MLB

7:00 AM ET On the first day of live batting practice at Chicago Cubs camp, right-hander Adrian Sampson stood on the mound ready to face his teammates — just as he had done to start preparation for the season in his 11 previous years of professional baseball. But this time, there was a clock hanging

8:35 PM ET ESPN News Services Pittsburgh Pirates outfielder Andrew McCutchen exited Sunday’s game against the Minnesota Twins in the sixth inning with discomfort in his left hand after being hit by a pitch. The Pirates said McCutchen was being examined by the team’s medical staff. He was injured when he was struck on the

7:19 PM ET Associated Press The Tampa Bay Rays mourned the death Sunday of Dave Wills, 58, who was the team’s radio announcer for the past 18 years. There was no radio broadcast of the team’s game against Baltimore. “Dave was an outstanding broadcaster, a great friend and an even better person,” Rays owner Stuart

4:43 PM ET Associated Press SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — Ronnie Gajownik spent her Saturday afternoon as the bench coach for the Arizona Diamondbacks. It wasn’t until midgame she realized that was quite remarkable. “It was awesome,” Gajownik said later. “I didn’t realize how big of a moment it was until (pitching coach Brent Strom) told me

5:31 PM ET LAS VEGAS — While the Oakland Athletics mull the possibility of moving to Southern Nevada, Las Vegas baseball officials insist the gaming capital is ready to take on a Major League Baseball franchise. Las Vegas has been home to a Triple-A team since 1983, and currently, the club is the Athletics’ affiliate.

3:24 PM ET Associated Press Boston Red Sox left-hander James Paxton has a Grade 1 strain of his right hamstring and seems unlikely to be on the Opening Day roster, manager Alex Cora said Saturday. Paxton left Friday’s outing — his first in a game in nearly two years — after 1⅔ innings after feeling

4:58 PM ET Associated Press Max Scherzer has theorized that baseball’s new pitch clock will allow pitchers to dictate the pace of games. In the eyes of one umpire, he raced too fast even for the pitch timer Friday. Scherzer tested the boundaries of baseball’s novel pace-of-play rules during his second spring training start, trying

1:04 AM ET ESPN News Services PEORIA, Ariz. — Manny Machado, Nelson Cruz and the San Diego Padres expect to be big bashers in the batter’s box this season. On Friday night, they were a big bunch of nothing. Chicago Cubs starter Justin Steele and six relievers combined on baseball’s first spring training no-hitter since

7:00 AM ET When the rosters of the 20 participants in the 2023 World Baseball Classic were announced last month, our imaginations were captured by some prospective lineups that looked absolutely stacked. While it’ll be decades before we know how many Hall of Famers will be featured in the tournament, which begins next week, we

7:00 AM ET One of the things that has distinguished the Los Angeles Dodgers during their decade-long streak of playoff appearances has been their remarkable depth. Plenty of times, the organization has been forced to turn quickly to the next man up to find an alternative. This is how the Dodgers have continued to win,

8:36 PM ET Associated Press This was a different kind of pitch tipping when Minnesota Twins right-hander Kenta Maeda made only his second spring start in his return from Tommy John surgery two seasons ago. Twins manager Rocco Baldelli said the PitchCom device catcher Tony Wolters was using was loud enough for Tampa Bay Rays

6:05 PM ET Associated Press The most expensive free agent in Tampa Bay history made a good first impression with the Rays. Zach Eflin struck out three of four Minnesota Twins on Thursday in his first spring training start, a game played at Tropicana Field. The right-hander signed a $40 million, three-year contract during the

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” PHOENIX — In order to become the best pitcher in baseball, Corbin Burnes had to start making his bed. The mundanity of the task is not lost on Burnes. Every fifth day,

9:43 PM ET ESPN News Services The early returns on Major League Baseball’s decision to restrict shifts are promising. Runs and batting average were both up through the first wave of games compared to spring training a year ago. Players were hitting .272 through Feb. 28, with an average of 11.9 runs scored. That’s up

8:21 PM ET Associated Press The Kansas City Royals signed veteran Jackie Bradley Jr. to a minor league deal with an invitation to spring training, where he will have an opportunity to earn playing time in a wide-open outfield. The Royals recently traded incumbent center fielder Michael A. Taylor to Minnesota for pitching prospects, and

7:00 AM ET Now that we’ve covered the top prospects across baseball for 2023, there’s one question you are probably asking — when will we get to see them in the big leagues? Because of a new rule in the collective bargaining agreement known as the Prospect Promotion Incentive, clubs have even more reason to

9:12 PM ET ESPN News Services Fernando Tatis Jr. on Tuesday played his first game for the San Diego Padres in nearly 17 months. Tatis went 0-for-2 with a walk and a stolen base and scored a run in a 7-5 win over the San Francisco Giants. He was the designated hitter in his first

6:33 PM ET Associated Press PEORIA, Ariz. — Having signed All-Star slugger Manny Machado for more than another decade, San Diego Padres chairman Peter Seidler was clear with his goal. “We’re here to win a championship and we came reasonably close last year. We believe we have every chance this year.” Seidler said. “Non-conflicted people