7:56 PM ET CHICAGO — The Chicago Cubs are bringing back one of their World Series heroes, reaching agreement on a deal with starter Jake Arrieta, a source confirmed with ESPN on Friday. The deal, pending a physical, is expected to be for one year and worth between $6.5 and $7 million, according to the
MLB
6:31 PM ET Associated Press DETROIT — Outfielder Nomar Mazara and the Detroit Tigers finalized a one-year, $1.75 million contract on Friday. Mazara, who turns 26 in April, hit .228 with one home run in 42 games during the pandemic-shortened 2020 season. That was his first season with the Chicago White Sox after he spent
2:49 PM ET Associated Press ARLINGTON, Texas — Free-agent infielder Brock Holt has agreed to a minor league contract with the Texas Rangers that includes an invitation to major league spring training. Holt would get a $1.75 million, one-year contract if added to the 40-man roster. The 32-year-old Texas native would have the opportunity to
2:32 PM ET Associated Press LOS ANGELES — The Dodgers have acquired infielder Sheldon Neuse and minor league right-hander Gus Varland from the Oakland Athletics on Friday for left-hander Adam Kolarek and minor league outfielder Cody Thomas. Neuse spent last season at Oakland’s alternate site after hitting .250 the previous year for the A’s. Before
1:30 PM ET Associated Press NEW YORK — Major League Baseball revamped its spring training exhibition schedule because of the pandemic, cutting travel for Florida-based teams in an effort to minimize coronavirus risks. College baseball teams, which often play big league clubs but are not subject to major league testing protocols, were dropped from the
12:07 PM ET Associated Press NEW YORK — Major League Baseball has reorganized its minor leagues in a 120-team regional alignment. MLB released a plan Friday for two Triple-A divisions, and three divisions each for Double-A, high-A and low-A. Forty affiliates were dropped from 2019, the last season under the old minor league system, and
1:41 PM ET ESPN News Services Infielder Joe Panik and the Toronto Blue Jays are in agreement on a minor league deal, a source tells ESPN’s Jeff Passan. If Panik makes the team, he’ll have a base salary of $1.85 million and can make another $400,000 in incentives, the source said. The 30-year-old hit .225
12:37 PM ET Associated Press COOPERSTOWN, N.Y. — Baseball’s Hall of Fame has canceled its traditional outdoor induction ceremony for the second straight summer because of the pandemic and plans an indoor, televised event for Derek Jeter and others being honored. Jeter, Larry Walker, Ted Simmons and late players’ association executive director Marvin Miller were
7:00 AM ET One day after ranking the top 100 individual prospects in baseball heading into the 2021 MLB season, it’s time to turn our attention to each team’s farm system as a whole. These rankings of all 30 organizations were done, for the most part, the same way last year’s were. In short, while
8:35 PM ET The Los Angeles Dodgers‘ landmark agreement with Trevor Bauer has been met with clear reservation, and in some instances disdain, by some of the team’s fans — although their concerns aren’t about his projected on-field performance. Bauer’s boundless social media activity includes instances that have prompted accusations of online bullying, two of
9:18 PM ET Associated Press CLEVELAND — Speedy free-agent outfielder Billy Hamilton has agreed to a minor league contract with the Cleveland Indians, a person familiar with the deal told The Associated Press on Thursday night. Hamilton, who spent last season with the New York Mets and Chicago Cubs, will also receive an invitation to
8:45 PM ET Free-agent infielder Marwin Gonzalez has agreed to a one-year, $3 million deal with the Boston Red Sox, sources confirmed to ESPN’s Jeff Passan on Thursday. Gonzalez, 31, spent the past two seasons with the Minnesota Twins. He hit .211 with five home runs and 22 RBIs last year in a pandemic-shortened schedule.
4:59 PM ET Associated Press NEW YORK — Seven Negro Leagues have been recommended for major league status by a task force of the Society for American Baseball Research. The announcement Thursday followed Major League Baseball’s decision on Dec. 16 that it was reclassifying the Negro Leagues to majors. They had been excluded in 1969
4:53 PM ET Wendy’s is becoming almost as well-known for its Twitter barbs as its hamburgers these days, and the fast-food chain landed a sharp jab on the Tampa Bay Rays on Thursday, referencing the controversial move by manager Kevin Cash in pulling starter Blake Snell in Game 6 of the 2020 World Series against
4:26 PM ET Associated Press DENVER — – The Colorado Rockies agreed to a minor league contract with first baseman Greg Bird that includes and invite to major league spring training. The 28-year-old didn’t appear in the majors in 2020 after signing with the Texas Rangers last offseason. Bird was a fifth-round pick by the
10:13 AM ET LOS ANGELES — Walker Buehler and the World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers avoided a salary arbitration hearing scheduled for Thursday, agreeing to an $8 million, two-year contract that would escalate to more than $12.12 million if he starts regularly this year and wins a Cy Young Award. Buehler gets a $2
7:00 AM ET This year’s top 100 MLB prospects list is unlike any other, and it’s for the reason you’re probably thinking of — there wasn’t a minor league season. Players certainly improved from last year, and there were trades, a draft and an international signing period, but there isn’t as much movement because there
12:09 AM ET The evident way to view the three-way trade between the Boston Red Sox, Kansas City Royals and New York Mets that sends outfielder Andrew Benintendi to Kansas City is that the Red Sox don’t believe Benintendi will return to the heights he reached in 2018, while the Royals are willing to spend