MLB

11:41 AM ET Associated Press NEW YORK — YouTube will broadcast a Major League Baseball package of games for a third season. The series of 21 telecasts start on Wednesday, April 7 at 1:10 p.m. EDT when the Boston Red Sox host the AL champion Tampa Bay Rays in the finale of a two-game series,

7:00 AM ET What is the thing most likely to keep a big league executive awake at night? The answer might vary, but high up on the list for all of baseball’s decision-makers would surely be innings. Just plain, simple innings. As in, who is going to pitch them and for how long? That issue,

9:21 PM ET The Los Angeles Dodgers‘ rotation is as deep and as talented as it has ever been, but Clayton Kershaw remains perched atop it. Dodgers manager Dave Roberts announced Sunday that Kershaw will once again start on Opening Day, marking the 11th time he has been bestowed the honor. Kershaw has been named

4:50 PM ET Associated Press WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — Washington Nationals pitcher Stephen Strasburg left his second spring training start in the third inning Sunday because of a problem with his left calf that he calls “nothing major.” The 2019 World Series MVP, whose 2020 season was cut to just five innings because he

4:30 PM ET To say New York Mets shortstop Luis Guillorme earned his fifth-inning walk would be an understatement. After going down 0-2 in the count to St. Louis Cardinals righty Jordan Hicks, Guillorme worked a 22-pitch at-bat to take a free path to first. Guillorme fouled off 16 pitches, including nine straight before getting

2:04 PM ET Associated Press TAMPA, Fla. — New York Yankees manager Aaron Boone is into his second full week on the bench after having a pacemaker inserted and said he’s feeling “awesome.” Boone had the procedure done at St. Joseph’s Hospital in Tampa, Florida, on March 3 and was back on the job after

7:39 AM ET We have years of watching Juan Soto bash home runs, win awards and obliterate benchmarks, but maybe the most fun will be in seeing how he invades the thoughts and intent of opposing pitchers. He’s only 22 years old; with intense smiles and subtle sneers, his face betrays how absurdly often he

8:35 PM ET ESPN News Services TAMPA, Fla. — Corey Kluber overcame occasional wildness, allowing two runs and four hits over four innings in his second start, and the New York Yankees beat the Pittsburgh Pirates 7-5 on Saturday. Kluber is a two-time Cy Young Award winner with his third team in three years. He

5:22 PM ET Associated Press Franchy Cordero is a proud member of the Big Papi generation, growing up in the Dominican Republic watching Dominican stars like David Ortiz lead the Boston Red Sox to the 2004 World Series title. “Those are the games that were always on: Boston Red Sox games,” Cordero told reporters in

7:00 AM ET I have been making the rounds from my home in Atlanta for the past three weeks to watch high school and college games with the 2021 MLB draft now four months away. It’s not time to update my initial ranking of the top 50 prospects for this summer’s draft just yet, but

12:07 PM ET ESPN Fantasy Facebook Twitter Facebook Messenger Pinterest Email print No matter how hard you study for your fantasy baseball draft, there’s simply too many names to keep track of from pick to pick. That’s why they invented cheat sheets. Unlike other cheat sheets, this one isn’t just rankings. We’ve taken the best

4:50 PM ET Associated Press TEMPE, Ariz. — Arizona Diamondbacks first base coach Dave McKay suffered a broken rib and lacerated spleen in a fall in the dugout earlier this week. Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo said 70-year-old McKay was wearing a new pair of shoes Tuesday, tripped on the bottom step of the dugout and

2:37 PM ET Associated Press BRADENTON, Fla. — Right-hander Trevor Cahill and the Pittsburgh Pirates finalized a $1.5 million, one-year contract on Friday, a deal that allows him to earn an additional $1 million in performance bonuses for innings. Cahill could earn $100,000 for 75 innings, $150,000 for 100, $200,000 for 125, $250,000 for 150

12:31 PM ET Associated Press CLEVELAND — The Cleveland Indians traded utility infielder Mike Freeman to the Cincinnati Reds on Friday for cash. Manager Terry Francona announced the deal from the team’s year-round training complex in Goodyear, Arizona, shortly after he said reigning Cy Young Award winner Shane Bieber will start the opener at Detroit

9:35 AM ET Outfielder Nick Markakis is retiring after a 15-year career. A three-time Gold Glove winner, Markakis holds the record for consecutive games without an error for an outfielder at 398. He was as steady at the plate as he was in the outfield, finishing with 2,388 career hits and a slash line of

7:00 AM ET In a spring training game last weekend, Trevor Bauer pitched the first inning with one eye closed. That he did it against the Padres, the Dodgers’ new archrival in the National League West, suggests it was perhaps a bit of gamesmanship, although Bauer attempted a different explanation after the game. “I like

9:15 PM ET Major League Baseball announced that it would test a variety of experimental rules across different levels of the minor leagues during the 2021 season. Ranging from banning some forms of the defensive shift and using larger bases to implementing electronic strike zones and experimenting with 15-second pitch clocks, the new rules will

7:30 PM ET Associated Press NEW YORK — AL Cy Young Award winner Shane Bieber of the Cleveland Indians was among eight players whose contracts were unilaterally renewed by their team before Thursday’s deadline for all players on 40-man rosters to have deals for the 2021 season. Bieber will receive a $679,700 salary while in