11:52 AM ET Associated Press MIAMI — Well-traveled right-hander Anthony Bass agreed to terms Friday on a deal with the Marlins and is expected to compete for a role as their closer. Bass led the Toronto Blue Jays with seven saves last season, when he went 2-3 with a 3.51 ERA in 26 games. He
MLB
7:00 AM ET MLB InsidersESPN Two of baseball’s big four free agents are off the board. Two remain. With the World Series ancient history and the first pitch of the 2021 MLB season still months away, we’ve reached this offseason’s unofficial midway point. While we wait for the rest of the hot stove action to
12:32 PM ET Associated Press KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The Kansas City T-Bones of the independent American Association are being renamed the Kansas City Monarchs after the team that played in the Negro Leagues. The Negro Leagues Baseball Museum signed a licensing agreement with Mark Brandmeyer’s MaxFun Entertainment, owner of the minor league team. The
12:54 PM ET After intimating as much over the last year or so, Chicago Cubs third baseman Kris Bryant admitted he isn’t having as much fun playing baseball as he used to. Bryant, 29, spoke to Red Line Radio, a Barstool podcast, and was asked if there was joy for him on the field. “At
9:11 AM ET ESPN News Services The Houston Astros have agreed to a one-year contract with catcher Jason Castro, a source confirmed to ESPN. The deal brings Castro back to Houston, where he spent his first six major league seasons and was an All-Star in 2013. Castro finished the 2020 season with the San Diego
7:00 AM ET So often, when you reference the big numbers of a pitcher from baseball’s past, you are dealing with results that have no modern relevance. They certainly have little use as a signpost for what some present-day hurler might do. Things have changed too much. There are some obvious examples of that which
1:07 AM ET Associated Press SAN FRANCISCO — – Mike Sadek, a popular backup catcher who played all eight of his major league seasons with the San Francisco Giants, has died. He was 74. The team announced Sadek died Wednesday in San Andreas, California, following a short illness. Sadek was a .226 career hitter with
5:07 PM ET Veteran left-hander J.A. Happ and the Minnesota Twins have agreed to a one-year deal, pending a physical, sources tell ESPN’s Jeff Passan. Financial terms weren’t immediately available. Happ, a free agent, will remain in the American League after spending the last two-and-a-half seasons with the New York Yankees. He will join a
4:38 PM ET Veteran outfielder Michael Brantley will be returning to the Houston Astros after the free agent agreed to a two-year, $32 million deal, sources confirmed to ESPN on Wednesday. Brantley, 33, continues to boast a high contact rate, low strikeout ratio and polish at the plate. In 46 games with the Astros in
12:11 PM ET Jeff PassanESPN Close ESPN MLB insiderAuthor of “The Arm: Inside the Billion-Dollar Mystery of the Most Valuable Commodity in Sports” While the Toronto Blue Jays remain among the teams interested in free agent outfielder Michael Brantley, they have not reached an agreement on a contract, a source familiar with the situation told
12:11 PM ET The Toronto Blue Jays have added their second former Houston Astros slugger in as many days, agreeing to a three-year contract with outfielder/designated hitter Michael Brantley on Wednesday, a source confirmed to ESPN. The Jays reached agreement on a six-year, $150 million contract with former Astros center fielder George Springer on Tuesday
12:33 PM ET Associated Press KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Reliever Wade Davis is returning to the Royals, the team he helped pitch to the 2015 World Series title. The Royals and Davis agreed Wednesday to a minor league contract, and the 35-year-old right-hander will go to spring training trying to earn a spot on the
2:50 AM ET In the end, despite all the grumbling and fussing about the slow offseason, George Springer will get his money. All it took was the biggest contract in Toronto Blue Jays history, a six-year, $150 million deal, according to Jeff Passan, just the second $100 million contract the franchise has handed out. The
10:38 PM ET Associated Press LOS ANGELES — Hall of Fame manager Tommy Lasorda was memorialized during a private service at Dodger Stadium before his burial on Tuesday. Lasorda died Jan. 7 after a heart attack at age 93. His casket, covered with a huge assortment of blue and white flowers, was placed on the
10:55 PM ET Outfielder George Springer and the Toronto Blue Jays have agreed to a six-year, $150 million contract, sources confirmed to ESPN’s Jeff Passan. Springer is headed to the Blue Jays’ spring training facility in Dunedin, Florida, for a physical. If all goes according to plan, Toronto will get the star it has been
11:35 PM ET The Los Angeles Angels, desperate to add starting pitching, agreed to a one-year, $8 million contract with veteran left-hander Jose Quintana on Tuesday, a source confirmed to ESPN. Quintana, who previously pitched under current Angels manager Joe Maddon while with the Chicago Cubs, was limited to only 10 innings in 2020 largely
9:50 PM ET Free-agent reliever Kirby Yates has reached agreement on a deal with the Toronto Blue Jays, The Athletic reported. The one-year deal has a $5.5 million guarantee, according to Sportsnet, and includes $4.5 million in performance bonuses for appearances and awards. The deal is pending a physical, which Yates underwent Tuesday at the
7:49 PM ET New York Mets president of baseball operations Sandy Alderson said Tuesday he will look for ways to ensure the team does a better job vetting potential hires in the wake of the firing of general manager Jared Porter for explicit, unsolicited texts and images he sent to a reporter in 2016. The