MLB

5:36 PM ET Associated Press TAMPA, Fla. — DJ LeMahieu and the New York Yankees are happy there will be a little bit of baseball normalcy when spring training games begin on Sunday. As in, fans in the stands when the Yankees host the Toronto Blue Jays at Steinbrenner Field. Due to restrictions brought about

3:17 PM ET Associated Press ANAHEIM, Calif. — Albert Pujols woke up from a nap last Monday in Arizona to find several hundred messages and missed calls on his phone. While he was sleeping, the Los Angeles Angels slugger’s wife, Deidre, had put up a complimentary Instagram post about her husband that was widely interpreted

6:03 PM ET Associated Press DETROIT — After a difficult few seasons for Miguel Cabrera, the Detroit Tigers slugger has a chance to remind fans just how much he’s accomplished in his career. Specifically, Cabrera has an opportunity to reach two major milestones in 2021. He is 13 home runs shy of 500 and 134

5:07 PM ET Chicago Cubs shortstop Javy Baez and left fielder Joc Pederson have one thing in common besides being 28 years old and free agents after this season: Both have something to prove in 2021. The lefty-hitting Pederson wants to show he can be an everyday player instead of just a platoon guy against

2:46 PM ET Associated Press TEMPE, Ariz. — Veteran right-hander Jesse Chavez is re-signing with the Los Angeles Angels on a minor league deal. Chavez will join the Angels’ spring training camp in Tempe, Arizona, after he clears their intake protocols, the team confirmed Friday. Chavez appeared in 38 games for the Angels in 2017,

11:18 AM ET Associated Press NEW YORK — Marla Miller is stepping down after 21 years as Major League Baseball’s senior vice president of special events. Miller, MLB’s first female senior vice president, has been in charge of planning for the All-Star Game and World Series, arranging ceremonies and entertainment, including national anthem singers. She

9:18 AM ET The Atlanta Braves have extended the contract of manager Brian Snitker through the 2023 season with a club option for 2024, it was announced Friday. “I am thrilled that Brian will continue to lead our club on the field and in the clubhouse,” Braves president and general manager Alex Anthopoulos said in

7:00 AM ET With MLB spring training games set to begin Sunday across Florida and Arizona, it is officially baseball season once again. The start of a new season means seeing players like Francisco Lindor, Trevor Bauer and Nolan Arenado in their new uniforms along with a chance to get a glimpse of some of

7:00 AM ET The 2020 MLB draft was obviously tricky for teams to navigate, with very limited information and a much shorter draft. This year it will be a little bit easier, but with a different set of limitations. Because summer high school showcases still largely went on as planned, a number of prep prospects,

5:37 PM ET If Philadelphia Phillies right fielder Bryce Harper is to get back to the postseason for the first time since 2017, he knows his team will have to earn it by getting through a stacked NL East. “I think this is the best division in baseball; I don’t think that’s even a question,”

11:51 AM ET Francisco Lindor continues to endear himself to the fan base of his new team, rocking a replica of the New York Mets jacket worn by Eddie Murphy in the classic movie “Coming to America” while making his entrance at the team’s spring training facility Thursday morning. Francisco Lindor wearing the jacket from

7:00 AM ET With the last few top free agents coming off the market in recent weeks, most of the dust has settled on the peculiar 2020-21 Major League Baseball hot stove season. It’s time to take stock. The last time we did this was just before the virtual winter meetings took place in nowhere-land

9:49 PM ET Associated Press SEOUL, South Korea — Free-agent outfielder Shin-Soo Choo has agreed to a one-year contract to play for a baseball club in his native South Korea. Choo, who spent the last seven seasons with the Texas Rangers, signed a 2.7 billion won ($2.4 million) deal with a Korean Baseball Organization team

7:44 PM ET Associated Press CLEVELAND — Cy Young Award winner Shane Bieber hopes to be talking about a new contract with the Cleveland Indians as soon as possible — maybe even this spring. They don’t seem to be in quite the same rush. Earlier this week, Bieber — who at just 25 led the

7:05 PM ET Shohei Ohtani said he topped out at 97 mph while throwing live batting practice on Wednesday, an encouraging development that further supports the enthusiasm voiced by prominent members of the Los Angeles Angels throughout the offseason. Ohtani, the Japanese two-way player who hasn’t pitched regularly since the start of the 2018 season,

3:26 PM ET ESPN News Services TAMPA, Fla. — A day after addressing his teammates, New York Yankees pitcher Domingo Germán publicly apologized for his role in a domestic violence incident. “I want to take this opportunity before answering questions to sincerely apologize to the Steinbrenner family, my teammates, the front office and those around

4:21 PM ET TORONTO — Vladimir Guerrero Jr. was determined not to show up to another spring training carrying more weight than he wanted. Embarrassed and apologetic after arriving out of shape at summer camp in 2020, the Toronto Blue Jays slugger worked aggressively on his conditioning this offseason, and said he has lost 42

12:17 PM ET Chicago White Sox star first baseman Jose Abreu has tested positive for COVID-19 and will be away from the club for the next several days. White Sox general manager Rick Hahn announced Wednesday that Abreu, the reigning American League MVP, is “completely asymptomatic” and “frustrated.” Hahn said that Abreu believes he “contracted