6:53 PM ET Shohei Ohtani, coming off a sensational, largely unprecedented 2021 season, was crowned the American League’s Most Valuable Player unanimously on Thursday. The Los Angeles Angels‘ two-way star claimed all 30 first-place votes from the Baseball Writers’ Association of America and became the fifth unanimous MVP since 2000, joining Mike Trout (2014), Albert
MLB
6:23 PM ET Bryce Harper claimed his second Most Valuable Player Award on Thursday, edging out Juan Soto, Fernando Tatis Jr. and several others in what seemingly became a wide-open race in the National League. Harper captured 17 of the 30 first-place votes from the Baseball Writers’ Association of America. Soto (six first-place votes) and
3:20 PM ET Associated Press TORONTO — Two months with the Toronto Blue Jays was enough to make Jose Berrios change his mind about waiting one more year to reach free agency. Berrios finalized a $131 million, seven-year deal to stay with the Blue Jays on Thursday, passing up the opportunity to become a free
7:00 AM ET It was a performance unlike any we’ve witnessed in our lifetimes. Shohei Ohtani of the Los Angeles Angels — who is expected to take home the American League Most Valuable Player trophy — starred both on the mound and at the plate in 2021. As a starting pitcher, Ohtani posted a 9-2
6:56 PM ET Milwaukee Brewers ace Corbin Burnes capped an impressive breakout 2021 season by taking home the NL Cy Young Award on Wednesday, finishing ahead of finalists Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Zack Wheeler and Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Max Scherzer. Burnes narrowly beat out Wheeler for the award, earning 151 points to Wheeler’s 141. Both
3:12 PM ET Associated Press SEATTLE — The Seattle Mariners will induct Ichiro Suzuki into the team’s Hall of Fame during the 2022 season, the club announced Wednesday. Suzuki will be honored on Aug. 27 when Seattle faces Cleveland. “Mariners fans were fortunate to have watched Ichiro Suzuki perform his magic at the plate and
7:00 AM ET We’ve been heading in this direction over the past decade, but it’s now official: The Most Valuable Player Award has become, to the delight of analytics aficionados across baseball land, the best player in the league award. Traditionally, the writers based MVP honors on some sort of undefined fusion of on-field performance
7:03 PM ET Kevin Cash, who led the cash-strapped Tampa Bay Rays to a second consecutive division title, captured his second consecutive American League Manager of the Year Award on Tuesday. Cash captured 19 of 30 first-place votes from the Baseball Writers’ Association of America. Scott Servais of the Seattle Mariners (five), Charlie Montoyo of
10:24 AM ET Jeff PassanESPN Close ESPN MLB insiderAuthor of “The Arm: Inside the Billion-Dollar Mystery of the Most Valuable Commodity in Sports” Right-hander Noah Syndergaard and the Los Angeles Angels have agreed to a one-year, $21 million deal, pending a physical, sources told ESPN on Tuesday. Syndergaard, 29, spent the first seven seasons of
6:49 PM ET Last year’s breakout postseason star is this year’s American League Rookie of the Year as Tampa Bay Rays outfielder Randy Arozarena took home the honors on Monday while beating out teammate Wander Franco and right-handed starter Luis Garcia of the Houston Astros. Arozarena received 124 points in the voting by baseball writers,
6:21 PM ET Cincinnati Reds second baseman Jonathan India has been named the National League Rookie of the Year, the Baseball Writers’ Association of America announced on Monday. India, 24, appeared in 150 games, compiling an .835 OPS that included 21 home runs. He led all rookies in walks and hit-by-pitches, leading to a .376
9:00 AM ET Former Boston Red Sox left-hander Eduardo Rodriguez and the Detroit Tigers are in agreement on a five-year deal worth $77 million, sources confirmed to ESPN. Rodriguez, 28, went 13-8 with a 4.74 ERA last season with the Red Sox after missing all of 2020 because of coronavirus-related myocarditis. 1 Related Rodriguez was
12:08 AM ET Associated Press TOKYO — Even Shohei Ohtani, arguably the best player in the major leagues, feels down at times, particularly when his team isn’t winning. And that has been the case during each of the four seasons he’s been with the Los Angeles Angels, all of which have ended with losing records.
8:53 PM ET Associated Press MIAMI — The Miami Marlins acquired right-hander Louis Head from the Tampa Bay Rays on Sunday for either a player to be named later or cash. Head made 27 appearances for the Rays this past season, two of them starts. He was 2-0 with a 2.31 ERA in 35 innings,
9:02 PM ET Associated Press DENVER — Right-hander Jhoulys Chacín is staying with the Colorado Rockies, agreeing Saturday to a guaranteed $1.25 million, one-year contract that allows him to earn an additional $500,000 in performance bonuses. The 33-year-old was 3-2 with a 4.34 ERA in a career-high 45 relief appearances and one start for Colorado,
5:54 PM ET Associated Press MILWAUKEE — The Milwaukee Brewers acquired infielder Mike Brosseau from the Tampa Bay Rays for minor league pitcher Evan Reifert on Saturday in a trade between division winners. Brosseau slumped this season after hitting a huge home run for Tampa Bay in the 2020 playoffs. His tiebreaking drive in the
6:28 PM ET Associated Press LOS ANGELES — Andrew Heaney is eager to bounce back from a rough season. The Los Angeles Dodgers believe he can too, with some adjustments. The free agent left-hander signed an $8.5 million, one-year deal this week that brings him back to Southern California, where he pitched for the Angels
1:31 PM ET Brent Strom is joining the Arizona Diamondbacks as their new pitching coach, he told the Houston Chronicle on Friday. Strom, 73, had served as the Houston Astros‘ pitching coach since 2014 before saying he was leaving the team following its World Series run last season. He told the Chronicle that he wanted