5:24 PM ET Associated Press Mike Soroka isn’t considering a cautious approach to his comeback from a torn Achilles tendon after throwing on the opening day of the Atlanta Braves‘ spring training. “Really, on the mound I am ready to compete,” Soroka said, adding, “I feel amazing.” Soroka was the Braves’ 2020 Opening Day starter
MLB
4:57 PM ET DENVER — Kyle Freeland sees the prevailing theory out there: All-Star third baseman Nolan Arenado traded away, the Colorado Rockies instantly written off. That sort of narrative just provides even more incentive for the left-hander and his teammates. “We haven’t even played a spring training game … and people are already counting
3:20 PM ET Associated Press CLEVELAND — Cleveland Indians ace Shane Bieber tested positive for COVID-19, delaying the American League Cy Young winner’s arrival at training camp. President of baseball operations Chris Antonetti said Thursday that Bieber has dealt with only very mild symptoms from the virus. Antonetti anticipates that Bieber, who had been working
2:09 PM ET The names Michael Jordan, Tiger Woods and Wayne Gretzky were brought up in a question about superstar shortstop Fernando Tatis Jr. on Thursday morning, hours after news spread about his mega-extension with the San Diego Padres. Manager Jayce Tingler welcomed it. “That’s a definite,” Tingler said when asked whether Tatis was on
2:16 PM ET J.T. Realmuto‘s second chapter with the Philadelphia Phillies is off to a rocky start. The catcher broke the thumb on his throwing hand and is expected to miss about a month, according to ESPN’s Jeff Passan. The team expects him to be ready for Opening Day, but he will miss a chunk
1:12 PM ET Associated Press MINNEAPOLIS — Former Minnesota second baseman Brian Dozier has retired after nine years in the major leagues and 167 career home runs, the Twins announced on Thursday. Dozier played his first seven seasons for the Twins, who traded him to the Los Angeles Dodgers right before the deadline in 2018.
12:31 PM ET Boston Red Sox ace Chris Sale knows he’s not going to be back until well into the 2021 season, but a year after undergoing Tommy John surgery, the 31-year-old is glad to be back on schedule to help contribute to his team. “I feel great now,” Sale said Thursday. “The silver lining
11:23 AM ET Closer Trevor Rosenthal and the Oakland Athletics are in agreement on a one-year, $11 million contract, sources familiar with the deal confirmed to ESPN on Thursday. Rosenthal had been seeking a four-year contract, but the free agent for relief pitchers had cratered. He did have multiyear options, sources told ESPN’s Jeff Passan,
9:32 AM ET Associated Press TORONTO — – The Toronto Blue Jays will play their first two homestands of the season at their spring training facility in Dunedin, Florida, because of Canadian government restrictions during the pandemic. The team said Thursday it has been planning different scenarios for home games and had hoped to see
7:15 AM ET “Me next! Me next!” Hayden Parker could hardly believe it. On his screen was an Instagram direct message from one of his favorite Major League Baseball players, Chicago White Sox ace Lucas Giolito. Giolito had seen Parker’s work — a series of hilarious, creatively Photoshopped images posted on Instagram called MLB Minis,
7:00 AM ET Last week, I ranked the top 100 prospects and all 30 farm systems heading into the 2021 season. Now it’s time to go deeper with my team-by-team rankings, starting with the American League. A quick refresher on a key term you’ll see throughout the team lists: Future Value, shortened to FV hereafter,
10:57 PM ET ESPN News Services TORONTO — The Toronto Blue Jays will play their first two homestands of the regular season at their spring training facility in Dunedin, Florida, because of Canadian government restrictions during the coronavirus pandemic, according to multiple reports. After starting the season with three-game series at the New York Yankees
10:15 PM ET From the outset of his move into pro baseball in 2016, Tim Tebow followed a unique trail. The Heisman Trophy winner, NFL veteran quarterback and SEC football analyst for ESPN started out as a 29-year-old rookie in the minors, one who had not played competitively since his junior year of high school.
9:48 PM ET On his first day back in uniform in a decade, new Chicago White Sox manager Tony La Russa felt fortunate to be on the practice field after the team stuck by him despite an arrest for DUI in February 2020. “I had already been beating myself up for the mistake without anyone
7:54 PM ET ESPN News Services Tim Tebow is retiring from baseball after five years as a minor leaguer with the New York Mets. The 2007 Heisman Trophy winner returned to baseball in 2016 for the first time since his junior year of high school and reached Triple-A, encouraged by then-general manager and current team
8:46 PM ET Star shortstop Fernando Tatis Jr. and the San Diego Padres reached agreement on a 14-year, $340 million contract extension, a source familiar with the deal told ESPN’s Jeff Passan. The $340 million extension is the third-largest contract handed out in MLB history, trailing only Mike Trout‘s $426.5 million extension over 12 years
9:45 PM ET Bradford Doolittle Close ESPN Staff Writer Sports reporter, Kansas City Star, 2002-09 Writer, Baseball, Baseball Prospectus Co-author, Pro Basketball Prospectus Member, Baseball Writers Association of America Member, Professional Basketball Writers Association David Schoenfield Close ESPN Senior Writer Covers MLB for ESPN.com Former deputy editor of Page 2 Been with ESPN.com since 1995
7:29 PM ET Associated Press OAKLAND, Calif. — – Oakland Athletics catcher Sean Murphy will be sidelined for several weeks with a collapsed lung that required surgery but is expected to be fine and fully recovered by opening day. “I don’t think he liked the idea of just sort of being out there in the