MLB

1:04 PM ET As chance would have it, the Houston Astros‘ first exhibition game was a home game of sorts, with Houston playing host to the team that shares its West Palm Beach complex, the Washington Nationals. Because it’s still February and a lot of the veterans are relatively early in their preparation for the

9:03 PM ET Associated Press WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — Fans hoping to heckle the sign-stealing Houston Astros at their spring opener were met with quite the coincidence. They got their signs taken. In the Astros’ first spring training game since their sign-stealing scandal rocked baseball, some fans brought signs jeering Houston, and ballpark personnel

5:34 PM ET Associated Press JUPITER, Fla. — Jack Flaherty is getting the ball on opening day for the St. Louis Cardinals. St. Louis manager Mike Shildt said Saturday the 24-year-old Flaherty will start the season opener March 26 at Cincinnati. It will be the right-hander’s first Opening Day start and comes after he finished

10:00 AM ET Jeff PassanESPN Close ESPN MLB insiderAuthor of “The Arm: Inside the Billion-Dollar Mystery of the Most Valuable Commodity in Sports” WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — The 2017 Houston Astros were cheaters. They were selfish, unfair, wrong. Their actions influenced opponents’ careers. Their championship is tarnished. And with all that being true, they

6:37 PM ET Houston Astros players have gotten threats “every day” since the team’s 2017-18 sign-stealing scheme came to light in recent weeks, according to outfielder Josh Reddick, who said Friday that messages he has received also targeted his family. “You just see the first things in your suggested box and it just says, ‘I

3:34 PM ET Marly RiveraESPN Writer Close Marly Rivera is a writer for ESPNdeportes.com and ESPN.com. TAMPA, Fla. — The New York Yankees seem to have picked up where they left off last season on the injury front, with pitcher Luis Severino joining the list of players dealing with ailments this spring training. Severino became

7:00 AM ET Jesse Rogers Close ESPN Staff Writer Jesse joined ESPN Chicago in September 2009 and covers the Chicago Cubs for ESPNChicago.com and ESPN Radio 1000. Alden Gonzalez Close ESPN Staff Writer Joined ESPN in 2016 to cover the Los Angeles Rams Previously covered the Angels for MLB.com This has been the busiest spring

7:05 AM ET SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — Nine miles apart, two superstars started spring training by answering the same questions about a winter filled with trade rumors. But the vibe in the responses given by Nolan Arenado at Rockies camp and Kris Bryant as the Cubs opened spring training couldn’t have been more different. The reason?

7:00 AM ET GOODYEAR, Ariz. — Francisco Lindor didn’t sound like a man who had been shopped around all winter and was approaching the end of his time with the Cleveland Indians. He sounded genuinely upbeat about the potential of a franchise that has spent the past two offseasons reducing payroll. He sounded sincere when

7:00 AM ET TEMPE, Ariz. — Mike Trout — exemplary athlete, polished face of baseball, as uncontroversial as they come — stood in front of an Angels-themed backdrop Monday morning and joined the swelling list of star players taking pointed shots at the Houston Astros. Trout stated that he “lost respect” for peers he once

7:00 AM ET Hall of Famer Rogers Hornsby isn’t remembered as having the cheeriest of personalities, but his Kierkegaardian demeanor has always channeled the wintertime ennui of the baseball fan. Hornsby’s most-repeated quote went, “People ask me what I do in winter when there’s no baseball. I’ll tell you what I do. I stare out

7:45 AM ET Spring training provides opportunities for players both young and old to make their mark and change their future outlook. Some young players are trying to do enough to make the team. Veterans who have bounced around and might not have a contract are doing the same. Meanwhile, former stars and once-heralded prospects

11:00 AM ET Now even LeBron James has weighed in on the Astros scandal, with the King calling on commissioner Rob Manfred to listen to aggrieved, angry players like Mike Trout, Aaron Judge and Justin Turner, and do something more than what he has done. Manfred’s options are limited by the immunity granted to players

7:26 PM ET ESPN News Services SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — MLB commissioner Rob Manfred apologized Tuesday for what he called a disrespectful reference to the World Series trophy as a “piece of metal.” Even before being asked about it, Manfred said he made a mistake with those comments when trying to deliver a rhetorical point in

6:01 PM ET ESPN News Services Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James on Tuesday weighed in on the Houston Astros sign-stealing scandal and Rob Manfred’s handling of the situation, urging Major League Baseball’s commissioner to “fix this for the sake of sports.” “Listen I know I don’t play baseball but I am in Sports and

9:42 PM ET Jeff PassanESPN Close ESPN MLB insiderAuthor of “The Arm: Inside the Billion-Dollar Mystery of the Most Valuable Commodity in Sports” WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — This being Florida, and Florida being the cradle of American absurdity, the sight of a man peeling off his shirt, walking to a place where he was

7:00 AM ET Steve RichardsESPN Major League Baseball will roll out several rule changes for the 2020 season, the most dramatic being the three-batter minimum for pitchers. MLB and the players’ union agreed to the changes in March 2019, so they have been out there for a while, but the league just announced its implementation

7:00 AM ET Last week, Major League Baseball officially announced its rule changes for the 2020 season that we had heard about several months ago. These include the three-batter minimum for relievers (unless the inning ends), longer minimum stays for pitchers on the injured list (from 10 days to 15), a longer minimum option period