10:24 PM ET Before you jump all over the concept of Home Run Derby X, think back to when you were a kid and you could only round up five kids in the neighborhood, and you had to invent some sort of knock-off version of baseball. (If you’re a kid right now: Yes, we used
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8:22 PM ET ESPN News Services WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — Washington Nationals fans have reasons to doubt 2022 will be their year. They got 29 more of them Wednesday. Pitchers Anibal Sanchez and Cade Cavalli allowed 10 runs each while the Nationals were shellacked 29-8 by the St. Louis Cardinals in a spring training
6:06 PM ET Associated Press GOODYEAR, Arizona — Hunter Greene has cracked the Cincinnati Reds‘ season-opening rotation. The second overall pick from the 2017 draft reached 104 mph with his fastball in Triple-A last season and could be one of the most exciting rookies in baseball this year. The right-hander will pitch behind Opening Day
6:09 PM ET Associated Press WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — Minutes after Albert Pujols smacked the first hit of his second act with the St. Louis Cardinals, he received a text message saying his wife’s brain surgery was a success. As Pujols was getting ready to make his spring training debut, his wife, Deidre, posted
5:31 PM ET Associated Press ATLANTA — Max Fried, who capped his 2021 season as the starting pitcher in Atlanta’s decisive Game 6 World Series win over Houston, has been named the Braves‘ Opening Day starter. The Braves announced on Wednesday that Fried will start against Cincinnati in their April 7 opener in Atlanta. It
3:49 PM ET Associated Press TAMPA, Fla. — Rachel Balkovec, hired by the New York Yankees as the first woman to manage a minor league affiliate of a Major League Baseball team, is nearing a return after being hit in the face by a batted ball during a drill last week. Balkovec was struck on
2:10 PM ET Los Angeles won’t be the only city to host a home run derby in 2022. On Wednesday, Major League Baseball announced the launch of MLB Home Run Derby X, a global baseball tour making stops in London; Seoul, South Korea; and Mexico City and featuring former stars Adrian Gonzalez, Jonny Gomes, Geovany
4:07 PM ET Associated Press MESA, Ariz. — Andrew Vaughn feared the worst when he got hurt making a diving catch for the Chicago White Sox on Sunday. Same for his team, which is looking for the slugger to play a key role this year. They’re all feeling much better now. Vaughn was diagnosed with
12:44 PM ET Associated Press SECAUCUS, N.J. — Retired pitcher Jake Peavy and outfielder Hunter Pence have joined the MLB Network as analysts. Peavy, 40, last played in 2016. A three-time All-Star, he won the 2007 NL Cy Young Award. Pence, who turns 39 on April 13, was a four-time All-Star who last played in
7:27 AM ET Tristan H. Cockcroft 1 Related Success in fantasy baseball isn’t about filling your roster with all of your favorite players. It’s fun to build a team of players you love, but it won’t win you your league. Success in this game is when personal preference meets opportunity. It’s when your strong, informed
7:00 AM ET Multiple Contributors When the Los Angeles Dodgers signed Freddie Freeman this offseason, they sparked a conversation: Do they have the best lineup in recent memory? And maybe … ever? We decided to dig into what it takes for a lineup to be great. Which 2022 teams — L.A. and perhaps others —
1:54 AM ET ESPN News Services LOS ANGELES — Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Trevor Bauer sued The Athletic and former reporter Molly Knight on Tuesday, accusing them of “creating and spreading the false narrative” that he had fractured a woman’s skull during a sexual encounter. The 26-page complaint, filed in U.S. District Court in Los
8:03 PM ET ESPN News Services BRADENTON, Fla. — Pittsburgh Pirates prospect Oneil Cruz will start the season in the minors. Cruz, ESPN insider Kiley McDaniel’s No. 13-ranked prospect, was optioned to Triple-A Indianapolis on Tuesday. A towering, 6-foot-7 shortstop, Cruz put together a solid spring training, going 5-for-15 with two home runs in Grapefruit
6:25 PM ET Associated Press TAMPA, Fla. — New York Yankees right-hander Luis Severino‘s spring training start scheduled for Wednesday night was pushed back to Saturday because of body soreness. Severino was limited to four late-season relief appearances in 2021 after having Tommy John surgery on Feb. 27, 2020. He is slated to follow Opening
5:24 PM ET Associated Press WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — Still sporting a 0.00 ERA after three spring training starts, Astros ace Justin Verlander won’t start on Opening Day as Houston plans around the early schedule. Manager Dusty Baker said skipping Verlander in the opener on April 7 at the Los Angeles Angels better positions
2:29 PM ET Associated Press PHOENIX — Corbin Burnes‘ Cy Young Award-winning performance last year has resulted in him getting the Opening Day assignment for the Milwaukee Brewers. Brewers manager Craig Counsell announced Tuesday that Burnes would start the Brewers’ April 7 opener against the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field. The Cubs haven’t yet named
12:55 PM ET Spring training is ending soon and the 2022 regular season is just about ready to (finally) get underway. As such, it is time to get a little bit bold when it comes to fantasy baseball! There are, of course, different levels of bold. For example, while I believe that White Sox OF
12:18 PM ET Associated Press GLENDALE, Ariz. — The Chicago White Sox acquired outfielder Adam Haseley in a trade with the Philadelphia Phillies on Tuesday. Chicago sent minor league pitcher McKinley Moore to Philadelphia for Haseley, a .264 hitter over parts of three big league seasons. Outfielder Blake Rutherford was designed for assignment by the