MLB

4:19 PM ET Justin Verlander‘s two-year, $50 million agreement with the Houston Astros has been given formal approval by Major League Baseball, industry sources told ESPN, even at a time when the owners have locked out the players in the ongoing labor battle. Verlander reached an agreement with Houston last month before the expiration of

7:00 AM ET At some point, maybe in January, probably not until February, the owners and players will agree on how to divvy up the billions of dollars of baseball revenue. For now, we wait for the return of what will be the abbreviated hot stove season, but we can still talk baseball. While there

3:10 PM ET Associated Press SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic — San Diego Padres shortstop Fernando Tatis Jr. suffered scrapes on a knee and his hands in a fall in the Dominican Republic but is doing fine, his father said Saturday. “He is fine, in perfect condition,″ said the Padres star’s father, former major league infielder

1:54 PM ET Associated Press KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Jim Fregosi Jr., a special assistant in the Kansas City Royals‘ front office and a son of the longtime major league manager, has died. He was 57. Fregosi died Thursday in Los Angeles, the Royals said. He spent 17 seasons with the Philadelphia Phillies as an

8:00 AM ET Mark Fainaru-Wada Close ESPN Staff Writer Investigative reporter for ESPN’s Enterprise and Investigative Unit since 2007 Co-author of New York Times best-selling books “League of Denial” and “Game of Shadows” Co-winner, 2004 George Polk Award T.J. Quinn Close ESPN Staff Writer T.J. Quinn joined ESPN in November 2007 as an investigative reporter

10:14 PM ET Associated Press SEOUL, South Korea — Former Major League Baseball outfielder Yasiel Puig has signed a one-year, $1 million contact with South Korean club Kiwoom Heroes. Puig, who turned 31 this week, hasn’t played in the majors since 2019, when he played 100 games for the Cincinnati Reds and 49 for the

8:38 PM ET Associated Press MILWAUKEE — Jonathan Singleton, a former heralded baseball prospect who hasn’t played in the major leagues since 2015, has signed a minor league contract with the Milwaukee Brewers. Singleton signed a $10 million long-term deal with the Houston Astros in 2014 before ever playing a big league game, then hit

4:03 PM ET Associated Press DENVER — The Colorado Rockies are bringing Clint Hurdle back to serve as a special assistant to general manager Bill Schmidt. Hurdle, who managed the Rockies to the World Series in 2007, will help with player development and the first-year player draft in his new role. “Clint has a long

1:00 PM ET Tory BarronESPN Editor Close Tory Barron is a Bristol-based writer and editor for ESPN.com. After retiring from playing lacrosse at UConn, the DC native decided to try her hand at writing about people playing sports. Always look out for the people (and canines) who hold you down. This is a rule of

7:00 AM ET Jeff PassanESPN Close ESPN MLB insiderAuthor of “The Arm: Inside the Billion-Dollar Mystery of the Most Valuable Commodity in Sports” FOR FOUR DAYS in early November, baseball executives paraded in and out of Suite 6048 at the Omni La Costa Resort and Spa. They had gathered in Carlsbad, California, for the annual

4:28 PM ET Associated Press NEW YORK — The Los Angeles Dodgers‘ Triple-A team at Oklahoma City selected right-hander Carson Fulmer from Cincinnati on Wednesday with the 39th and final pick of the Triple-A phase of Major League Baseball’s annual draft of unprotected players. The major league phase of the Rule 5 draft was postponed

1:00 PM ET In 2021, the top of the National League West included both the best teams in baseball and a race to win the division that wasn’t settled until the final day of the season. Now the top of the division is a jumble. And after Major League Baseball’s lockout ceases — whenever that

1:41 PM ET Associated Press COOPERSTOWN, N.Y. — Cleveland Indians outfielder and commentator Jack Graney has won the Hall of Fame’s Ford C. Frick Award for excellence in broadcasting. Graney, who died in 1978, will be honored during the Hall’s induction weekend from July 22-25. Graney first played for Cleveland, then known as the Naps,

4:10 PM ET ESPN baseball analyst Tim Kurkjian is headed to the Hall of Fame — and we couldn’t be prouder. We also couldn’t miss the opportunity to express just how much he means to us around here. So, as Cooperstown calls for our colleague, we wanted to share just a few of our favorite

12:08 PM ET After four decades of covering Major League Baseball, longtime writer and ESPN analyst Tim Kurkjian is the 2022 winner of the Baseball Writers’ Association of America’s Career Excellence Award (formerly the J.G. Taylor Spink award). The award, the highest honor awarded by the BBWAA, is given out annually “for meritorious contributions to

7:00 AM ET It was fun while it lasted. For two glorious weeks, we got a glimpse of what baseball’s hot stove season could look like if allowed to flower to its full potential. It began with a few trickles in the middle of November — an Eduardo Rodriguez here, a Noah Syndergaard there —

4:13 PM ET Associated Press ALEXANDRIA, Va. — Kenneth Moffett, the federal mediator during the 1981 baseball strike who briefly succeeded Marvin Miller as the second head of the players’ association, has died. He was 90. Moffett died Nov. 19 at his home in Alexandria, Virginia, said his wife, the former Mary Taddeo. He had

7:00 AM ET When MLB free agency began, as I was comparing notes with agents and executives, a popular discussion was how many players would sign big deals before the collective bargaining agreement expired on Dec. 1. The common opinion was that only a couple of guys would sign for $75 million or more —