MLB

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

7:00 AM ET In a spring training game last weekend, Trevor Bauer pitched the first inning with one eye closed. That he did it against the Padres, the Dodgers’ new archrival in the National League West, suggests it was perhaps a bit of gamesmanship, although Bauer attempted a different explanation after the game. “I like

9:15 PM ET Major League Baseball announced that it would test a variety of experimental rules across different levels of the minor leagues during the 2021 season. Ranging from banning some forms of the defensive shift and using larger bases to implementing electronic strike zones and experimenting with 15-second pitch clocks, the new rules will

6:15 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 on Thursday outlined a litany of experimental rules it plans to implement at different minor league levels this season, including banning some forms of defensive shifts, more games governed

7:00 AM ET DAVID PRICE CALLED opting out of the 2020 MLB season “the toughest decision I’ve ever had to make.” He felt the strain and the doubt most on Opening Day and at the start of the postseason. But when Price watched from home as Julio Urias struck out Tampa Bay Rays shortstop Willy

6:50 PM ET Associated Press PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. — New Mets pitcher Carlos Carrasco is uncertain to be ready for the start of the season after elbow soreness forced him to stop throwing. New York manager Luis Rojas said the right-hander, who turns 34 on March 21, started spring training workouts behind other players

6:05 PM ET Associated Press TAMPA, Fla. — A sports gambler faces up to five years in federal prison for threatening social media messages sent to players with the Tampa Bay Rays. Benjamin Tucker Patz, 24, of Napa, California, pleaded guilty Wednesday in Tampa federal court to transmitting threats in interstate or foreign commerce, according

7:00 AM ET The February 24, 1997 issue of Sports Illustrated featured the young smiling faces of Derek Jeter and Alex Rodriguez on the cover, with the billing that the pair “head up the finest group of shortstops since World War II.” The article highlighted an up-and-coming young class that included Jeter, Rodriguez, Nomar Garciaparra