7:00 AM ET We’re calling these lineup rankings “way-too-early” — and while that might well be true, maybe it’s not. At this point of the winter, teams across MLB have largely completed their heavy lifting. We do still have a few free agents out there and some trades have continued to trickle in, but we
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7:35 PM ET Associated Press Ray Herbert, a 1962 All-Star Game winning pitcher who threw batting practice for his hometown Detroit Tigers for decades after retiring, died peacefully in Plymouth, Michigan, five days after his 93rd birthday. Herbert started his big league career with Detroit in 1950 and pitched for four teams over 14 seasons.
2:08 PM ET Jeff PassanESPN Close ESPN MLB insiderAuthor of “The Arm: Inside the Billion-Dollar Mystery of the Most Valuable Commodity in Sports” The Houston Astros named Dana Brown their new general manager Thursday, choosing the longtime scouting executive to shepherd the team after it let go of former GM James Click, the architect of
3:33 PM ET Jeff PassanESPN Close ESPN MLB insiderAuthor of “The Arm: Inside the Billion-Dollar Mystery of the Most Valuable Commodity in Sports” The Baltimore Orioles acquired left-hander Cole Irvin from the Oakland Athletics on Thursday, bolstering their rotation as they look to take a step forward in the ultracompetitive American League East. Irvin, who
7:00 AM ET Baseball eras come and go faster than you think. The game you remember as a child is played differently than the one you are now enjoying as an adult. It’s not unrecognizable but it has changed. That’s true now, and it’s probably always been true. The game is played much differently now
6:09 AM ET Associated Press TOKYO — Japan completed naming its 30-man roster on Thursday for the World Baseball Classic, which includes outfielders Lars Nootbaar of the St. Louis Cardinals and Masataka Yoshida of the Boston Red Sox. Nootbaar has a Japanese mother but grew up in California and does not speak Japanese. He is
11:37 PM ET Associated Press HAVANA — Cubans signed with Major League Baseball organizations or other foreign clubs will for the first time join local stars on the national team that will play in the upcoming World Baseball Classic, officials announced Wednesday evening. The Cuban Baseball Federation long defended the idea of amateurism and punished
3:45 PM ET Associated Press ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Left-hander Jeffrey Springs became the first of the 33 players who exchanged proposed arbitration salaries with their teams to reach a deal, agreeing Wednesday to a $31 million, four-year contract with the Tampa Bay Rays that could be worth $65.75 million over five seasons. The 30-year-old
The 2023 Baseball Writers’ Association of America vote is in — and Scott Rolen is the newest member of the Baseball Hall of Fame. He joins Fred McGriff, who was elected in December via the inaugural contemporary baseball era committee. ESPN MLB experts Buster Olney, Bradford Doolittle, Alden Gonzalez and Jesse Rogers examine the 2023
7:00 AM ET Congrats to Scott Rolen, who will join Fred McGriff on induction day in Cooperstown, New York, this July as the newest members of the Baseball Hall of Fame. Rolen made electoral history with his selection: He now has the lowest first-year vote percentage — just 10.2% — of any player to eventually