MLB

7:15 PM ET Associated Press WASHINGTON — San Diego Padres manager Bob Melvin reached out to suspended All-Star shortstop Fernando Tatis Jr. in a phone call Saturday and said the player “feels remorseful.” Melvin did not reveal anything else about what he termed a “private conversation” with Tatis, the dynamic fan favorite whose 80-game ban

3:31 PM ET The Houston Astros have activated right-hander Lance McCullers Jr. from the 60-day injured list. McCullers will make his season debut starting at home against Oakland on Saturday. He has been sidelined all season after suffering a setback during the lockout while recovering from a flexor tendon injury suffered during the playoffs last

7:09 PM ET Jeff PassanESPN Close ESPN MLB insiderAuthor of “The Arm: Inside the Billion-Dollar Mystery of the Most Valuable Commodity in Sports” San Diego Padres shortstop Fernando Tatis Jr. has been suspended for 80 games after testing positive for Clostebol, a performance-enhancing substance in violation of Major League Baseball’s Joint Drug Prevention and Treatment

10:00 PM ET The baseball world was rocked Friday afternoon, when it was learned that one of the game’s brightest young stars, Fernando Tatis Jr., had tested positive for a performance-enhancing substance and was hit by Major League Baseball with an 80-game suspension. Tatis, the 23-year-old superstar shortstop who had already emerged as one of

3:20 PM ET Associated Press HOUSTON — Astros outfielder Michael Brantley will miss the rest of the season after he had right shoulder surgery. The 35-year-old Brantley, who hasn’t appeared in a big league game since June 26, underwent arthroscopic labral repair. He hit .288 with five homers and 26 RBIs in 64 games in

12:12 AM ET DYERSVILLE, Iowa — The intimate crowd, the movie set, all that corn and simply playing a major league game in Iowa were the highlights for participants of Thursday’s second-ever Field of Dreams MLB game. The actual competition on the field didn’t live up to last year’s heroics when the White Sox won

12:33 PM ET Major League Baseball will be back in heaven tonight. Or is it Iowa? The Chicago Cubs and Cincinnati Reds will meet at a ballpark next to the filming location of the iconic 1989 movie “Field of Dreams,” where Ray Kinsella (played by Kevin Costner) built a baseball field in the middle of

7:00 AM ET Two-team races have emerged in both leagues as we enter Week 18 of the MLB season. A month ago, it seemed like no American League team would be able to catch up to the Yankees. But New York has seen its lead in the AL dissipate after going just 13-20 since July

7:00 AM ET CHICAGO — Last Tuesday, at the brink of MLB’s trade deadline, Chicago Cubs president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer had a decision to make: Trade catcher Willson Contreras for what he believed was below market value, or keep him and potentially get an extra draft pick if Contreras leaves as a free

7:00 AM ET Jerry Manuel had dreamed of a moment like this. Last month, for the first time in MLB history, he watched four Black players go in the first five picks of the MLB draft: Druw Jones, Kumar Rocker, Termarr Johnson and Elijah Green. It felt like a monumental step after years of hard

11:58 PM ET ESPN News Services BOSTON — Top Atlanta Braves prospect Vaughn Grissom homered onto Lansdowne Street in his major league debut, and Marcell Ozuna hit a three-run homer on Wednesday night to highlight an 8-4 victory over the Boston Red Sox. Called up earlier in the day from Double-A, the 21-year-old Grissom hit

4:36 PM ET ESPN News Services Al Avila is out as executive vice president and general manager of the Detroit Tigers, it was announced Wednesday. “Once I decided to make a change, I sat down with Al and thanked him for his nearly 22 years of service to our organization,” CEO Christopher Ilitch said in

12:25 AM ET ESPN News Services PHOENIX — Pittsburgh Pirates second baseman Rodolfo Castro apparently can’t go anywhere without his phone. Called up from Triple-A Indianapolis before the game, Castro slid headfirst into third in the fourth inning of the team’s 6-4 loss to the Arizona Diamondbacks on Tuesday night and had his phone fly

1:27 AM ET ESPN News Services OAKLAND, Calif. — Shohei Ohtani withstood another injury scare and pitched six scoreless innings to go with his team-leading 25th home run, reaching yet another monumental milestone as the Los Angeles Angels beat the Oakland Athletics 5-1 on Tuesday night. The two-way Japanese star joined Babe Ruth (1918) as

5:35 PM ET Associated Press BALTIMORE — The Toronto Blue Jays signed veteran outfielder Jackie Bradley Jr. to a one-year contract before Tuesday night’s game at Baltimore. The 32-year-old Bradley was released by the Boston Red Sox on Thursday. He is batting .210 with three homers and 29 RBIs in 92 games this season. “Every

8:11 PM ET CHICAGO — He’ll forever be known in Chicago for ‘the speech,’ but Jason Heyward‘s time as a Cub is winding down, despite having one more year left on his contract. Heyward, 32, won’t be back with the Cubs for an eighth season in 2023, president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer said Monday.

1:05 AM ET Marly RiveraESPN Writer Close Marly Rivera is a writer for ESPNdeportes.com and ESPN.com. SEATTLE — Matt Carpenter‘s dream comeback season with the New York Yankees may have come to an early end Monday night in Seattle. Carpenter, 36, broke his left foot when he fouled off an 89 mph slider from Mariners

10:55 AM ET Associated Press BOSTON — Hall of Fame pitcher Dennis Eckersley said Monday he will be leaving the Boston Red Sox broadcasts at the end of the season, his 50th in major league baseball. Eckersley, who was drafted by Cleveland as a California high schooler in 1972, went on to pitch 24 seasons