MLB

12:27 AM ET ESPN News Services Seattle Mariners president and CEO Kevin Mather apologized Sunday night after his wide-ranging comments to a rotary club earlier this month surfaced, including him calling the English-speaking capabilities of two members of the organization “terrible” and “not tremendous.” Mather’s comments were made to a Bellevue, Washington, rotary club on

8:32 PM ET Associated Press LOS ANGELES — Stan Williams, the fearsome All-Star pitcher who helped the Los Angeles Dodgers win the 1959 World Series, has died. He was 84. Williams died Saturday at his home in Laughlin, Nevada. He was hospitalized on Feb. 11 and had been in hospice care due to the effects

7:30 AM ET In the days leading up to Friday’s podcast interview of Dr. Anthony Fauci, I canvassed team officials about what questions they might ask the infectious disease expert, and one staffer seemed to be looking for some help with the context leading up to the July 31 trade deadline. When does Dr. Fauci

8:24 PM ET ESPN News Services Chicago White Sox right-hander Michael Kopech, who opted out of the pandemic-shortened 2020 season after missing all of 2019 due to Tommy John surgery, said he has regained his motivation after two years away from baseball. Kopech cited multiple reasons for opting out when speaking to reporters on Saturday,

3:37 PM ET CHICAGO — Former Cy Young winner Jake Arrieta is happy to be back in the city where he had his greatest success, saying Saturday that with the Chicago Cubs is “where I wanted to be.” Arrieta, 34, signed a one-year, $6 million deal with the team he helped to a World Series

7:17 PM ET Marly RiveraESPN Writer Close Marly Rivera is a writer for ESPNdeportes.com and ESPN.com. TAMPA — Corey Kluber might be a three-time All-Star and a two-time Cy Young award winner, but he acknowledges that he is now just part of a group of aspirants for a spot in the 2021 new look Yankees

6:23 PM ET The New York Yankees and outfielder Brett Gardner have reached agreement on a one-year deal worth $4 million, sources told ESPN’s Jeff Passan. The contract includes a second-year player option that, if rejected, turns into a team option, sources said. Gardner, 37, became a free agent in November when New York declined

5:00 PM ET Dr. Anthony Fauci is cautiously optimistic about the prospect of fans returning to the stands for the 2021 MLB season, telling ESPN’s Buster Olney there’s a “pretty good chance” of it happening if the rate of COVID-19 infections continue to drop. “We could have a pretty good chance of having a baseball

10:00 AM ET Last week, I ranked the top 100 prospects and all 30 farm systems heading into the 2021 season. Now it’s time to go deeper with my team-by-team rankings, wrapping up with the National League following Thursday’s American League lists. A quick refresher on a key term you’ll see throughout the team lists:

9:01 PM ET Associated Press TAMPA, Fla. — New York Yankees manager Aaron Boone said he had a conversation with Domingo German about his cryptic Instagram post on the day he returned to the team following a domestic violence suspension. “Everything is over,” German wrote in Spanish on Wednesday. German deleted his posts, then wrote:

7:00 AM ET Last week, I ranked the top 100 prospects and all 30 farm systems heading into the 2021 season. Now it’s time to go deeper with my team-by-team rankings, starting with the American League. A quick refresher on a key term you’ll see throughout the team lists: Future Value, shortened to FV hereafter,

7:15 AM ET “Me next! Me next!” Hayden Parker could hardly believe it. On his screen was an Instagram direct message from one of his favorite Major League Baseball players, Chicago White Sox ace Lucas Giolito. Giolito had seen Parker’s work — a series of hilarious, creatively Photoshopped images posted on Instagram called MLB Minis,

9:45 PM 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

8:46 PM ET Star shortstop Fernando Tatis Jr. and the San Diego Padres reached agreement on a 14-year, $340 million contract extension, a source familiar with the deal told ESPN’s Jeff Passan. The $340 million extension is the third-largest contract handed out in MLB history, trailing only Mike Trout‘s $426.5 million extension over 12 years

9:30 AM ET Jeff PassanESPN Close ESPN MLB insiderAuthor of “The Arm: Inside the Billion-Dollar Mystery of the Most Valuable Commodity in Sports” Pitchers and catchers have reported to spring training for all 30 teams, and the countdown to Opening Day is on. Between now and April 1, the league and players will contort themselves

5:47 PM ET Left-hander Brett Anderson and the Milwaukee Brewers are in agreement on a one-year, $2.5 million contract, a source familiar with the deal told ESPN’s Jeff Passan. Anderson, 33, returns to Brewers and can make an addition $1 million in incentives. The deal is pending a physical. Anderson signed a one-year deal with

6:21 PM ET Associated Press DETROIT — The Detroit Tigers are considering using a six-man rotation for at least some of this season as they return to a normal schedule with a pitching staff that will likely include some of the team’s top prospects. General manager Al Avila spoke with reporters Tuesday, the day before

7:00 AM ET The long trek to the start of the regular season begins this week with training camps opening up on time in Florida and Arizona — although with many of the same COVID-19 protocols in place as during the 2020 season. For now, Opening Day on April 1 is on schedule — the