MLB

9:50 AM ET Frustration began to mount soon after the 2020 MLB season got underway last summer. Without in-game video available to major league hitters for the first time, many found themselves at a disadvantage at the plate. They struggled. And then they vented. Mostly, players chirped to their agents, and then those agents called

7:05 PM ET Associated Press A year after a bout with COVID-19 denied him a chance to be the Boston Red Sox‘s Opening Day starter, Eduardo Rodríguez is getting a do-over. Manager Alex Cora made the announcement Wednesday following Boston’s 9-1 spring training win over the Minnesota Twins. Rodríguez threw an efficient 55 pitches, striking

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” With a month of spring training in the books, people inside baseball are starting to form their opinions on players. Who’s real; who’s not. Who changed; who didn’t. Who matters; who doesn’t.

7:55 PM ET Associated Press CHICAGO — An Illinois appellate court ruled Tuesday a woman struck by a foul ball at Wrigley Field can move ahead with a lawsuit she filed against Major League Baseball. In upholding a lower court ruling, the appellate court said the plaintiff was not limited to arbitrating her case with

4:09 PM ET Associated Press Travis Shaw’s second stint with the Milwaukee Brewers is off to an encouraging start. The Brewers announced Tuesday they have added Shaw to their 40-man roster, making him one of the leading candidates for playing time at third base. Shaw, who played for Milwaukee from 2017-19 and spent last season

2:40 PM ET SARASOTA, Fla. — Infielder Maikel Franco and the Baltimore Orioles finalized an $800,000, one-year contract on Tuesday. Franco hit .278 with 16 doubles, eight homers and a team-high 38 RBIs for the Kansas City during last year’s pandemic-shortened season. The 28-year-old would get a $200,000 performance bonus if he reaches 400 plate

7:00 AM ET Who says you can’t learn anything from MLB spring training games? We asked our MLB experts to put aside any notion they may have that these exhibition games — even ones that stop mid-inning for a mercy rule put in this spring — don’t matter for a minute and instead focus on

7:50 PM ET Associated Press PHOENIX — Ryan Braun says he’s strongly leaning toward retirement, but the Milwaukee Brewers‘ home run leader isn’t ready to make any decision regarding his future. Braun visited the Brewers’ spring training site Monday and said he hasn’t picked up a bat since the end of the 2020 season. The

6:14 PM ET Associated Press Sixto Sanchez‘s first pitch for the Miami Marlins in the first spring training game of his career squarely met Jose Altuve‘s bat. The Houston Astros star grounded a leadoff single Monday, but Sanchez shook off that setback on his way to 1 2/3 scoreless innings in West Palm Beach, Florida.

7:00 AM ET What is the thing most likely to keep a big league executive awake at night? The answer might vary, but high up on the list for all of baseball’s decision-makers would surely be innings. Just plain, simple innings. As in, who is going to pitch them and for how long? That issue,

9:21 PM ET The Los Angeles Dodgers‘ rotation is as deep and as talented as it has ever been, but Clayton Kershaw remains perched atop it. Dodgers manager Dave Roberts announced Sunday that Kershaw will once again start on Opening Day, marking the 11th time he has been bestowed the honor. Kershaw has been named

4:50 PM ET Associated Press WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — Washington Nationals pitcher Stephen Strasburg left his second spring training start in the third inning Sunday because of a problem with his left calf that he calls “nothing major.” The 2019 World Series MVP, whose 2020 season was cut to just five innings because he

7:39 AM ET We have years of watching Juan Soto bash home runs, win awards and obliterate benchmarks, but maybe the most fun will be in seeing how he invades the thoughts and intent of opposing pitchers. He’s only 22 years old; with intense smiles and subtle sneers, his face betrays how absurdly often he

8:35 PM ET ESPN News Services TAMPA, Fla. — Corey Kluber overcame occasional wildness, allowing two runs and four hits over four innings in his second start, and the New York Yankees beat the Pittsburgh Pirates 7-5 on Saturday. Kluber is a two-time Cy Young Award winner with his third team in three years. He

5:22 PM ET Associated Press Franchy Cordero is a proud member of the Big Papi generation, growing up in the Dominican Republic watching Dominican stars like David Ortiz lead the Boston Red Sox to the 2004 World Series title. “Those are the games that were always on: Boston Red Sox games,” Cordero told reporters in

7:00 AM ET I have been making the rounds from my home in Atlanta for the past three weeks to watch high school and college games with the 2021 MLB draft now four months away. It’s not time to update my initial ranking of the top 50 prospects for this summer’s draft just yet, but

4:50 PM ET Associated Press TEMPE, Ariz. — Arizona Diamondbacks first base coach Dave McKay suffered a broken rib and lacerated spleen in a fall in the dugout earlier this week. Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo said 70-year-old McKay was wearing a new pair of shoes Tuesday, tripped on the bottom step of the dugout and

2:37 PM ET Associated Press BRADENTON, Fla. — Right-hander Trevor Cahill and the Pittsburgh Pirates finalized a $1.5 million, one-year contract on Friday, a deal that allows him to earn an additional $1 million in performance bonuses for innings. Cahill could earn $100,000 for 75 innings, $150,000 for 100, $200,000 for 125, $250,000 for 150