MLB

9:09 PM ET Associated Press ANAHEIM, Calif. — The Los Angeles Angels have acquired catcher Drew Butera from Texas in exchange for cash considerations. The Angels also designated catcher Jack Kruger for assignment Friday. Butera, 37, will back up Kurt Suzuki in Anaheim while catchers Max Stassi and Anthony Bemboom are sidelined by injuries. Stassi

7:52 PM ET ESPN News Services Outfielder Byron Buxton was put on the 10-day injured list by the Minnesota Twins on Friday with a strained right hip. Manager Rocco Baldelli said an MRI showed it to be a Grade 2 strain, and that while Buxton won’t need surgery, he’ll likely be on the IL for

7:19 PM ET CHICAGO — There won’t be a reunion between Albert Pujols and his old manager as Chicago White Sox skipper Tony La Russa indicated Pujols won’t be joining him in Chicago. “We have Jose (Abreu) and Yermin (Mercedes) and even if Yermin gets less hot, it’s a good way to DH other guys,

5:27 PM ET Associated Press ATLANTA — The Philadelphia Phillies got a boost with Jean Segura coming off the 10-day injured list and Bryce Harper returning from a sore left wrist. Harper missed four consecutive games, and Segura was on the IL with a right quad strain. Both are starting in Friday night’s National League

4:27 PM ET Associated Press CLEVELAND — A tiny crack in Roberto Perez‘s finger has turned into a large problem for the Indians. Cleveland’s two-time Gold Glove catcher will miss at least two months after surgery Friday on a fractured right ring finger. There is no definitive timeline for Perez’s recovery, but the Indians are

4:27 PM ET Associated Press HOUSTON — Houston Astros ace Justin Verlander is doing well in his recovery from Tommy John surgery and says he still has unbridled passion for the game at 38. However, the two-time Cy Young Award winner can’t deny that he has loved the extra time at home with his wife,

1:30 PM ET Associated Press STAMFORD, Conn. — Former Major League Baseball player and manager Bobby Valentine is taking a swing at politics, announcing Friday that he’s running for mayor of his Connecticut hometown. Valentine, 70, who currently serves as the athletic director at Sacred Heart University, posted a video on social media and said

8:00 AM ET Kelly Cohen Dan Hajducky Close Reporter/researcher Hajducky is a reporter/researcher for ESPN The Magazine. He has an MFA in creative writing from Fairfield University and vehemently believes there was room for Jack on the door. We’ve all misplaced something — car keys, wallets, a W-2 from last year. But what about misplacing

1:44 AM ET Jeff PassanESPN Close ESPN MLB insiderAuthor of “The Arm: Inside the Billion-Dollar Mystery of the Most Valuable Commodity in Sports” Drew Robinson returned to professional baseball on Thursday night, going hitless in his first game since surviving a suicide attempt and losing his right eye last year. Playing right field and hitting

9:42 PM ET Associated Press NEW YORK — Highly touted Colorado Rockies minor league third baseman Colton Welker was suspended 80 games by the commissioner’s office Thursday after testing positive for a performance-enhancing substance. The 23-year-old Welker, drafted in 2016 out of Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, is currently on the roster

5:25 PM ET Associated Press NEW YORK — Jose Altuve responded to jeering fans by marking his 31st birthday with a go-ahead, three-run homer off Chad Green in the eighth inning, and the Houston Astros beat the New York Yankees 7-4 Thursday to avoid a three-game sweep. Gleyber Torres made an incredible, daring dash for

2:53 PM ET Associated Press MISSION VIEJO, Calif. — Del Crandall, a star catcher who played on two Milwaukee Braves teams that reached the World Series in the 1950s before managing the Milwaukee Brewers and Seattle Mariners, has died. He was 91. He had Parkinson’s disease and died Wednesday in Mission Viejo, California, surrounded by

1:56 PM ET Associated Press ST. LOUIS — Carlos Carrascowas shifted to the 60-day injured list by the New York Mets on Thursday, a surprise move that pushes back his season debut until May 28 at the earliest. The 34-year-old right-hander has been sidelined by an injured right hamstring since spring training and had been

3:03 PM ET Associated Press TORONTO — Blue Jays outfielder George Springer is not expected to be ready to return to the lineup when his latest stint on the 10-day injured list ends May 13, general manager Ross Atkins said Thursday. Also Thursday, the Blue Jays activated left-hander Hyun Jin Ryu off the injured list

2:02 PM ET Albert Pujols has been designated for assignment by the Los Angeles Angels, the team announced Thursday. Pujols is slashing .198/.250/.372 in 92 plate appearances this year with five home runs and 12 RBIs. For his career, the 10-time All-Star has slashed .298/.376/.545 with 667 home runs and 2,112 RBIs. “The Angels Organization

7:18 AM ET To appreciate Willie Mays, the oldest living Hall of Famer at age 90, is to remember him at 20. When he joined the New York Giants in 1951, the game had never seen an athlete like him — breathtakingly graceful, the greatest combination of power, speed and defense ever to wear a

7:00 AM ET Just over a month into the 2021 MLB season, no team has separated itself from the pack at the top of the standings just yet. In fact, heading into play Thursday, there are 12 teams within two games of Oakland’s MLB-best 19-13 mark. For our MLB Power Rankings voters, that means the

6:13 PM ET John Means was almost perfect for the Baltimore Orioles on Wednesday, but will happily settle for a no-hitter and one of the greatest pitching performances in Orioles history. Means retired all 27 batters he faced in a 6-0 victory over the Seattle Mariners, but did allow a baserunner when Sam Haggerty reached