MLB

2:07 PM ET First baseman Josh Bell has been traded from the Pittsburgh Pirates to the Washington Nationals, it was announced Thursday. In return, the Pirates will get young pitchers Wil Crowe, who made his debut with the Nats in 2020, and Eddy Yean. “We are thrilled to be adding a player of Josh Bell’s

6:30 AM ET Jeff PassanESPN Close ESPN MLB insiderAuthor of “The Arm: Inside the Billion-Dollar Mystery of the Most Valuable Commodity in Sports” The planned opening of MLB’s spring camp is less than two months away, and nobody in baseball — not the players, not the owners, not the commissioner — has any clue whether

7:00 AM ET The unknown, the uncertainty, the unseen surrounded Freddie Freeman in his isolation, haunting him, as we’ve all been haunted in this awful year, his fear germinating after he was informed in the middle of the summer that he had tested positive for COVID-19. Freddie and Chelsea, his wife, had been very careful,

8:07 PM ET Associated Press DETROIT — The Detroit Tigers signed right-hander José Ureña to a $3.25 million, one-year deal Wednesday. Ureña can earn $250,000 in performance bonuses based on starts, $50,000 each for 15, 18, 21, 24 and 27. The 29-year-old starter has spent the past six season with the Miami Marlins, compiling a

8:04 PM ET Associated Press BOSTON — The Red Sox have signed right-hander Matt Andriese to a $2.1 million, one-year deal to bolster the back end of their starting rotation, chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom said Wednesday. Andriese will earn a $1.85 million salary for 2021 and has a $3.5 million club option for 2022

5:19 PM ET The Los Angeles Dodgers have reached a two-year deal with reliever Tommy Kahnle that is worth $4.75 million guaranteed, sources told ESPN on Wednesday, confirming multiple reports The hard-throwing 31-year-old right-hander had Tommy John surgery on Aug. 4 with New York Yankees head physician Dr. Christopher Ahmad and is likely to return

7:00 AM ET The most significant number of the 2020 baseball season was 60 — the number of games most teams played in this pandemic-ravaged year. The Los Angeles Dodgers finally earned their place as World Series champions, and after going 43-17 in the regular season — a record-tying 116-win pace — a lingering question

7:39 PM ET Associated Press MILWAUKEE — The Milwaukee Brewers have claimed utilityman Tim Lopes off waivers from the Seattle Mariners. Lopes, 26, batted .238 with two homers and 15 RBIs in 46 games for Seattle last season. He posted a .278 on-base percentage and a .364 slugging percentage. He hit .270 with one homer

2:35 PM ET The Philadelphia Phillies are expected to name Sam Fuld as their general manager, ESPN has confirmed. The promotion would be the latest in a front-office overhaul for the Phillies, who reassigned former GM Matt Klentak in October and named Dave Dombrowski their new president of baseball operations earlier this month. Fuld, 39,

2:25 PM ET The New York Mets have avoided salary arbitration with Noah Syndergaard, agreeing to a one-year deal worth $9.7 million, sources confirm to ESPN. The deal was first reported Tuesday by USA Today Sports. Syndergaard, 28 missed the coronavirus-shortened 2020 season after undergoing Tommy John surgery on his pitching elbow last March. The

7:00 AM ET Normally by this time on the calendar, the MLB hot stove is already cooking with at least some major free-agent signings and offseason trades. But this year? Not so much. While we wait for the movement to pick up, we asked a panel of experts for their opinion on what’s to come.

7:13 PM ET ESPN News Services Howie Kendrick announced his retirement Monday after 15 major league seasons. In an Instagram post, Kendrick thanked each of the teams he played for in the majors, finishing with the Washington Nationals, the team he won a World Series title with in 2019. “To the fans, without your support

5:56 PM ET The San Francisco Giants signed right-handed reliever John Brebbia to a one-year major league contract on Monday, the team announced. Financial terms were not disclosed but a source told ESPN’s Jeff Passan that Brebbia will make $800,000 in the 2021 season. Brebbia, 30, did not pitch last season after undergoing Tommy John

1:05 PM ET Associated Press PHOENIX — Chicago White Sox manager Tony La Russa pleaded guilty to a lesser charge to resolve misdemeanor drunken-driving charges stemming from his arrest nearly 10 months ago on a freeway in metro Phoenix. The 76-year-old pleaded guilty to reckless driving Monday in Maricopa County Justice Court. La Russa was

7:00 AM ET Jeff PassanESPN Close ESPN MLB insiderAuthor of “The Arm: Inside the Billion-Dollar Mystery of the Most Valuable Commodity in Sports” It was not a very eventful week in the MLB offseason, and with the holiday season ramping up this week and next, we could have more of the same. But that doesn’t

8:15 AM ET Steve Cohen is the ghost of Christmas future for some Yankees fans who fear that the Mets’ new owner will begin hoarding the type of pricey players who have long been the exclusive domain of the Steinbrenner family. This is the context in which Brian Cashman has been answering questions lately, and

8:23 PM ET Associated Press NEW YORK — Major League Baseball payrolls plunged to $1.75 billion during the pandemic-shortened season from $4.22 billion, and the World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers led with $98.6 million — the smallest for the top spender in 20 years. Base wages for 40-man rosters tumbled to $1.54 billion, according

8:18 PM ET Jo Adell, quite possibly the best prospect the Los Angeles Angels have had since Mike Trout, struggled as a rookie in 2020, batting .161 while showing clear struggles defensively. And though Angels manager Joe Maddon considers it unfair to judge players based off such an unconventional season, he also said he believes