MLB

11:35 AM ET Jeff PassanESPN Close ESPN MLB insiderAuthor of “The Arm: Inside the Billion-Dollar Mystery of the Most Valuable Commodity in Sports” MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL is in a crisis of its own making, a self-inflicted wound borne of equal parts hubris, short-sightedness and stubbornness from a class of owners who run the teams and

9:02 PM ET JUPITER, Fla. — Despite a long day of conversations between MLB and the MLBPA on Sunday, the sides still remain far apart on a new collective bargaining agreement, a union source told ESPN. The six-plus hours of meetings came a day before a league-imposed deadline that would trigger the cancellation of regular-season

6:03 PM ET ESPN News Services The Mets have hired Elizabeth Benn as director of major league operations, making her the franchise’s highest-ranking female baseball operations employee ever, according to multiple reports. The news was first reported by SNY. Benn has worked for Major League Baseball since finishing a master’s degree in philosophy at Columbia

3:12 AM ET Dan HajduckyESPN Close Hajducky is a reporter/researcher for ESPN. He has an MFA in creative writing from Fairfield University and played on the men’s soccer teams at Fordham and Southern Connecticut State universities. The record for most expensive collectible sports ticket was set twice with Heritage Auctions early Sunday. Concurrently, a ticket

5:50 PM ET Associated Press JUPITER, Fla. — With less than two days before Major League Baseball’s deadline to reach a labor deal to salvage opening day on March 31 and the sides far apart, players were unsure whether they will break off talks. Both sides made moves Saturday, but the union was upset with

6:30 AM ET NASHVILLE, Tenn. — The workout program prescribed by the San Francisco Giants‘ training staff covered 10 weeks, but this is Week 11 of the lockout by the owners and those instructions are beyond their expiration date. Because club employees are forbidden from having any contact with players, Giants Curt Casali and Mike

5:46 PM ET Associated Press JUPITER, Fla. — Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred entered long-stalled labor negotiations with players on Friday with just over three days until Major League Baseball’s deadline for a deal that would ensure a 162-game season. After four straight days of largely fruitless negotiating sessions that focused on exchanging proposals in areas

5:29 PM ET Associated Press JUPITER, Fla. — With less than 4½ days until Major League Baseball’s deadline for a labor deal to salvage Opening Day and a 162-game season, New York Yankees owner Hal Steinbrenner, Houston Astros pitcher Lance McCullers Jr. and Miami Marlins infielder Miguel Rojas joined negotiations Thursday. The sides met for

7:00 AM ET The start of a new college baseball season means it is time for my first 2022 (and 2023 and 2024) MLB draft rankings. There are a few big takeaways from this year’s early edition of these lists: Last year, Vanderbilt aces Jack Leiter and Kumar Rocker were the No. 1 story of

6:48 PM ET Associated Press JUPITER, Fla. — Major League Baseball said Wednesday that the 2022 season will be shortened if no labor agreement has been reached by the end of Monday. Management had maintained that was the deadline for a deal that would allow the season to start as scheduled on March 31. Players

5:39 PM ET Associated Press Josh Jung, a top prospect for the Texas Rangers, had surgery Wednesday to repair a torn labrum in his left shoulder, ending the third baseman’s chance of being an option for the big league roster this spring. Jung was lifting weights before the opening of the team’s minor league camp

4:25 PM ET Associated Press SEATTLE — Julio Cruz, an original Seattle Mariners player from their inaugural season who later became a Spanish-language broadcaster for the franchise, has died, the team announced Wednesday. He was 67. Cruz died Tuesday at his home, according to a statement from his family. Cruz played for Seattle and the

8:45 AM ET AP Photo/Ron Blum JUPITER, Fla. — The two sides arrive daily at Roger Dean Stadium and break into camps — the players huddle in the parking lot for a few minutes, some fielding requests for autographs from fans nearby, as the league sets up inside. After more than two months of looking

7:46 PM ET JUPITER, Fla. — Day 2 of in-person meetings this week between Major League Baseball and the MLBPA once again produced little progress towards a new collective bargaining agreement while the league actually viewed the day as a step back. The union cut down on their proposal for players to enter arbitration after

7:41 PM ET Associated Press One-time Texas Rangers slugger Josh Hamilton pleaded guilty Tuesday to a misdemeanor in a case arising from an altercation with his teenage daughter, officials said. Hamilton, 40, pleaded guilty Tuesday to unlawful restraint under a plea deal that dismisses a 2020 felony indictment for injury to a child, the Tarrant

7:00 AM ET When (and if) baseball resumes in 2022, general managers will work a lot like NFL coaches at the outset of games, with their first moves scripted. At the transaction kickoff, you can almost imagine Red Sox honcho Chaim Bloom, Yankees general manager Brian Cashman and their peers staring down laminated cards, playcalling

8:13 PM ET JUPITER, Fla. — Five hours in the boardroom on Monday — sometimes together, sometimes in their own caucus — didn’t equate to major progress between MLB and the MLB Players Association as the sides remain far apart on a new collective bargaining agreement, sources told ESPN. In the offices overlooking the spring

7:00 AM ET I don’t know about all of you, but I’ve never craved stories on which players have reported to spring training in the best shape of their lives more than I do right now. As the labor impasse stretches deep into its third month, with the start of the regular season now in