11:30 AM ET Casual baseball fans are most concerned with the future homes of Manny Machado and Bryce Harper, but Justin Verlander‘s Monday tweet addressed a broader concern — about the many, many players who are unsigned. 100 or so free agents left unsigned. System is broken. They blame “rebuilding” but that’s BS. You’re telling
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8:37 AM ET Houston Astros ace Justin Verlander isn’t buying the theory that the market for big free agents is limited by rebuilding teams not being in position to sign stars. 100 or so free agents left unsigned. System is broken. They blame “rebuilding” but that’s BS. You’re telling me you couldn’t sign Bryce or
10:56 PM ET Free agent starter Brett Anderson has reached an agreement on a one-year major league contract with the Oakland Athletics, a source familiar with the deal confirmed to ESPN’s Jeff Passan. The deal, which is pending a physical Wednesday, was first reported by the San Francisco Chronicle. Anderson pitched big innings for Oakland
6:59 PM ET Associated Press ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Pitcher Gerrit Cole has gone to arbitration with the Houston Astros, asking to be given $13.5 million rather than the team’s offer of $11,425,000. Cole made $6.75 million last year when he earned his second All-Star selection and went 15-5 with a 2.88 ERA. He earned
5:44 PM ET Associated Press TAMPA, Fla. — Even Zack Britton gets confused about the proper spelling of his first name. Known throughout his baseball career as Zach, the 31-year-old New York Yankees reliever said last week that going forward his name should be spelled Zack. “I was born with a ‘ch,’ sorry, excuse me,
5:33 PM ET Associated Press BRADENTON, Fla. — Garth Brooks has come out of baseball retirement. The country music legend will spend just over a week participating in spring training with the Pittsburgh Pirates, reporting Monday with the pitchers and catchers. The 57-year-old has previously been in the camps of the San Diego Padres (1999),
7:00 AM ET It has been an odd game of musical chairs this winter for those donning the tools of ignorance. That might be a reflection on changes in how catchers are evaluated, or it might simply be a lack of supply. Whatever it is, there will be a lot of new faces in new
4:37 PM ET Associated Press MESA, Ariz. — The Oakland Athletics added depth at catcher on Monday, agreeing to a minor league contract with Nick Hundley. If added to the 40-man roster, the 35-year-old would get a one-year contract paying a $1.25 million salary while in the major leagues. He was catching during Oakland’s opening
7:00 AM ET CHICAGO — Eventually, Willson Contreras got bored. The offseason had gone on long enough. The Chicago Cubs catcher was used to playing baseball deep into the fall, but a team-wide offensive flameout last year led to a long winter. So on Monday morning, a day before catchers and pitchers reported, Contreras was
2:36 PM ET Associated Press MIAMI — Derek Jeter stood and chatted a few rows from home plate in Marlins Park on Monday morning. His words were sometimes drowned out by noises coming from construction crews; steel clanging against steel in an area getting built behind the center field wall, or the whirring of engines