8:03 PM ET ESPN News Services CHICAGO — The White Sox have agreed to a minor league contract with veteran catcher Jonathan Lucroy, giving them another option behind Yasmani Grandal, according to multiple reports. The 34-year-old Lucroy appeared in one game with Boston last season, serving as an eighth-inning defensive replacement on opening day of
MLB
6:08 PM ET ESPN News Services Cleveland Indians president of baseball operations Chris Antonetti said the team was unaware of inappropriate behavior toward women by former pitching coach Mickey Callaway while he was with the club. Antonetti said he became “distraught” and “disturbed” in learning of allegations against Callaway that were reported on Monday night
2:10 PM ET Associated Press NEW YORK — The average Major League Baseball salary dropped for an unprecedented third straight year, even before the shortened season caused by the coronavirus pandemic. The Major League Baseball Players Association said Thursday the 2020 average would have been $3.89 million if a full season had been played. That
12:16 PM ET Representatives from the Major League Baseball Players Association spoke with White House officials Thursday morning about the current context of the COVID-19 pandemic amid ongoing discussions about the health and safety protocols for the start of spring training and the regular season. A players association spokesman told ESPN that the conversation was
7:00 AM ET Alden Gonzalez Close ESPN Staff Writer Joined ESPN in 2016 to cover the Los Angeles Rams Previously covered the Angels for MLB.com Jesse Rogers Close ESPN Staff Writer Jesse joined ESPN Chicago in September 2009 and covers MLB for ESPN.com. Earlier this week, the Major League Baseball Players Association decided to reject
9:45 PM ET Associated Press BALTIMORE — The Baltimore Orioles have agreed to sign veteran right-hander Felix Hernandez to a minor league contract. Hernandez won an American League Cy Young Award, two ERA titles and made six All-Star teams over 15 seasons with the Seattle Mariners before becoming a free agent last offseason. The 34-year-old
5:58 PM ET ESPN News Services Free-agent closer Alex Colome has agreed to a deal to join the Minnesota Twins, a source told ESPN’s Jeff Passan on Wednesday. The deal is for one year with a club option and $6.25 million guaranteed, according to the source. Colome’s base salary for 2021 will be $5 million,
5:11 PM ET ESPN News Services The Arizona Diamondbacks have agreed to terms on a one-year, $3.5 million deal with veteran relief pitcher Joakim Soria, pending a physical, according to multiple media reports Wednesday. Soria can also earn $500,000 in performance incentives. The two-time All-Star has pitched will be pitching for his eighth MLB team.
2:15 PM ET ESPN News Services Free-agent infielder Kolten Wong, who has won consecutive Gold Glove awards at second base, has agreed to a deal with the Milwaukee Brewers, a source confirmed to ESPN on Wednesday. Wong, 30, has been one of the best defenders in baseball with 41 defensive runs saved over the past
11:26 AM ET Free-agent pitcher Chase Anderson has reached a one-year, $4 million agreement with the Philadelphia Phillies, a source familiar with the contract told ESPN on Wednesday. Anderson, 33, went 1-2 with a 7.22 ERA in 10 appearances for the Toronto Blue Jays in 2020, including seven starts. The Phillies signed Anderson to compete
10:30 AM ET The calendar says the Major League Baseball offseason is just about over, but the calendar is telling us an incomplete story. What we have are questions, many questions. Will spring training really start this month? Should it? When are the rest of the free agents going to sign? What, exactly, are the
2:23 AM ET ESPN News Services TORONTO — Veteran left-hander Francisco Liriano has agreed to a minor league contract with the Toronto Blue Jays that includes an invitation to spring training, according to the Toronto Sun. Liriano did not pitch in the majors during the pandemic-altered 2020 season. He was in camp with Philadelphia on
11:55 PM ET The Los Angeles Angels announced their acquisition of veteran right-hander Alex Cobb from the Baltimore Orioles on Tuesday night, a deal that might solidify the team’s starting-pitching depth for 2021. The Angels will part with young utility player Jahmai Jones in the deal. They will only pay a third of the $15
11:53 PM ET ESPN News Services Designated hitter Nelson Cruz and the Minnesota Twins are in agreement on a one-year, $13 million contract, sources familiar with the deal told ESPN’s Jeff Passan. Cruz, 40, has been a linchpin of the Bomba Squad Twins’ lineup. And he’ll be back right in the middle of it in
10:55 PM ET Shortstop Andrelton Simmons says that depression and thoughts of suicide led to his decision to opt out during the last week of the Los Angeles Angels‘ 2020 regular season, telling the Orange County Register that “the idea of finishing the season in a bubble was too much for me to handle.” Simmons,
5:52 PM ET ESPN News Services Right-hander Chris Archer and the Tampa Bay Rays are in agreement on a one-year, $6.5 million deal, pending a physical, sources told ESPN’s Jeff Passan on Tuesday. With the move, Archer is returning to the organization with which he debuted in 2012 and found his greatest success. Archer, 32,
3:48 PM ET The Los Angeles Angels announced Tuesday that they have suspended pitching coach Mickey Callaway in the wake of The Athletic’s report that he sexually harassed female reporters in a span of five years. The team said it “will work closely with MLB to conduct a full investigation.” Callaway was accused by five
3:33 PM ET Associated Press PITTSBURGH — Grant Jackson, the winning pitcher in Game 7 of the 1979 World Series for the “We Are Family” Pittsburgh Pirates and a reliable left-hander for 18 seasons in the majors, died Tuesday from COVID-19 complications. He was 78. The Pirates said Jackson died at Canonsburg Hospital in Pennsylvania.