10:40 PM ET A defamation lawsuit filed against Major League Baseball and the Los Angeles Angels by Brian Harkins, the longtime clubhouse attendant who was fired for supplying illegal ball-doctoring substances to pitchers, has been struck down in Orange County Superior Court. Judge Geoffrey T. Glass granted the defendants’ motion to dismiss Harkins’ complaint, stating
MLB
5:58 PM ET Jeff PassanESPN Close ESPN MLB insiderAuthor of “The Arm: Inside the Billion-Dollar Mystery of the Most Valuable Commodity in Sports” After sending a letter to Major League Baseball commissioner Rob Manfred that suggested delaying spring training “to allow for the COVID-19 situation to improve here,” Cactus League executive director Bridget Binsbacher told
2:45 PM ET Associated Press NEW YORK — As Jameson Taillon‘s trade from Pittsburgh to the New York Yankees started to sink in, he thought about reuniting with former roommate Gerrit Cole. “Every night you get a five-star cooked meal,” Taillon said. “Even if he’s cooking for himself, he’s going to marinate whatever he’s cooking
2:34 PM ET Major League Baseball will hold its first-ever pre-draft combine June 20-28 in Cary, North Carolina, at the USA Baseball National Training Complex. The group of invited players will be chosen in consultation with MLB scouts, and the event will include a tournament involving 88 of those players through the 26th, to give
12:39 PM ET The New York Yankees have traded reliever Adam Ottavino to the Boston Red Sox. The trade is the first deal between the AL East rivals since one involving Stephen Drew and Kelly Johnson in 2014. In addition to Ottavino, the Yankees announced they are sending right-handed pitcher Frank German to Boston, with
2:15 PM ET The Major League Baseball Players Association has turned down latest MLB proposal for the universal designated hitter and an expanded playoff format, sources confirmed to ESPN. The news was first reported by MLB Network. The union’s stance has been all along that it did not want to talk about a trade of
12:39 PM ET Associated Press ATLANTA — Third baseman Pablo Sandoval has signed a minor league contract with the Atlanta Braves. Sandoval would receive a $1 million, one-year contract if he is added to the team’s 40-man roster under a deal the Braves confirmed Monday. Sandoval, 34, hit .214 in 84 at-bats with the Braves
12:34 PM ET Leaders of all eight Cactus League cities have sent a letter to Major League Baseball saying it would be “wise” to delay the start of spring training due to the high rate of COVID-19 infections in Arizona’s Maricopa County. “In view of the current state of the pandemic in Maricopa County —
7:00 AM ET It’s Baseball Hall of Fame election week, and with nobody likely to get voted into Cooperstown when ballots are revealed Tuesday night, it seems like a perfect time to look ahead by predicting 40 active players who will eventually be Hall of Famers. Why 40? After all, that feels like a lot
7:52 PM ET ESPN News Services Closer Brad Hand and the Washington Nationals are in agreement on a one-year, $10.5 million contract, sources familiar with the deal told ESPN’s Jeff Passan on Sunday. Hand had another solid season as the closer for the Cleveland Indians, leading the major leagues with 16 saves, but he was
3:00 PM ET The year 2018 wasn’t that long ago. It really wasn’t, despite how it seems. The Red Sox beat the Dodgers in the World Series that year and while it feels like an epoch has passed since that happened, the highlight reels of that matchup are in full color, not black and white.
12:48 PM ET The New York Yankees have added another bounce-back candidate to their starting rotation, acquiring Jameson Taillon from the Pittsburgh Pirates for four minor-league prospects, according to ESPN’s Jeff Passan and multiple reports. Pittsburgh will receive pitchers Miguel Yajure and Roansy Contreras, infielder Maikol Escotto and outfielder Canaan Smith in the trade, sources
7:32 AM ET All along, the plan of the Toronto Blue Jays had been to start looking for opportunities — either in trades or in free-agent signings. The priority was to entrench the team’s core of promising young players — Bo Bichette, Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Cavan Biggio and others — in the big leagues, and
8:57 PM ET Associated Press WASHINGTON — Now that he’s set to play for the Washington Nationals this season, Ryan Zimmerman might stick around a little longer, too. Zimmerman and the Nationals made it official Saturday, announcing his $1 million, one-year contract. The deal came after the Nats’ longest-tenured player opted out of the coronavirus-shortened
2:01 PM ET Starting pitcher Garrett Richards and the Boston Red Sox have agreed to a one-year, $10 million deal, sources told ESPN’s Jeff Passan on Saturday. The deal is pending a physical. Richards’ biggest success during the pandemic-shortened season was staying healthy. The veteran right-hander made 10 starts for the San Diego Padres in
9:50 AM ET When I first reached out to Henry Aaron to tell him I was interested in writing a book about his life, he did not want to talk to me. He was convinced the public had no interest in him, except to have him serve as their proxy to criticize Barry Bonds as
8:48 PM ET The Boston Red Sox have agreed to a two-year, $14 million deal with Enrique Hernandez, sources confirmed to ESPN’s Jeff Passan on Friday. Hernandez, originally acquired from the Miami Marlins as part of a seven-player trade in December of 2014, was a key cog for the Los Angeles Dodgers over these last
7:00 PM ET So much of Henry Aaron’s baseball legacy is attached to three numbers — 715, 755 and whatever Barry Bonds’ career home run total ended up at — that we too often overlook his all-around brilliance on the field. Put it this way: If you turned his 755 home runs into outs, he