5:24 PM ET ESPN News Services VENICE, Fla. — Rob Manfred made a startling admission while announcing the end of baseball’s bitter labor battle last week: He’s failed in his role as a diplomat to players. The acknowledgement was stunning enough that famously polite Atlanta Braves starter Charlie Morton nearly laughed when told about it.
MLB
5:03 PM ET NEW YORK — As the vaccination statuses of major league players come under increased focus — unvaccinated players are ineligible to play games in Toronto because of Canada’s COVID-19 guidelines, while those on the Yankees and Mets currently would be unable to play in home games because of New York’s private-employer mandate
4:55 PM ET Associated Press SARASOTA, Fla. — Cedric Mullins‘ outstanding 2021 statistics for the Baltimore Orioles appear even more impressive after learning of the compounding offseason surgery he had to overcome. Mullins underwent intestinal surgery in November 2020 after a diagnosis of Crohn’s disease. He was diagnosed during the season and waited until it
1:13 PM ET NORTH PORT, Florida — The first call from a general manager to a newly acquired player is usually perfunctory, a simple welcome. But when Atlanta Braves GM Alex Anthopoulos phoned Matt Olson on Monday after acquiring the All-Star first baseman in a trade for the Oakland Athletics‘ slugger, he had more news.
1:54 PM ET ESPN News Services PHILADELPHIA — Right-handed reliever Jeurys Familia and left-handed reliever Brad Hand have finalized one-year contracts with the Philadelphia Phillies. A 2016 NL All-Star with the New York Mets, Familia led the majors that year with 51 saves. He has only 43 saves since 2016 and only one last season
2:15 PM ET NORTH PORT, Fla. — The player who will fill the position left behind by Freddie Freeman walked into the Atlanta Braves‘ clubhouse for the first time today. Matt Olson entered the building carrying an Oakland Athletics equipment bag that clashed with the colors of the room, then shook hands with Ronald Acuna
12:37 PM ET Associated Press TAMPA, Fla. — Major League Baseball is tweaking a rules experiment in the independent Atlantic League that forced teams to forfeit their designated hitter when removing a starting pitcher from the game. The double-hook designated hitter was first tested in the Atlantic League last season, with teams losing their DH
10:58 AM ET Houston Astros pitcher Lance McCullers Jr. continues to be sidelined by a flexor tendon problem that he said was exacerbated during the lockout, when he couldn’t be in touch with team trainers. “I was experiencing just a not fully 100-percent-type of feeling,” McCullers told reporters at the team’s spring training site in
6:44 PM ET NORTH PORT, Fla. — Not long before Braves manager Brian Snitker hosted the first team meeting of spring training Monday morning, he texted Freddie Freeman, who was on the other side of the country. Snitker mentioned that he was about to talk to the players, joking that Freddie still had a few
5:26 PM ET The Seattle Mariners acquired All-Star outfielder Jesse Winker from the Cincinnati Reds, the teams announced on Monday. Winker and third baseman Eugenio Suarez are headed to Seattle in exchange for right-handed pitcher Justin Dunn, outfielder Jake Fraley, 2019 second-round pick Brandon Williamson, a left-handed pitcher, and a player to be named later.