MLB

2:16 PM ET The Tampa Bay Rays won 100 games in 2021, proof that a great starting rotation need not be necessary in this era of baseball, at least not with every team. It’s not that the Rays’ rotation was terrible — it finished a respectable sixth in the American League with a 4.08 ERA

11:41 AM ET Jeff PassanESPN Close ESPN MLB insiderAuthor of “The Arm: Inside the Billion-Dollar Mystery of the Most Valuable Commodity in Sports” The Seattle Mariners are acquiring second baseman/outfielder Adam Frazier in a trade with the San Diego Padres, sources familiar with the agreement tell ESPN. Going to San Diego will be hard-throwing left-handed

2:49 PM ET Associated Press ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Wander Franco and the Tampa Bay Rays have finalized a $182 million, 11-year contract that includes a club option for the 2033 season. The shortstop’s deal, which could be worth up to $223 million if the club option is exercised and incentives are reached, was announced

12:00 PM ET Black Friday, a great American tradition, is supposed to be about a frenzied, wild-eyed scramble for bargains. And on this particular Black Friday, the Mets were certainly frenzied — we can only imagine what the eyes of Steve Cohen looked like as his club signed three free-agent hitters over the span of

6:13 PM ET The New York Mets are in agreement on a two-year, $20 million contract with free-agent infielder Eduardo Escobar, a source familiar with the situation confirmed to ESPN on Friday. Escobar, 32, is a versatile switch-hitter who can play second and third base but also played 18 games at first after being traded

4:32 PM ET Right-hander Michael Wacha and the Boston Red Sox are finalizing a one-year contract, sources familiar with the deal told ESPN’s Jeff Passan on Friday. Wacha, 30, was solid in a starting role for the Tampa Bay Rays last season and is expected to bring depth to the Red Sox’s rotation. Boston lost

11:48 PM ET ESPN News Services PITTSBURGH — The Pittsburgh Pirates are bringing back first baseman/outfielder Yoshi Tsutsugo on a one-year deal, $4 million deal, according to multiple reports Wednesday. The deal is pending a physical. Tsutsugo, 29, joined the Pirates in August after being released by the Los Angeles Dodgers. He played well over

10:06 AM ET New York Mets owner Steve Cohen called out Steven Matz‘s agent for “unprofessional behavior” in a tweet Wednesday morning, one day after the free-agent left-hander opted against rejoining his former team and signed with the St. Louis Cardinals. “I’m not happy this morning,” Cohen said in his post. “I’ve never seen such

11:41 AM ET Reliever Wade Davis, a three-time All-Star selection who has 141 saves in 12 major league seasons, is retiring, the Kansas City Royals announced Wednesday. The 36-year-old Davis, who led the National League with 43 saves in 2018, clinched the World Series title for the Royals in 2015 with a game-ending strikeout against

10:25 AM ET We have just a few weeks of exciting hot stove action while the cold reality of a likely work stoppage lurks. We’ve seen a few years of smaller labor skirmishes that have undercut joyful moments with financial truths. (It’s his big league debut! Ugh, but they manipulated his service time?) But this

7:00 AM ET Here’s how to win the offseason: Spend a lot of money. In the constant swirl of the sports news cycle, that’s as good a proxy for aggression as anything. Right? Well, no. While stingy owners should often be taken to task for their frugal ways, we simply cannot say that spending big

9:58 PM ET Starting pitcher Steven Matz, a key component to a turnaround season for the Toronto Blue Jays in 2021, has agreed to a four-year, $44 million deal with the St. Louis Cardinals, pending a physical, sources familiar with the deal told ESPN’s Jeff Passan on Tuesday night. Matz could earn up to $48

11:26 PM ET Associated Press NEW YORK — Major League Baseball and the players’ union have agreed to move the upcoming deadline for teams to offer contracts to certain players in order to keep them out of potential limbo in the event of a work stoppage next month. The tender deadline was moved from Dec.

3:56 PM ET Wander Franco‘s 12-year contract extension with the Tampa Bay Rays that guarantees him $182 million and could pay a maximum of $223 million is shocking in only one regard: that the Rays would make that kind of financial outlay, even to a burgeoning superstar like Franco. It is not just the largest

7:00 AM ET The MLB hot stove is up and running this month — there have been some significant signings already — but that could come to a halt when the current collective bargaining agreement ends on Dec. 1. If there is a lockout, trades and free-agent negotiations will stop until a new deal between

7:00 AM ET Welcome to the Hall of Fame ballot as devised by Stephen King, George R.R. Martin and Beelzebub. It’s the final appearance on the Baseball Writers’ Association of America ballot for Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens, Sammy Sosa and Curt Schilling — and the first for Alex Rodriguez and David Ortiz. There are other

7:48 PM ET Associated Press NEW YORK — San Francisco Giants catcher Buster Posey and Baltimore Orioles slugger Trey Mancini were named baseball’s Comeback Player of the Year Award winners on Monday night. Posey, the National League winner, sat out the 2020 season after twin girls adopted by him and his wife were born prematurely.

6:30 PM ET ESPN News Services Doug Jones, a five-time All-Star reliever who had his best success closing for the Cleveland Indians, has died. He was 64. Jones spent seven seasons with the Indians and ranks third on the club’s career saves list with 129. The club, which officially transitioned to Cleveland Guardians last week,