MLB

7:00 AM ET The 2020 MLB draft was obviously tricky for teams to navigate, with very limited information and a much shorter draft. This year it will be a little bit easier, but with a different set of limitations. Because summer high school showcases still largely went on as planned, a number of prep prospects,

5:37 PM ET If Philadelphia Phillies right fielder Bryce Harper is to get back to the postseason for the first time since 2017, he knows his team will have to earn it by getting through a stacked NL East. “I think this is the best division in baseball; I don’t think that’s even a question,”

7:00 AM ET With the last few top free agents coming off the market in recent weeks, most of the dust has settled on the peculiar 2020-21 Major League Baseball hot stove season. It’s time to take stock. The last time we did this was just before the virtual winter meetings took place in nowhere-land

7:05 PM ET Shohei Ohtani said he topped out at 97 mph while throwing live batting practice on Wednesday, an encouraging development that further supports the enthusiasm voiced by prominent members of the Los Angeles Angels throughout the offseason. Ohtani, the Japanese two-way player who hasn’t pitched regularly since the start of the 2018 season,

9:49 PM ET Associated Press SEOUL, South Korea — Free-agent outfielder Shin-Soo Choo has agreed to a one-year contract to play for a baseball club in his native South Korea. Choo, who spent the last seven seasons with the Texas Rangers, signed a 2.7 billion won ($2.4 million) deal with a Korean Baseball Organization team

7:44 PM ET Associated Press CLEVELAND — Cy Young Award winner Shane Bieber hopes to be talking about a new contract with the Cleveland Indians as soon as possible — maybe even this spring. They don’t seem to be in quite the same rush. Earlier this week, Bieber — who at just 25 led the

7:00 AM ET You know, for all the grumbling throughout the MLB offseason, we ended up with a fascinating list of transactions. We saw two of the best all-around players in the game traded. That’s pretty fun, at least for Mets and Cardinals fans. We watched the reigning National League Cy Young winner, the NL

6:20 PM ET Marly RiveraESPN Writer Close Marly Rivera is a writer for ESPNdeportes.com and ESPN.com. TAMPA — Add Yankees ace Gerrit Cole to the growing list of major leaguers that have sounded off on the way some MLB teams think internally about players in the wake of former Mariners president Kevin Mather’s inflammatory comments

7:36 PM ET Associated Press DENVER — Trevor Story‘s priority list this season includes being a more vocal leader, taking his base stealing to another level, crushing early count fastballs and honing his footwork in the field. Not near the top of the list: Fretting about his long-term future with the Colorado Rockies. That’s outside

7:15 AM ET When my little brother was at the very end of his teenage years, he stepped over the Vermont moat and joined me for spring training in Arizona. Eventually we made our way to Las Vegas for some exhibition games. As we drove down The Strip for the first time, bathed in its

9:22 PM ET This is the family that Freddie and Chelsea Freeman wanted: lots of siblings who will grow up playing together, loving each other, helping each other. But the Freemans never could’ve imagined how they would get to where they are now, with 4-year-old Charlie and his two baby brothers. After trying for pregnancy

2:25 PM ET Jeff PassanESPN Close ESPN MLB insiderAuthor of “The Arm: Inside the Billion-Dollar Mystery of the Most Valuable Commodity in Sports” Over the course of a 45-minute chat to a local Rotary Club in early February, Seattle Mariners CEO Kevin Mather disparaged a Japanese player for not learning English, belittled a star prospect

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” Over the winter, when Fernando Tatis Jr. was not working on trying to fulfill his goal of becoming the best baseball player ever, he exhausted his free time working on his farms

12:27 AM ET ESPN News Services Seattle Mariners president and CEO Kevin Mather apologized Sunday night after his wide-ranging comments to a rotary club earlier this month surfaced, including him calling the English-speaking capabilities of two members of the organization “terrible” and “not tremendous.” Mather’s comments were made to a Bellevue, Washington, rotary club on

5:35 PM ET ESPN News Services One by one, the Boston Red Sox have arrived at spring training spouting the same, stubborn message. From Eduardo Rodriguez — “Don’t sleep on us” — to Chris Sale’s — “We plan on going and making some noise” — there is optimism at the team’s complex despite the 24-36

7:30 AM ET In the days leading up to Friday’s podcast interview of Dr. Anthony Fauci, I canvassed team officials about what questions they might ask the infectious disease expert, and one staffer seemed to be looking for some help with the context leading up to the July 31 trade deadline. When does Dr. Fauci

8:24 PM ET ESPN News Services Chicago White Sox right-hander Michael Kopech, who opted out of the pandemic-shortened 2020 season after missing all of 2019 due to Tommy John surgery, said he has regained his motivation after two years away from baseball. Kopech cited multiple reasons for opting out when speaking to reporters on Saturday,

3:37 PM ET CHICAGO — Former Cy Young winner Jake Arrieta is happy to be back in the city where he had his greatest success, saying Saturday that with the Chicago Cubs is “where I wanted to be.” Arrieta, 34, signed a one-year, $6 million deal with the team he helped to a World Series