MLB

May 6, 2023, 01:57 PM ET Just 33 games into Willson Contreras‘ tenure with the St. Louis Cardinals, the team intends to remove him from the regular catching rotation and use him primarily at designated hitter and in the outfield. Contreras, who joined the Cardinals on a five-year, $87.5 million contract as a free agent

Raise your hand if you predicted that, one month into the 2023 season, the Pittsburgh Pirates would be the National League’s winningest team. I shouldn’t see many hands! (Barring, perhaps, those who decided to make a wild dart throw at a team that had +20000 preseason odds to win the World Series.) Remarkably, the Pirates’

May 5, 2023, 07:00 AM ET The National League West is about to get wild. The Los Angeles Dodgers and San Diego Padres — two powerhouses predicted to battle all season long for the division crown — play six times in 10 days. The start of the season has been full of ups and downs

May 5, 2023, 10:01 AM ET Veteran pitcher Matt Harvey, who lit up New York under his “Dark Knight” moniker while briefly shining for the Mets, announced his retirement from baseball Friday. Harvey addressed his decision in an Instagram post, sharing a photo from an April 2013 appearance with the Mets and discussing how he

Associated Press May 4, 2023, 06:42 PM ET MIAMI — Atlanta Braves slugger Ronald Acuna Jr. was removed from Thursday’s game against the Miami Marlins out of precaution after he fouled a ball off his left knee in the sixth inning, just three days after he was removed against the New York Mets with a

Jeff Passan, ESPNMay 4, 2023, 05:35 PM ET Close ESPN MLB insiderAuthor of “The Arm: Inside the Billion-Dollar Mystery of the Most Valuable Commodity in Sports” KANSAS CITY — Austin Hays debuted for the Baltimore Orioles as a late September call-up in 2017 at 21, a year after Baltimore made its last playoff appearance. The

May 4, 2023, 07:00 AM ET We’re just over a month into the new MLB season, and that means it is time to start taking what we’ve seen — for better or worse — a little more seriously as the sample continues to grow. Does that mean we should buy in to unexpected starts in

ESPN News Services May 3, 2023, 11:46 PM ET CHICAGO — It has been more than three years since Major League Baseball issued its report on an electronic sign-stealing scheme by the Houston Astros. Keynan Middleton definitely remembers. The reliever struck out Carlos Correa on a 96.2 mph fastball on Wednesday night, closing out a

Joon Lee, ESPNMay 3, 2023, 06:51 PM ET Close Previously a Staff Writer at Bleacher ReportCornell University graduate NEW YORK — Brian Cashman knows Yankees fans are ready to smash the panic button. The injury bug is sweeping through the clubhouse, the roster looks like a shell of itself and the team is sitting in

6:10 AM ET Associated Press YOKOHAMA, Japan — After cheerleaders welcomed him and after receiving the largest ovation of any Yokohama player at the start of the game, Trevor Bauer delivered what was expected Wednesday in his debut with the Yokohama DeNA Baystars. Pitching his first game in just over 22 months — the last

2:57 AM ET LOS ANGELES — Bryce Harper‘s historically rapid return from Tommy John surgery brought with it questions surrounding timing, particularly his ability to catch up to major league pitching after spending so much of these last five months focused mostly on rehabilitation. A different type of timing presented an obstacle. Harper used his

2:42 PM ET Midway through spring training, Bryce Harper paused in front of his locker in the Philadelphia Phillies‘ clubhouse in Clearwater, Florida, and discussed his rehabilitation from an elbow reconstruction. Harper nodded his head as a reporter mentioned the haunting tales of players who pushed beyond the recommendation of their doctors and suffered setbacks,

7:00 AM ET Shorter games. More action in the batter’s box and on the bases. Outs becoming hits again. Major League Baseball’s new rules seem to have near universal appeal among fans. But what do the players think? We asked ESPN MLB reporters Alden Gonzalez, Joon Lee and Jesse Rogers to sit down with a

10:53 PM ET LOS ANGELES — The thought throughout baseball was that Bryce Harper wouldn’t rejoin the Philadelphia Phillies until after the All-Star break, possibly later. Tommy John surgery, the procedure Harper underwent in late November, requires a rehabilitation process that is lengthy, even for position players looking solely to hit. But Harper had his

6:34 PM ET NEW YORK — The Yankees placed captain Aaron Judge on the 10-day injured list Monday, delivering a big blow to a team currently sitting in last place. Judge is dealing with a mild right hip strain, an injury the Yankees have been patient with. The IL move is retroactive to Friday, when

7:01 PM ET ESPN News Services MINNEAPOLIS — Minnesota Twins right-hander Tyler Mahle will be shut down for at least four weeks after tests revealed a posterior impingement and flexor pronator strain in his pitching elbow. Mahle left his most recent start last Thursday against Kansas City after four innings, showing diminished velocity. Mahle said

2:58 PM ET Associated Press ARLINGTON, Texas — Rangers ace Jacob deGrom is “definitely frustrated” that he’s landed on the injured list with right forearm tightness. “I want to be out there,” deGrom said Sunday, speaking to the media for the first time since he was placed on the IL on Saturday. “There’s a little

7:58 PM ET ESPN News Services Philadelphia Phillies star Bryce Harper will have a follow-up appointment on his reconstructed right elbow Monday in Los Angeles, and if cleared, he is expected to make his season debut Tuesday night at Dodger Stadium, according to manager Rob Thomson. The two-time National League MVP underwent Tommy John surgery