MLB

8:23 PM ET Associated Press NEW YORK — Major League Baseball payrolls plunged to $1.75 billion during the pandemic-shortened season from $4.22 billion, and the World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers led with $98.6 million — the smallest for the top spender in 20 years. Base wages for 40-man rosters tumbled to $1.54 billion, according

8:18 PM ET Jo Adell, quite possibly the best prospect the Los Angeles Angels have had since Mike Trout, struggled as a rookie in 2020, batting .161 while showing clear struggles defensively. And though Angels manager Joe Maddon considers it unfair to judge players based off such an unconventional season, he also said he believes

4:48 PM ET Associated Press TORONTO — Each time Blue Jays manager Charlie Montoyo has made a pitch to free agents this offseason, there’s one topic he has known will come up. “The No. 1 question is if we’re going to play in Toronto,” Montoyo said Friday. “That’s rightly so. Our answer is, ‘Yeah, we’re

10:00 AM ET ESPN News Services The Tampa Bay Rays have signed right-hander Michael Wacha to a one-year, $3 million contract, the team announced Friday. Wacha spent the 2020 season with the New York Mets, going 1-4 with a 6.62 ERA in eight appearances (seven starts). The 29-year-old Wacha shined as a rookie for the

7:00 AM ET Pedro GomezMLB Close ESPN’s Pedro Gomez covered the Oakland A’s home and away nearly every day from 1992-97 for the San Jose Mercury News and Sacramento Bee and then became the national baseball writer and later a general columnist at the Arizona Republic before becoming an ESPN bureau reporter in 2003. There

9:00 AM ET Major League Baseball’s decision to alter the status of the Negro Leagues to major league and incorporate Negro Leagues statistics into a historical record in which they did not participate is consistent with two opposing but defining forces of our time. One is the racial reckoning that has defined America post-George Floyd’s

2:52 AM ET Associated Press ESPN will open its Sunday Night Baseball schedule on April 4 when the Los Angeles Angels host the Chicago White Sox. The game will feature the past two American League MVPs, with the Angels’ Mike Trout facing reigning MVP and White Sox first baseman Jose Abreu at 8:30 p.m. ET.

8:03 PM ET Associated Press MILWAUKEE — Brewers manager Craig Counsell is confident former MVP Christian Yelich‘s 2020 hitting struggles won’t carry over to next season. After winning consecutive National League batting titles in 2018 and 2019 during his first two years with the Brewers, Yelich hit just .205 with 12 homers and 22 RBIs

11:49 AM ET Throughout the summer, each completed game signified hope that pandemic baseball could succeed, and each COVID-19 positive, seven-inning doubleheader and protocol breach reflected institutional recklessness. At a safe distance from the clamor, the referendum on the 2020 Major League Baseball season was not whether it was a success or an abomination —

7:00 AM ET Free agents on the whole tend to be a little older than the average player. The requirement of six or nearly seven big league seasons after some time in the minors puts most free agents around 30 years old or older. With most teams already slowing down the past few seasons when

8:32 PM ET Associated Press DENVER — Bud Black hears the Nolan Arenado and Trevor Story trade rumors, and he is entertained. It’s just that time of year, the Colorado Rockies manager contended Wednesday in a Zoom call. “My expectation is that they’ll be with us come Opening Day,” Black said of his star players.

2:21 PM ET The decision by Kevin Cash to take out Blake Snell in a 1-0 game in the sixth inning of Game 6 of the World Series against the Dodgers sparked controversy around baseball regarding the balance of analytics and traditional baseball savvy. More than a month after the final out, the Rays manager

7:00 AM ET The last time we saw Blake Snell in a baseball uniform was Game 6 of the World Series and the Hook Heard ‘Round the World, when Kevin Cash removed him after 73 pitches despite Snell dominating the Dodgers. The next time we see him he could be wearing a new jersey if

12:45 AM ET Associated Press SYDNEY — Manny Ramirez — yes, that Manny Ramirez — is back in baseball Down Under. The now 48-year-old former Boston Red Sox legend and 12-time Major League Baseball All-Star is scheduled to begin the season on Thursday for the Sydney Blue Sox in the Australian Baseball League. Sydney manager

2:34 PM ET Moments after his manager mentioned that Chicago Cubs star Kris Bryant has “come up” in conversations, Washington Nationals general manager Mike Rizzo quashed any ideas of acquiring the former MVP. “We haven’t had a serious conversation about Kris Bryant in probably two years,” Rizzo said in a Zoom call with reporters on

7:00 AM ET The most infamous trade in Cleveland Indians history involved a prodigious young slugger, a batting champion, a general manager nicknamed Trader Frank and, in a roundabout way, Terry Francona’s father. It took place 60 years ago, shocked fans in Cleveland and, some would say, cursed the franchise for the next three decades.

11:00 AM ET Jeff PassanESPN Close ESPN MLB insiderAuthor of “The Arm: Inside the Billion-Dollar Mystery of the Most Valuable Commodity in Sports” For those who believe modern society has grown soft and that’s why Cleveland’s baseball team no longer will be called the Indians in the near future, a quick history lesson. In 1972,

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” The (virtual) winter meetings are in the books, but the offseason moves are just getting going. Here are five things ESPN insider Jeff Passan is hearing about the trade and free-agent markets.