7:57 PM ET Toronto All-Star catcher Alejandro Kirk has formally withdrawn from the World Baseball Classic, Blue Jays manager John Schneider confirmed on Saturday. Kirk was in line to play for Team Mexico, but his arrival at Blue Jays spring training in Dunedin, Florida, has been delayed while he awaits the birth of a child.
MLB
6:01 PM ET Associated Press Cal Conley of the Atlanta Braves thought he had just won the game with a two-out, bases-loaded walk-off walk on Saturday. He took a few steps toward first base, bat still in hand, when umpire John Libka jumped out from behind the plate and indicated strike three. Game over. Conley
3:56 PM ET Jeff PassanESPN Close ESPN MLB insiderAuthor of “The Arm: Inside the Billion-Dollar Mystery of the Most Valuable Commodity in Sports” San Diego Padres star Manny Machado committed the first pitch clock violation in a spring training game, getting docked a strike in the first inning because he was not set and facing
7:00 AM ET WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — On the opening day of spring training, manager Dusty Baker and his staff gathered their team before the first full squad practice. It was the first time the Houston Astros were back on the field together since celebrating their World Series victory in November, and there were
2:08 AM ET Associated Press TOKYO — Fans of the upcoming World Baseball Classic are going to see two versions, depending whether the games are in the United States or Taiwan, or in Japan. In the United States and Taiwan, fans can cheer and need not wear masks. Taiwan dropped most of its mask mandates
6:02 PM ET Associated Press Tampa Bay Rays reliever Ryan Thompson called for more transparency in the arbitration process after losing his case last week. “The biggest issue with this process to me is that the arbitrators get to make whatever decision they come to, but with no explanation or defense of the decision,” Thompson
4:43 PM ET SURPRISE, Ariz. — Dozens of Texas Rangers players, coaches, front-office members and other staffers congregated between two of the back fields at Surprise Stadium’s sprawling complex on Thursday morning, keeping their eyes fixed on one of the furthest bullpens, where Jacob deGrom, about a week removed from suffering tightness in his left
3:57 PM ET Associated Press Bryce Harper‘s arrival at spring training camp remains a couple of weeks away as the Philadelphia Phillies‘ slugger recovers from elbow surgery. Phillies president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski said Thursday that Harper is taking swings with a bat at home in Las Vegas and will report March 8 or
7:00 AM ET A group of Los Angeles Dodgers hitters descended upon Kent, Washington, this offseason to swing abnormally heavy bats under the watchful eyes of Driveline analysts, all with one mission in mind: Survive. Hitting has never been more difficult, a truism that acts as the biggest impediment to Major League Baseball’s determined efforts
8:31 PM ET PEORIA, Ariz. — The San Diego Padres will play their first spring training game on Friday, but Fernando Tatis Jr. isn’t expected to be in the lineup. Given his absence throughout the 2022 season and the three surgeries he endured in the midst of it, the Padres are hoping to ease him