro Basketball Prospectus Member, Baseball Writers Association of America Member, Professional Basketball Writers Association David Schoenfield Close ESPN Senior Writer Covers MLB for ESPN.com Former deputy editor of Page 2 Been with ESPN.com since 1995
11:11 PM ET Associated Press ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — The Tampa Bay Rays are relocating their spring base for 2023 due to extensive damage to team training facilities caused by Hurricane Ian. The Rays have trained since 2009 in Port Charlotte, Florida, about 90 minutes south of St. Petersburg, and intend to explore several options
5:00 PM ET In 1974, in Cleveland second baseman Duane Kuiper’s first month in the major leagues, he started for the first time behind veteran star pitcher Gaylord Perry. Seconds before Kuiper ran to his position to begin the game, Perry looked at him and said, “If you make an error behind me today, you’ll
7:00 AM ET There are a number of reasons Trea Turner is poised to get one of the biggest contracts in free agency this winter, with a chance to crack $300 million. He is instantly recognizable for his trademark slide. He won a World Series ring in 2019 with the Washington Nationals and his Los
1:19 AM ET Associated Press NEW YORK — Former major league outfielder Yasiel Puig has decided to withdraw his agreement to plead guilty to a charge of lying to federal agents investigating an illegal gambling operation. Puig is changing his plea to not guilty because of “significant new evidence,” according to a statement Wednesday from
7:00 AM ET Jeff PassanESPN Close ESPN MLB insiderAuthor of “The Arm: Inside the Billion-Dollar Mystery of the Most Valuable Commodity in Sports” Just one year and one day ago, the wildest 24 hours in the history of baseball free agency unfolded. With the inevitability of a lockout by the league placing an artificial deadline
7:00 AM ET Nearly a month into the MLB offseason, we’re still awaiting the first big splash. While we wait for the movement to pick up entering next week’s winter meetings in San Diego, we asked a panel of experts to weigh in on what they think the rest of the offseason will bring. Where
7:24 PM ET Associated Press SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — The Major League Baseball Players Association has voted to extend the contract of executive director Tony Clark through 2027. The 50-year-old Clark — who had a 15-year big league career, mostly with the Detroit Tigers and Arizona Diamondbacks — helped broker the players’ current labor deal with
4:06 PM ET Associated Press HOUSTON — Jose Abreu has spent his entire nine-year MLB career with the Chicago White Sox, but Astros owner Jim Crane isn’t worried about how the newly signed first baseman will fit in with his teammates in Houston. “Jose pulled out his phone last night and had the phone numbers
7:00 AM ET There isn’t really such thing as a perfect offseason. A front office can dream of all the right moves to fill holes with the players at the top of its most wanted list. You might even have an owner with an open checkbook. But things rarely line up in exactly the right
8:56 PM ET Associated Press ANAHEIM, Calif. — Shohei Ohtani has been voted the majors’ best designated hitter for the second consecutive season. The Los Angeles Angels‘ two-way slugger won the Edgar Martinez Outstanding Designated Hitter Award on Monday, beating out Houston’s Yordan Alvarez as the top player at the position in 2022. Ohtani, who
8:05 PM ET Associated Press MINNEAPOLIS — Minnesota Twins owner Jim Pohlad has handed day-to-day operations of the club to his nephew Joe Pohlad, the third generation of family leadership of the franchise. Jim Pohlad announced the transition in a letter to staff on Monday that was made public by the Twins. He said he
7:00 AM ET With all the speculation about where Aaron Judge will sign, what about the question of where he should sign? The question is complicated. First of all, there is only one opinion that ultimately matters: Judge’s. To apply our own factors is to make wild assumptions about his decision-making process. But, hey, it’s
3:53 PM ET CHICAGO — Free agent pitcher Mike Clevinger is in agreement with the Chicago White Sox on a contract for the 2023 season, sources told ESPN on Sunday. Clevinger, 31, was 7-7 with a 4.33 ERA last season pitching for the San Diego Padres. He also threw 2⅔ innings in the playoffs, giving
7:42 PM ET Jeff PassanESPN Close ESPN MLB insiderAuthor of “The Arm: Inside the Billion-Dollar Mystery of the Most Valuable Commodity in Sports” First baseman Carlos Santana and the Pittsburgh Pirates are in agreement on a one-year, $6.7 million contract, pending the results of a physical, sources familiar with the deal told ESPN. Santana, 36,
Nov 22, 2022 Associated Press NEW YORK — Houston Astros ace Justin Verlander and St. Louis Cardinals slugger Albert Pujols won baseball’s Comeback Player of the Year awards Tuesday night. Verlander, the American League recipient, returned from Tommy John surgery to lead Houston to its second World Series championship. He had the lowest ERA in
5:31 PM ET Philadelphia Phillies slugger Bryce Harper had Tommy John surgery on his right elbow Wednesday, according to the team. The procedure was performed by Dr. Neal ElAttrache in Los Angeles. The Phillies said Harper is expected to return as a hitter only by the All-Star break and could return to playing right field