9:31 PM ET Welcome to checkbook baseball. When it’s your team signing the checks, it can be lots of fun! The Texas Rangers and Jacob deGrom always made a lot of sense. The Rangers are desperate for starting pitching. They’re in win-now mode after signing Corey Seager and Marcus Semien last year and hiring three-time
MLB
8:52 PM ET Associated Press PHOENIX — The Arizona Diamondbacks signed hard-throwing reliever Miguel Castro to a one-year contract Friday. Castro, who turns 28 this month, has already spent eight years in the big leagues, most recently with the New York Yankees. He was 5-0 with a 4.03 ERA in 34 appearances last season. The
4:30 PM ET Jeff PassanESPN Close ESPN MLB insiderAuthor of “The Arm: Inside the Billion-Dollar Mystery of the Most Valuable Commodity in Sports” The Seattle Mariners and Milwaukee Brewers are in agreement on a trade that will send outfielder Jesse Winker and infielder Abraham Toro to the Brewers for second baseman Kolten Wong and around
4:30 PM ET The Boston Red Sox are in agreement on a two-year, $17.5 million deal with right-handed reliever Chris Martin, sources familiar with the deal told ESPN’s Jeff Passan on Friday. The contract is pending a physical, sources said. Martin, 36, was acquired by the Los Angeles Dodgers in a midseason trade with the
1:02 PM ET Associated Press MILWAUKEE — The Brewers have promoted Marti Wronski to chief operating officer, making her the franchise’s highest-ranking woman executive since Wendy Selig-Prieb was the president and chair of the board in the early 2000s. Brewers officials said Wronski is the only woman to currently hold the COO title for a
10:37 AM ET Associated Press NEW YORK — In the first acknowledgment that Major League Baseball and the players’ association resumed blood testing for human growth hormone, the organizations said none of the 1,027 samples taken during the 2022 season tested positive. HGH testing stopped in 2021 because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Testing also was
7:00 AM ET Bradford Doolittle Close ESPN Staff Writer Sports reporter, Kansas City Star, 2002-09 Writer, Baseball, Baseball Prospectus Co-author, Pro Basketball Prospectus Member, Baseball Writers Association of America Member, Professional Basketball Writers Association David Schoenfield Close ESPN Senior Writer Covers MLB for ESPN.com Former deputy editor of Page 2 Been with ESPN.com since 1995
7:00 AM ET In the first winter after superstar Albert Pujols shocked the baseball world by leaving the St. Louis Cardinals to sign a monster contract with the Los Angeles Angels, agents recall New York Yankees general manager Brian Cashman praising the discipline of the Cardinals’ front office, predicting — correctly — that the decision
11:11 PM ET Associated Press ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — The Tampa Bay Rays are relocating their spring base for 2023 due to extensive damage to team training facilities caused by Hurricane Ian. The Rays have trained since 2009 in Port Charlotte, Florida, about 90 minutes south of St. Petersburg, and intend to explore several options
7:23 PM ET Right-hander Zach Eflin and the Tampa Bay Rays are in agreement on a three-year contract worth $40 million, sources told ESPN’s Jeff Passan. The deal, which is pending a physical, is the largest free-agent contract in Rays history, topping the five-year, $35 million contract that pitcher Wilson Alvarez received before the team’s