MLB

2:52 AM ET Associated Press ESPN will open its Sunday Night Baseball schedule on April 4 when the Los Angeles Angels host the Chicago White Sox. The game will feature the past two American League MVPs, with the Angels’ Mike Trout facing reigning MVP and White Sox first baseman Jose Abreu at 8:30 p.m. ET.

10:00 AM ET ESPN News Services The Tampa Bay Rays have signed right-hander Michael Wacha to a one-year, $3 million contract, the team announced Friday. Wacha spent the 2020 season with the New York Mets, going 1-4 with a 6.62 ERA in eight appearances (seven starts). The 29-year-old Wacha shined as a rookie for the

5:47 PM ET Associated Press BOSTON — Alex Cora is expecting to see the J.D. Martinez of old again in 2021. And the Red Sox manager wouldn’t be surprised if Andrew Benintendi and Eduardo Rodríguez bounce back with him. Cora predicted better things from some of the Boston players who had an off year during

9:00 AM ET Major League Baseball’s decision to alter the status of the Negro Leagues to major league and incorporate Negro Leagues statistics into a historical record in which they did not participate is consistent with two opposing but defining forces of our time. One is the racial reckoning that has defined America post-George Floyd’s

7:00 AM ET Pedro GomezMLB Close ESPN’s Pedro Gomez covered the Oakland A’s home and away nearly every day from 1992-97 for the San Jose Mercury News and Sacramento Bee and then became the national baseball writer and later a general columnist at the Arizona Republic before becoming an ESPN bureau reporter in 2003. There

8:03 PM ET Associated Press MILWAUKEE — Brewers manager Craig Counsell is confident former MVP Christian Yelich‘s 2020 hitting struggles won’t carry over to next season. After winning consecutive National League batting titles in 2018 and 2019 during his first two years with the Brewers, Yelich hit just .205 with 12 homers and 22 RBIs

11:49 AM ET Throughout the summer, each completed game signified hope that pandemic baseball could succeed, and each COVID-19 positive, seven-inning doubleheader and protocol breach reflected institutional recklessness. At a safe distance from the clamor, the referendum on the 2020 Major League Baseball season was not whether it was a success or an abomination —

7:00 AM ET Free agents on the whole tend to be a little older than the average player. The requirement of six or nearly seven big league seasons after some time in the minors puts most free agents around 30 years old or older. With most teams already slowing down the past few seasons when

8:32 PM ET Associated Press DENVER — Bud Black hears the Nolan Arenado and Trevor Story trade rumors, and he is entertained. It’s just that time of year, the Colorado Rockies manager contended Wednesday in a Zoom call. “My expectation is that they’ll be with us come Opening Day,” Black said of his star players.

2:21 PM ET The decision by Kevin Cash to take out Blake Snell in a 1-0 game in the sixth inning of Game 6 of the World Series against the Dodgers sparked controversy around baseball regarding the balance of analytics and traditional baseball savvy. More than a month after the final out, the Rays manager

7:00 AM ET The last time we saw Blake Snell in a baseball uniform was Game 6 of the World Series and the Hook Heard ‘Round the World, when Kevin Cash removed him after 73 pitches despite Snell dominating the Dodgers. The next time we see him he could be wearing a new jersey if

7:49 PM ET Buster Posey will remain the San Francisco Giants‘ “primary catcher” in 2021 and will get “the lion’s share of the reps” behind the plate despite the presence of top prospect Joey Bart, second-year manager Gabe Kapler said during his session with the media Tuesday. Posey, a six-time All-Star who is owed $21.4

7:00 AM ET The most infamous trade in Cleveland Indians history involved a prodigious young slugger, a batting champion, a general manager nicknamed Trader Frank and, in a roundabout way, Terry Francona’s father. It took place 60 years ago, shocked fans in Cleveland and, some would say, cursed the franchise for the next three decades.

8:11 PM ET Associated Press HOUSTON — Dusty Baker isn’t sure whether he’d like to manage the Houston Astros beyond the upcoming season. “Maybe,” he said. “Depends how I feel. Depends on how the team feels about me. … You never know what changes are going to come about in life.” At 71, Baker is

11:00 AM ET Jeff PassanESPN Close ESPN MLB insiderAuthor of “The Arm: Inside the Billion-Dollar Mystery of the Most Valuable Commodity in Sports” For those who believe modern society has grown soft and that’s why Cleveland’s baseball team no longer will be called the Indians in the near future, a quick history lesson. In 1972,

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” The (virtual) winter meetings are in the books, but the offseason moves are just getting going. Here are five things ESPN insider Jeff Passan is hearing about the trade and free-agent markets.

9:57 PM ET Jeff PassanESPN Close ESPN MLB insiderAuthor of “The Arm: Inside the Billion-Dollar Mystery of the Most Valuable Commodity in Sports” The Cleveland Indians plan to drop the nickname they have used for more than a century, becoming the latest professional sports franchise to shed its Native American imagery amid accusations that its

11:20 PM ET After more than a century, the Cleveland Indians are changing their nickname. Sources told ESPN’s Jeff Passan an announcement is expected this week that Cleveland’s baseball team will drop a name that has come under fire for being racially insensitive. Here are answers to some of the questions about the change. When