MLB

2:15 PM ET NORTH PORT, Fla. — The player who will fill the position left behind by Freddie Freeman walked into the Atlanta Braves‘ clubhouse for the first time today. Matt Olson entered the building carrying an Oakland Athletics equipment bag that clashed with the colors of the room, then shook hands with Ronald Acuna

12:43 AM ET Nelson Cruz going to the Washington Nationals on a one-year, $15 million contract is a bit of a surprising twist after rumors throughout Sunday that his likely destination was the Los Angeles Dodgers or the San Diego Padres, so the signing leads to two questions: 1. What do the Nationals, a team

6:44 PM ET NORTH PORT, Fla. — Not long before Braves manager Brian Snitker hosted the first team meeting of spring training Monday morning, he texted Freddie Freeman, who was on the other side of the country. Snitker mentioned that he was about to talk to the players, joking that Freddie still had a few

4:00 PM ET The trade: Braves acquire 1B Matt Olson from the A’s for CF Cristian Pache, C Shea Langeliers, RHP Ryan Cusick and RHP Joey Estes Baseball is designed to break your heart, former commissioner A. Bartlett Giamatti once wrote. Indeed, our favorite players get old, they get waived, they get traded — and

7:30 AM ET The trade: The New York Yankees acquire 3B Josh Donaldson, IF Isiah Kiner-Falefa and C Ben Rortvedt from the Minnesota Twins for C Gary Sanchez and IF Gio Urshela. Maybe Sunday’s late-night trade between the Yankees and Twins isn’t going to knock March Madness brackets and the return of Tom Brady from

12:29 AM ET ESPN News Services VENICE, Fla. — Atlanta Braves manager Brian Snitker held court in front of a “2021 World Champions” banner, peaking occasionally at the nearby bullpen, where World Series hero Charlie Morton threw a side session. Around the corner, Ronald Acuna Jr. and Cristian Pache pulled up in matching, glitzy-gold SUVs

5:00 PM ET The trade: The Minnesota Twins acquire RHP Sonny Gray from the Cincinnati Reds for RHPs Francis Peguero and Chase Petty On Sunday, a trade was completed between a club that finished in the cellar last season (Minnesota) and a team that finished over .500 but just outside of the wild-card chase (Cincinnati).

10:51 PM ET ESPN News Services CHICAGO — The White Sox filled a hole at second base, agreeing to a deal with two-time All-Star Josh Harrison on Saturday. MSM Sports, which represents Harrison, tweeted the agreement. The deal is pending a physical. Harrison, 34, has played second base, third base, shortstop and all outfield positions

8:15 PM ET The trade: The New York Mets acquire RHP Chris Bassitt from the Oakland Athletics for RHPs J.T. Ginn and Adam Oller With Carlos Rodon, Clayton Kershaw and Yusei Kikuchi off the free-agent market and Zack Greinke now the best remaining starting pitcher, the Mets moved to the trade market to add depth

7:00 AM ET Last winter, Steve Cohen’s shopping spree was frantic and expensive – and even the lockout didn’t stop it. The New York Mets owner grabbed a general manager (Billy Eppler), the most expensive starting pitcher ever (Max Scherzer, for a record annual salary of $43.3 million), a center fielder (Starling Marte), a third

5:30 PM ET As they look to defend their National League West crown, the San Francisco Giants made the first big splash in the post-lockout free-agent frenzy. ESPN’s Jeff Passan reported Friday that left-handed starter Carlos Rodon has agreed to a two-year, $44 million deal with the Giants that includes an opt-out clause after 2022.

7:00 AM ET Welcome to Fast and Furious 10: Free Agent Frenzy. It’s going to be a wild rush to Opening Day as the remaining free agents find a place to play as spring training camps open — and while there was a wave of signings before the lockout began Dec. 10 of Kiley McDaniel’s

7:00 AM ET Hours after coming to an agreement with the Major League Baseball Players’ Association on a new collective bargaining agreement, and shortly before the owners ratified the deal with a 30-0 vote, Major League Baseball commissioner Rob Manfred spoke with ESPN’ MLB reporter Jesse Rogers about the process — and where baseball goes

3:20 PM ET The MLB lockout is over. It took more than three months — and multiple deadlines for delaying the regular season — before Major League Baseball and the MLB Players Association ended their stalemate and came to terms on a new collective bargaining agreement. So how did finally reaching a deal go down?

3:26 PM ET Jeff PassanESPN Close ESPN MLB insiderAuthor of “The Arm: Inside the Billion-Dollar Mystery of the Most Valuable Commodity in Sports” Major League Baseball and the MLB Players Association reached a tentative agreement on a new collective-bargaining agreement Thursday, ending the league’s 99-day lockout of the players and salvaging a 162-game season, sources

1:23 PM ET Alden Gonzalez Close ESPN Staff Writer ESPN baseball reporter. Covered the L.A. Rams for ESPN from 2016 to 2018 and the L.A. Angels for MLB.com from 2012 to 2016. Marly Rivera Close ESPN Writer Marly Rivera is a writer for ESPNdeportes.com and ESPN.com. An MLB lockout that had reached its 98th day

9:20 PM ET One hundred eighty-four games. So far. That’s the number of games that have been lopped off the schedule after MLB’s second announcement of cancellations on Wednesday. Of the 2,430 originally slated contests, 7.6% of them are already gone. We can only hope the number doesn’t go even higher. For now, if an

9:25 PM ET There will be no MLB games until at least April 14. After talks between Major League Baseball and the MLBPA broke down on Wednesday, the league canceled the second week of the 2022 regular season. How far apart are the two sides in negotiating a new collective bargaining agreement? How concerned should