3:56 PM ET Los Angeles Angels slugger Mike Trout is the consensus betting favorite to win the MVP award entering the 2021 season, but dual-threat teammate Shohei Ohtani is attracting the most action at some sportsbooks, including one giant bet that could pay nearly $1 million. At Caesars Sportsbook by William Hill, Trout is the
MLB
5:11 PM ET Associated Press Mike Soroka surrendered a homer while working two innings for the Atlanta Braves in his 2021 debut Tuesday, a big step in the former All-Star’s comeback from a torn Achilles tendon. Soroka, 23, got into the Braves’ final game of spring training at Fort Myers, Florida, taking over in the
7:00 AM ET After a shortened 60-game 2020 schedule in 2020, Major League Baseball returns to a full 162-game season in 2021. The Los Angeles Dodgers ruled last year’s unusual campaign, beating the Tampa Bay Rays in six games for L.A.’s first World Series title since 1988, but are they still the team to beat
1:51 PM ET Major League Baseball issued a memo to teams on Monday outlining relaxed protocols for vaccinated players, coaches and staff members, creating a path for them to gather indoors, eat at restaurants, bring family members with them on the road and mostly restore their normal lives after nearly a full year of stringent
7:00 AM ET It’s the little things in baseball, often the pointless stuff, that excite me. Arcane stats, wild coincidences, names that randomly connect. Here are 30 things, one per team, that excite me about this season, these teams and these players: Jump to a hole:AL EAST | AL CENTRAL | AL WEST | NL
7:00 AM ET The Millville Meteor. Kiiiiid. Trouty. God of WAR. King Fish. No matter what you call Mike Trout, you’ve also called him the unquestioned best player in baseball for nearly a decade now. In fact, Trout has held the top spot in our annual ESPN MLB Rank top 100 for eight consecutive seasons.
5:43 PM ET Associated Press MIAMI — Highly regarded prospect Jazz Chisholm was declared the winner of the spring competition for the Miami Marlins‘ second base job Sunday, and he’ll be in the lineup on Opening Day. Chisholm batted .268 with three homers and four stolen bases in spring training. He was competing with Isan
3:35 PM ET Pitcher Randy Dobnak and the Minnesota Twins are in agreement on a five-year, $9.25 million contract extension with three club options, sources familiar with the deal told ESPN’s Jeff Passan. The deal can max out at $29.75 million with the options and can grow with escalators, sources told Passan. Undrafted out of
8:00 AM ET The intimidating rotation that lifted the Washington Nationals to a championship in 2019 is mostly intact, with Max Scherzer, Stephen Strasburg, et al. Right fielder Juan Soto is a popular pick to win his league’s Most Valuable Player Award. Washington also added the thump of Kyle Schwarber, who seems to be clicking
9:16 PM ET Associated Press CLEVELAND — The Indians traded right-hander Adam Plutko to the Baltimore Orioles on Saturday, a move that brings some clarity to their bullpen situation. Cleveland will get a player to be named or cash in return for Plutko, who was out of minor league options and seemed to be destined
2:49 PM ET ESPN News Services MESA, Ariz. — The Chicago Cubs optioned infielder Nico Hoerner and reliever Brad Wieck to Triple-A Iowa on Saturday. The move means David Bote will be the opening-day second baseman Thursday against Pittsburgh. In other moves, Adbert Alzolay will break camp as the No. 5 starter in the rotation,
12:32 AM ET Los Angeles Dodgers manager Dave Roberts was hoping Clayton Kershaw could complete five innings in his final tune-up start before Opening Day on Friday, perhaps even log some pitches in the sixth. Instead, Kershaw recorded 10 outs and was charged with eight earned runs. His Cactus League ERA: 10.22. “It hasn’t been
12:01 AM ET Associated Press Colorado Rockies right-handed reliever Scott Oberg had surgery Thursday to remove blood clots in his pitching elbow. The procedure was performed at the Mayo Clinic in Scottsdale, Arizona. There’s no timetable for his return. This marks the fourth time he has dealt with blood clots in his career. He was
3:20 PM ET Associated Press GOODYEAR, Arizona — The Cincinnati Reds on Friday released Dee Strange-Gordon, a non-roster invitee to spring training who auditioned at shortstop. Strange-Gordon, a 32-year-old former All-Star and NL batting champ, got a shot with Cincinnati after Freddy Galvis signed as a free agent with the Baltimore Orioles. But his chances
10:22 PM ET ESPN News Services ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Tampa Bay Rays reliever Nick Anderson has a partially torn ligament in his pitching elbow and likely will be sidelined beyond the All-Star break, according to multiple reports. Anderson, who is not expected to need surgery, has been a key component of Tampa Bay’s bullpen
10:18 PM ET Associated Press JUPITER, Fla. — Reigning NL batting champion Juan Soto left Washington’s 7-3 exhibition loss against the Miami Marlins in the middle of the first inning Thursday with what manager Dave Martinez said was a cramp in his right calf. “I didn’t want to take any chances,” Martinez said. The Nationals
3:34 PM ET Associated Press ATLANTA — Max Fried will make his first Opening Day start for the Atlanta Braves, getting the nod in the wake of two stellar seasons. Manager Brian Snitker told Fried on Thursday that he would go in the opener at Philadelphia against the Phillies. Fried went 7-0 with a 2.25
7:00 AM ET What do you do with Jose Altuve when you are ranking the top 100 MLB players for 2021? MVP in 2017, All-Star in 2018, a career-high 31 home runs in 2019 … and then came the sign-stealing scandal, the pandemic and a terrible 2020 season in which he hit .219 (only to