6:47 AM ET Fenway Park was probably named after a real estate company. No, really. You can look it up. Sure, the swamp that marked the area where the great venue now stands was called “the Fens” and the neighborhood was, and is, called Fenway. But in 1911, Boston’s soon-to-be-former owner, John I. Taylor, was
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5:42 PM ET Reliever Adam Ottavino started his New York Yankees career by doing something never done in team history, and that’s tough to do. In announcing the three-year deal for the 33-year-old, it was revealed that he will wear No. 0, the number he wore in Colorado. No Yankee has ever worn the number
1:26 PM ET The Chicago Cubs and free-agent reliever Brad Brach have agreed to a one-year, $3 million deal, a source told ESPN’s Jeff Passan on Thursday. Brach, who will turn 33 in April, had a 3.59 ERA and 12 saves in 69 relief appearances last season for the Baltimore Orioles and Atlanta Braves. To
4:00 PM ET LOS ANGELES — Here’s the thing about the Los Angeles Dodgers‘ offseason, which may or may not have concluded with Thursday’s notable-yet-uninspiring A.J. Pollock signing: They probably didn’t get better, but they definitely didn’t need to. The Dodgers, coming off back-to-back World Series losses, have chosen the pragmatic route, which shouldn’t surprise
2:12 PM ET Jeff PassanESPN Close ESPN MLB insiderAuthor of “The Arm: Inside the Billion-Dollar Mystery of the Most Valuable Commodity in Sports” Free-agent outfielder A.J. Pollock and the Los Angeles Dodgers have agreed to a four-year deal, league sources confirmed to ESPN. The Athletic first reported the agreement. The total value of the deal
6:52 AM ET Jeff PassanESPN Close ESPN MLB insiderAuthor of “The Arm: Inside the Billion-Dollar Mystery of the Most Valuable Commodity in Sports” The state of the 2018-19 free-agent market can be summed up in one comma-filled sentence: The Washington Nationals spent more on one player this winter than the Baltimore Orioles, Chicago Cubs, Cincinnati
10:45 AM ET Associated Press NEW YORK — Major League Baseball has proposed going back to a 15-day disabled list and increasing the time optioned players usually must spend in the minor leagues, a source told The Associated Press on Thursday. The moves are aimed at reducing the use of relief pitchers and reviving offense.
8:07 PM ET NEW YORK — When the late Roy Halladay is inducted later this summer into baseball’s Hall of Fame, he will go in as neither a member of the Toronto Blue Jays nor the Philadelphia Phillies, the two teams with which he enjoyed a legendary career. Instead, at the wishes of his family,
4:42 PM ET Jeff PassanESPN Close ESPN MLB insiderAuthor of “The Arm: Inside the Billion-Dollar Mystery of the Most Valuable Commodity in Sports” Ichiro Suzuki agreed to a minor league contract with the Seattle Mariners, a source familiar with the deal told ESPN on Wednesday, paving the way for the team to activate him for
2:36 PM ET The San Francisco Giants have agreed to a one-year, $1.5 million contract with left-hander Drew Pomeranz, a source confirmed to ESPN on Wednesday. The news was first reported by KNBR. Pomeranz, 30, had a down year last season, finishing 2-6 with a 6.08 ERA for the Boston Red Sox. He was a