12:49 AM ET Two-way star Shohei Ohtani said Thursday he wants to play for Team Japan at next year’s World Baseball Classic. The Los Angeles Angels star took to Instagram to say he has contacted Team Japan manager Hideki Kuriyama to tell him of his desire to play in the tournament for the first time
MLB
7:46 PM ET Aaron Judge etched a permanent spot in the memories of baseball fans when he set the American League single-season home run record and chased a Triple Crown down the stretch. Now, he has a final accolade to top his historic 2022. The New York Yankees slugger was crowned AL Most Valuable Player
7:01 PM ET Jeff PassanESPN Close ESPN MLB insiderAuthor of “The Arm: Inside the Billion-Dollar Mystery of the Most Valuable Commodity in Sports” The Arizona Diamondbacks acquired former Rookie of the Year Kyle Lewis in a trade with the Seattle Mariners for outfielder/catcher Cooper Hummel on Thursday, sending a pair of 27-year-olds in search of
6:51 PM ET St. Louis Cardinals slugger Paul Goldschmidt has been voted the National League MVP, beating out teammate Nolan Arenado and San Diego Padres third baseman Manny Machado. Goldschmidt, 35, takes home his first MVP honor after leading the NL in slugging (.578) and OPS (.981) while compiling the highest OPS-plus (180) of his
2:33 PM ET Jeff PassanESPN Close ESPN MLB insiderAuthor of “The Arm: Inside the Billion-Dollar Mystery of the Most Valuable Commodity in Sports” Aaron Judge‘s record-setting 62nd home run ball is headed to auction later this month, with the attorney for the Texas man who caught it telling ESPN he already turned down a $3
2:04 PM ET NEW YORK — The Midsummer Classic is coming to the Lone Star State. Major League Baseball commissioner Rob Manfred announced Thursday the Texas Rangers will host the All-Star Game in 2024, marking the second time the franchise will host the festivities. The team previously held the 1995 All-Star Game, but the 2024
10:18 AM ET Jeff PassanESPN Close ESPN MLB insiderAuthor of “The Arm: Inside the Billion-Dollar Mystery of the Most Valuable Commodity in Sports” Major League Baseball is investigating whether the New York Mets and New York Yankees violated the collective bargaining agreement after a story explaining the Mets’ hesitancy to pursue Yankees star free agent
8:08 AM ET Los Angeles Angels pitcher/DH Shohei Ohtani had a 2.33 ERA and an .875 OPS in 2022. New York Yankees outfielder Aaron Judge led the league in OPS, runs, RBIs, and broke the American League home run record with 62. In any other year, either would be the obvious choice for AL Most
7:00 AM ET THROUGHOUT THE 2022 SEASON, as much as New York Yankees slugger Aaron Judge said publicly he was not thinking about home run records, about the history around his 2022 season, the legends of baseball lore found him anyway. Before a game against the Boston Red Sox in late September, Judge stood at
8:56 PM ET Associated Press NEW YORK — Now that Anthony Rizzo has decided to remain in New York Yankees pinstripes, he’d like to see Aaron Judge stick around, too. “I hope Judge stays just for the sake of the game,” Rizzo said Wednesday “because you see a lot of franchise icons not getting what
8:36 PM ET Associated Press Former big league outfielder Will Venable was named Wednesday as associate manager on the staff of new Texas Rangers manager Bruce Bochy. The Rangers didn’t immediately specify what responsibilities Venable would have with that new title. He was the bench coach for the Boston Red Sox the past two seasons
6:56 PM ET It wasn’t a question of whether Sandy Alcantara would win the Cy Young Award, just one of whether he would become the first unanimous winner in the National League since Clayton Kershaw in 2014. Indeed, the Miami Marlins’ 27-year-old right-hander swept all 30 first-place votes to beat out Braves’ lefty Max Fried
7:46 PM ET Houston Astros ace Justin Verlander was unanimously voted the American League Cy Young Award winner on Wednesday, capping a brilliant bounce-back season that saw him reach unprecedented heights. Verlander beat out Dylan Cease of the Chicago White Sox and Alek Manoah of the Toronto Blue Jays. With Miami Marlins ace Sandy Alcantara
3:00 PM ET Nick Martinez, who pitched in practically every role last season, has returned to the San Diego Padres with a new three-year contract, a source confirmed to ESPN on Wednesday. Martinez recently opted out of the three remaining years of a deal he signed in March, coming off a breakout season in Japan,
11:59 AM ET ESPN News Services Philadelphia Phillies star Bryce Harper will undergo surgery on the ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow next week, team president Dave Dombrowski told reporters Wednesday, though it was not immediately clear how long the recovery timeline will be. Harper is set for surgery Nov. 23 for a tear
11:42 AM ET Jeff PassanESPN Close ESPN MLB insiderAuthor of “The Arm: Inside the Billion-Dollar Mystery of the Most Valuable Commodity in Sports” The Seattle Mariners acquired slugger Teoscar Hernandez in a trade with the Toronto Blue Jays on Wednesday, fortifying a lineup in need of another big bat as they try to catch the
1:24 AM ET Associated Press NEW YORK — Former major league outfielder Yasiel Puig did not have a criminal attorney with him and felt compromised partly because of his mental health at an interview with federal agents investigating an illegal gambling operation, according to a statement Tuesday night from his agent. The U.S. Department of
5:35 PM ET Jeff PassanESPN Close ESPN MLB insiderAuthor of “The Arm: Inside the Billion-Dollar Mystery of the Most Valuable Commodity in Sports” San Francisco Giants outfielder Joc Pederson and Texas Rangers left-hander Martín Perez accepted one-year, $19.65 million qualifying offers Tuesday as a dozen other free agents rejected the tender from their teams. Players