MLB

12:21 PM ET Associated Press LAS VEGAS — First baseman Anthony Rizzo became a free agent again when he declined his $16 million option with the New York Yankees for 2023. Mets pitcher Chris Bassitt declined his $19 million option with the New York Mets and followed rotation mates Jacob deGrom and Taijuan Walker into

9:52 PM ET ESPN News Services The Los Angeles Angels are not trading two-way superstar Shohei Ohtani this offseason, general manager Perry Minasian told a group of reporters Monday. Ohtani agreed last month to a one-year, $30 million deal with the Angels for the 2023 season, his final year before free agency, but speculation had

8:13 PM ET In the next phase of a historic American League MVP race, Aaron Judge of the Yankees and Shohei Ohtani of the Angels led the list of finalists for MLB’s Baseball Writers’ Association of America awards, according to balloting results revealed Monday night. Calling the seasons put up by Judge and Ohtani historic

11:33 AM ET There are nine more players on the MLB free agent market, including some superstars. The Major League Baseball Players Association announced Friday that Xander Bogaerts, Carlos Correa, Jacob deGrom, Carlos Rodón, Nelson Cruz, Zach Davies, Jurickson Profar, Robert Suarez and Taijuan Walker resolved option decisions in their contracts and are now free

11:27 PM ET Houston Astros third baseman Alex Bregman won’t need surgery to repair his broken left index finger, and he expects to be ready for the beginning of spring training. Speaking with reporters a day after the Astros won the World Series with a 4-1 Game 6 victory over the Philadelphia Phillies, Bregman said

4:48 PM ET Star closer Edwin Diaz and the New York Mets are in agreement on a five-year, $102 million contract, pending a physical, sources familiar with the deal told ESPN’s Jeff Passan on Sunday. There’s an opt-out and a full no-trade clause plus a sixth-year option in the contract, sources said. The Diaz deal

6:30 AM ET It’s time for the offseason! Which means it’s time for our annual way-too-early 2023 power rankings. The 2022 season came to an end on Saturday night in Houston, as the Astros won their second World Series title since 2017 after defeating the Phillies in Game 6. What do the next few months

11:19 PM ET HOUSTON — What will they say now? If there was a theme — a predominant question — in the wake of the Houston Astros‘ title-clinching victory over the Philadelphia Phillies, that was it. The Astros had secured their first World Series championship since the tainted one from 2017, punctuating a dominant six-year

10:18 PM ET ESPN staff A series that’s featured huge home runs, incredible defense and one combined no-hitter could all come to an end Saturday night. 2 Related The Philadelphia Phillies travel to Texas to take on the Houston Astros in Game 6 of the 2022 World Series, on the heels of a Game 5

7:15 AM ET PHILADELPHIA — The baseball gods wasted no time in giving Philadelphia Phillies boss Rob Thomson his first big managerial moment in the Fall Classic. Five months after taking over from the fired Joe Girardi, Thomson had already navigated the Phillies’ underwhelming end to the regular season and three challenging rounds of the

9:18 PM ET Associated Press NEW YORK — Yankees outfielder Aaron Judge was voted player of the year and the American League outstanding player by fellow major leaguers in the annual Players Choice Awards from the Major League Baseball Players Association. Judge set an AL record with 62 homers, breaking the previous mark of 61

8:53 PM ET HOUSTON — Philadelphia Phillies manager Rob Thomson said he plans to have Ranger Suarez available out of the bullpen in relief of Zack Wheeler in Saturday’s Game 6, a must-win game given the Houston Astros‘ 3-2 advantage in this World Series. Wheeler experienced a slight dip in fastball velocity during his Game

7:00 AM ET THIS WINTER, THE Houston Astros were at a fork in the road. Their longtime shortstop, Carlos Correa, was one of the faces of the franchise, a player who stood up for the clubhouse amid the criticism the team faced from its trash-can-banging, sign-stealing scandal. He was one of the first players the

2:31 AM ET PHILADELPHIA — Houston Astros ace Justin Verlander knew the stakes. He had stepped up to the mound on Thursday for Game 5 of the World Series with plenty to prove. Winless in seven career games in the Fall Classic, he had just blown a 5-0 lead in Game 1 of this series,

9:19 PM ET ESPN staff Game 5 of the 2022 World Series goes down Thursday night with the Philadelphia Phillies and Houston Astros battling for a 3-2 series lead. 1 Related Houston’s bullpen made history in Game 4, throwing the first combined no-hitter in MLB postseason history, according to ESPN Stats & Information research. Astros

11:25 PM ET PHILADELPHIA — Cristian Javier‘s parents, Trinidad Mieses and Cecilio Javier, flew from the Dominican Republic to Philadelphia and sat in his hotel room late Tuesday night, in the buildup to the biggest outing of his life. The Houston Astros were coming off a difficult loss and needed Javier to rescue them from

2:21 AM ET Jeff PassanESPN Close ESPN MLB insiderAuthor of “The Arm: Inside the Billion-Dollar Mystery of the Most Valuable Commodity in Sports” PHILADELPHIA — Late last week, before Cristian Javier etched his name into baseball history, his Houston Astros teammates attempted to describe his fastball. By velocity alone, it is a milquetoast effort, flung

5:50 PM ET ESPN staff The Philadelphia Phillies are coming off a game in which they absolutely hammered the Houston Astros to take a 2-1 lead in the World Series. 2 Related Philadelphia jumped on Lance McCullers Jr. and never let up in the 7-0 victory Tuesday night, mashing five home runs off him to