MLB

11:22 AM ET Washington Nationals general manager Mike Rizzo said Philadelphia Phillies manager Joe Girardi was playing games when he spurred the umpires to check Max Scherzer for foreign substances on Tuesday night and embarrassed everyone in the process. “It’s embarrassing for Girardi, it’s embarrassing for the Phillies, it’s embarrassing for baseball,” Rizzo said Wednesday

10:57 PM ET ESPN News Services ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — It didn’t take long for Wander Franco to display the many skills that scouts have been raving about. The kind of skills that made him the No. 1 overall prospect in Major League Baseball. The kind of skills that the Tampa Bay Rays hope to

4:29 PM ET ESPN News Services NEW YORK — The Mets got some mixed injury news on Tuesday. Right fielder Michael Conforto is set to make his return from the injured list, but the team confirmed that left-handed pitcher Joey Lucchesi is headed for season-ending Tommy John surgery. Conforto, who has been out since suffering

12:24 AM ET CHICAGO — Chicago Cubs shortstop Javier Baez was benched by manager David Ross after forgetting how many outs there were and getting doubled off first base in the fourth inning of Monday’s 4-0 loss to the Cleveland Indians. “We have to make sure we’re focused and locked in during the game,” Ross

3:50 PM ET Associated Press NEW YORK — The New York Mets have fired two high-ranking employees and will overhaul their legal and human resources departments on the recommendation of independent investigators hired to review the organization following allegations of sexual misconduct against former manager Mickey Callaway. Callaway, fired in October 2019 for on-field performance,

8:03 PM ET Associated Press ARLINGTON, Texas — The search is on by major league umpires for sticky stuff that pitchers might use to doctor baseballs. What has long been against the rules but rarely enforced is being overlooked no more. The crackdown began Monday when major and minor league umpires started regular checks of

7:00 AM ET Alden Gonzalez Close ESPN Staff Writer Joined ESPN in 2016 to cover the Los Angeles Rams Previously covered the Angels for MLB.com Jesse Rogers Close ESPN Staff Writer Jesse joined ESPN Chicago in September 2009 and covers MLB for ESPN.com. Beginning with Monday’s games, pitchers will be ejected and suspended for using

Jun 11, 2019 Jeff PassanESPN Close ESPN MLB insiderAuthor of “The Arm: Inside the Billion-Dollar Mystery of the Most Valuable Commodity in Sports” Editor’s note: This story originally ran on June 11, 2019. Wander Franco has been told he has been called up to the majors by the Tampa Bay Rays on June, 20, 2021

8:37 PM ET Top prospect Wander Franco is headed to the big leagues and will be called up from the minors by the Tampa Bay Rays, a source confirmed to ESPN’s Jeff Passan. Franco, 20, is a switch-hitting shortstop and can also play second and third base. Entering this season, he was the No. 1-ranked

11:47 AM ET Baseball’s rule against the use of foreign substances has been buried for decades underneath a gentlemen’s agreement that held among managers, who almost uniformly refused to ask umpires to check opposing pitchers because they knew that their own pitchers would not be checked. But with Major League Baseball set to order umpires

10:35 PM ET San Diego Padres star shortstop Fernando Tatis Jr. exited Saturday’s game against the Cincinnati Reds early with an apparent injury to his left shoulder, the same one that gave him trouble in spring training and landed him on the injured list at the start of the regular season. Tatis, the National League

4:28 PM ET Beginning Monday, major league umpires will check pitchers for foreign substances after they’ve pitched — with the exception of the closer, who will be inspected before entering the game — sources familiar with the process said. Pitchers will be inspected between innings and/or after they come out of the game unless they’re

9:59 PM ET Associated Press DENVER — Second baseman Kolten Wong was reinstated from the 10-day injured list on Friday as part of a series of roster moves by the Milwaukee Brewers. Wong, who had been sidelined by a left oblique strain, was in the starting lineup and back in the leadoff spot for a

5:13 PM ET Associated Press NEW YORK — The pace of coronavirus vaccinations in Major League Baseball has slowed, with no additional teams in the past week joining the 22 that had already reached the 85% vaccination threshold for players and other on-field personnel. Major League Baseball and the players’ association said Friday that 85.3%

2:21 PM ET Shohei Ohtani, the Los Angeles Angels‘ two-way sensation, announced Friday that he will participate in next month’s Home Run Derby, becoming the first player to commit to the event. Ohtani made the announcement on his Instagram account. Ohtani, ranked third in the majors with 19 homers, will join a group of eight

9:36 PM ET Tampa Bay Rays pitching prospect Tyler Zombro, who underwent major brain surgery after being struck in the head by a line drive during a Triple-A game June 3, posted a series of tweets Thursday expressing gratitude for the support and care he received during his recovery. In his tweets, Zombro also shared

4:23 PM ET An MRI performed on New York Mets ace Jacob deGrom‘s right shoulder came back clean, manager Luis Rojas said Thursday. The results were examined by two different doctors, Rojas said. “It just showed a normal shoulder that a pitcher would have and there’s no concern,” Rojas said, adding that deGrom played catch

6:55 PM ET ESPN News Services SAN FRANCISCO — – The Arizona Diamondbacks set a major league record with their 23rd straight road loss, making dubious history in getting trounced by the San Francisco Giants 10-3 Thursday. The dejected D-backs trudged off the field and quietly made their way back to Oracle Park’s visiting clubhouse