MLB

8:31 PM ET HOUSTON — Justin Verlander ventured into the free agent market for the first time last offseason and could do so again in a matter of weeks. His contract comes with a $25 million player option for 2023, granted by virtue of him reaching, and easily surpassing, the 130-inning threshold this season. But

10:01 AM ET Associated Press MILWAUKEE — David Stearns is stepping away from his role as the Brewers‘ president of baseball operations, saying Thursday he just needs a break and isn’t thinking about taking a job with any other organization. Stearns will remain with the Brewers in an advisory role to owner Mark Attanasio. Matt

7:00 AM ET Kyle Schwarber‘s home runs this postseason have been nothing short of majestic. One traveled 488 feet in Game 1 of the National League Championship Series against the San Diego Padres last week, the longest home run in Petco Park history. Another — 429 feet this time — got lost in the trees

4:02 PM ET Associated Press TAMPA, Fla. — New York Yankees owner Hal Steinbrenner plans to keep Aaron Boone as his manager. “As far as Boone’s concerned, we just signed him and for all the same reasons I listed a year ago, I believe he is a very good manager,” Steinbrenner said Wednesday as he

11:43 AM ET Associated Press PHILADELPHIA — The Phillies will start right-hander Aaron Nola in Game 1 of the World Series against the Astros and Zack Wheeler, last season’s National League Cy Young Award runner-up, in Game 2. Game 1 of the World Series is Friday in Houston. Game 2 is Saturday. Nola is 2-1

2:27 PM ET Associated Press DETROIT — The Detroit Tigers have hired Tampa Bay scouting director Rob Metzler as vice president and assistant general manager, the team announced Tuesday. Metzler spent 15 seasons with the Rays, working the past seven years as the team’s senior director of amateur scouting. He will lead the Tigers’ amateur

8:55 PM ET Associated Press SAN DIEGO — The sudden end of a season that went unexpectedly deep left the San Diego Padres with questions to answer and holes to fill, as well as a hunger to play further into October next year. They will also begin pondering a long-term deal for 24-year-old superstar Juan

4:17 PM ET The Miami Marlins have hired Skip Schumaker as the team’s new manager, the team announced Tuesday. A first-time manager, Schumaker played 11 seasons in the majors, with the first eight coming with the St. Louis Cardinals. He was a part of two World Series-winning Cardinals teams in 2006 and 2011. “As we

7:45 AM ET INSTEAD OF A bank vault or a Brink’s truck, the betting slips from what could be the largest payout in sports gambling history are being guarded by nothing more than an old, tattered Houston Astros backpack. On a recent Tuesday afternoon in Houston, with the MLB playoffs about to begin, the faded

10:57 AM ET Jeff PassanESPN Close ESPN MLB insiderAuthor of “The Arm: Inside the Billion-Dollar Mystery of the Most Valuable Commodity in Sports” NEW YORK — There’s a hardness to this Houston Astros team, one honed by years hearing every insult imaginable, existing as flypaper for vitriol, living a life of perpetual villainy. It’s something

Oct 23, 2022 PHILADELPHIA — Welcome to the World Series, Bryce Harper. The superstar the Philadelphia Phillies brought in years ago to turn around a team stuck in mediocrity delivered one of the biggest home runs in franchise history Sunday. Harper’s two-run, rocket shot of a home run to left field in the bottom of

12:08 AM ET The 2022 World Series matchup is set. Starting Friday, the Houston Astros and Philadelphia Phillies will clash for the Commissioner’s Trophy in a meeting of one league’s favorite and the other league’s biggest underdog. Under MLB’s new playoff format, the Phillies entered as the sixth and final seed in the National League

12:09 AM ET NEW YORK — The Houston Astros freight train will roll into the World Series. Houston swept the Yankees on Sunday night, winning Game 4 by a 6-5 score in a battle that went back and forth as New York put up a fight to try to extend its season another night. So

10:59 PM ET NEW YORK — The New York Yankees clubhouse went silent. During the regular season — win or loss — New York always played music over the speakers after games. But that pattern died Saturday after the Yankees lost 5-0 in Game 3 of the American League Championship Series, putting them in a

8:14 AM ET The 2022 MLB playoffs are down to just four teams. After today, it could be down to two. Will the Philadelphia Phillies and Houston Astros punch their tickets to the World Series? Or will the San Diego Padres and New York Yankees save their seasons? A potential double-elimination Sunday begins with Game

12:57 AM ET PHILADELPHIA — In a sport that often defies logic, Philadelphia Phillies right fielder Nick Castellanos had a simple explanation for the Phillies’ comeback from a disastrous top of the first inning Saturday in Game 4 of the National League Championship Series: “It’s tough to play in the jungle, man.” After the San

2:30 PM ET NEW YORK — Facing the prospect of going down 3-0 in the American League Championship Series, the Yankees are shuffling up their lineup. Facing Houston Astros right-hander Cristian Javier, New York will lead off with first baseman Anthony Rizzo, move Harrison Bader down from the leadoff spot to No. 6, start Oswaldo

8:00 AM ET The 2022 MLB playoffs are down to just four teams, each vying for a spot in this year’s World Series. The American League Championship Series shifts to the Bronx for Game 3 of the Houston Astros against the New York Yankees. Houston won the first two games at home and holds a