MLB

10:45 AM ET Jeff PassanESPN Close ESPN MLB insiderAuthor of “The Arm: Inside the Billion-Dollar Mystery of the Most Valuable Commodity in Sports” Almost a year ago, when Major League Baseball’s postseason expansion plans first leaked, a league official was trying to sell the idea. It would be good for competitiveness, he said, and would

7:00 AM ET MLB InsidersESPN The most unusual MLB trade deadline in the sport’s history is approaching, and we’ve got you covered with all of the trade rumors, reaction and analysis you need as your team ponders its next blockbuster move in a shortened 60-game 2020 season with the standings packed leading up to baseball’s

7:00 AM ET ESPN.com Staff With Major League Baseball teams reaching the midpoint of their seasons and next week’s trade deadline looming ahead on the sports calendar, even little more than a month’s worth of data is starting to take on meaning for general managers weighing decisions about potential moves they can make. Not least

9:35 PM ET CHICAGO — Like an aging prizefighter, the Chicago Cubs got off the mat just in time on Sunday to salvage a 2-1 win in the final game of their series against their crosstown rivals, the Chicago White Sox. The latter team has become one of the darlings of Major League Baseball, slugging

12:18 PM ET Veteran outfielder Hunter Pence has been designated for assignment by the San Francisco Giants. Pence, 37, is hitting just .096 with two home runs and six RBIs in 52 at-bats this season after rejoining the Giants in the offseason. He had seemingly resurrected his career last season with the Texas Rangers when

1:25 AM ET CHICAGO — The Chicago White Sox‘s recent power surge is breaking records, as they hit five more home runs on Saturday night in a 7-4 victory over the crosstown Chicago Cubs. Jose Abreu led the charge with his first career three-homer game, one day after he belted two at Wrigley Field. “I’m

12:35 AM ET Associated Press SAN DIEGO — Trent Grisham hit three home runs and rookie Jake Cronenworth launched a grand slam in a wild nine-run second inning Saturday night, making the San Diego Padres the first team in major league history to hit five slams in six games as they cruised to a 13-2

1:19 PM ET Washington Nationals right-hander Stephen Strasburg will undergo season-ending surgery for carpal tunnel syndrome in his pitching hand, manager Dave Martinez told reporters Saturday. Strasburg, 32, has been placed on the 60-day injured list. His 2020 season consisted of two starts, including a 16-pitch outing in his final appearance against the Baltimore Orioles

2:54 PM ET Washington Nationals right-hander Stephen Strasburg has carpal tunnel syndrome in his pitching hand, casting doubt on whether he will be able to pitch again this season. Manager Davey Martinez made the announcement Friday, a day after Strasburg visited a hand specialist. The reigning World Series MVP could have surgery to fix the

10:42 PM ET Associated Press WASHINGTON — Miguel Rojas hit a three-run homer in his first at-bat after being activated from the COVID-19 injured list, and the Miami Marlins snapped a five-game skid by beating the Washington Nationals 3-2 on Friday night. Rojas connected in the second inning against Patrick Corbin (2-2), and that was

7:00 AM ET This will be the most unpredictable trade deadline we’ve ever seen. My colleague Brad Doolittle just did a great job outlining the issues teams face this deadline, along with a position-by-position look at who might be available and which teams have holes to fill. One big factor aside from the cash-flow problems

3:09 AM ET San Francisco Giants reliever Shaun Anderson threw another fastball near Mike Trout‘s head on Thursday, two days after throwing two fastballs near Trout’s head. The latest incident drew a warning from the umpiring crew and more pointed words from Los Angeles Angels manager Joe Maddon, who previously identified Anderson as “a young

5:09 PM ET The New York Mets‘ game Thursday against the Miami Marlins has been postponed after two positive tests for the coronavirus within the Mets’ organization, Major League Baseball announced Thursday. In addition, Friday’s game between the Mets and New York Yankees has been postponed to allow for additional testing and for contact tracing

3:43 PM ET Phillies reliever Jose Alvarez was carted off the field after being struck in the groin by a line drive in Thursday’s game against the Blue Jays in Buffalo. Alvarez was hit by a 105.3 mph liner off the bat of Lourdes Gurriel Jr. Alvarez finished the play to get the first out

6:36 PM ET Jeff PassanESPN Close ESPN MLB insiderAuthor of “The Arm: Inside the Billion-Dollar Mystery of the Most Valuable Commodity in Sports” Cincinnati Reds starter Trevor Bauer was told by Major League Baseball he could be subject to discipline and removal from a game if he wears custom-made cleats that say “FREE JOE KELLY”

8:55 PM ET ESPN News Services Reds broadcaster Thom Brennaman used an anti-gay slur during Cincinnati’s game Wednesday night at the Kansas City Royals and later left the broadcast after apologizing. Brennaman used the slur moments after the Fox Sports Ohio broadcast returned from a commercial break before the top of the seventh inning of

7:30 AM ET Sam MillerESPN.com Close ESPN baseball columnist/feature writerFormer editor-in-chief of Baseball ProspectusCo-author of “The Only Rule Is It Has To Work” The first time anybody talked about “The Curse of the Bambino,” according to newspaper databases, was in 1989, when buzz started to build about an upcoming book of that title by Boston

1:28 AM ET Kenta Maeda is what I refer to as a kitchen sink pitcher — as in he’ll throw the whole kitchen sink at you. On Tuesday night, the veteran right-hander had everything working for the Minnesota Twins in their Major League Baseball game against the Brewers: fastball, sinker, slider, splitter, blender, waffle iron.